Weeding Words Notes

Omit Unnecessary Words...Weeding Unclutter your sentences. Write clearly and directly by making every word in a sentence count. Remove empty words and phrases.

Strive to be concise- Spend words wisely. I was silent because I was stunned and I did not know how to react to the things that were happening around me. I was stunned into silence.

Prune your sentences of redundant or irrelevant words. Instead of: I personally think that absolute perfection is called for in the coming future. Try: I recommend perfection in the future.

No qualifiers Weed out qualifiers that describe how you feel or think: kind of, really, very, extremely, personally If there is a simpler way to say something, do so.

I was kind of scared. Personally, I think that it is a bad idea. It was extremely cold outside.

What are “things”? Avoid vague words like: thing, idea, situation, impact, nice, a lot There were so many things to do. He was really nice.

Avoid verb phrases. Substitute a succinct single verb: make adjustments give instructions to make mention of in order to in the majority of cases is reflective of can be compared to is capable of adjust instruct mention to usually reflect resembles can

Specific Verbs Use specific verbs and avoid vague ones. Use action verbs instead of verbs of being (is, are, was, were, be, being, been).

The wind made an awful noise The wind roared around the house and rattled the trees.

The noises were alarming to us. The noises alarmed us.

Active Voice