Language affects how we communicate with our audience. If the sentences are confusing, then meaning is affected and we don’t achieve our purpose as effectively.

 Look carefully at the following sentence. How would you revise this sentence to express the idea more concisely? Try to cut the word count down by half.  The point I wish to make about this matter is that everyone who works here at this establishment is in desperate need of a much better manager of their money and finances. (word count: 33)

Style & Conventions Seminar #1

 Readers generally appreciate clear writing that gets straight to the point  Concise writing eliminates potential for readers to get “lost” in your sentence, making them more likely to truly understand your meaning.

 Modifiers add description, but oftentimes are unnecessary.  A list of modifiers that provide little additional information to reader: finemany somewhatgreat quitesort of lotsreally very  Determine if you need the word “really” or “very” to better emphasize your point. finemany somewhatgreat quitesort of lotsreally very

 Often introductory phrases are “filler” that stall your main point.  Get to the point more quickly by eliminating unnecessary introductory phrases such as:

 Practice word economy: use one word rather than many Wordy PhrasesConcise Alternatives At this point in time… At the present time… In the not-too-distant future In close proximity to… …is necessary that… …is able to… …has the ability to… Due to the fact that… For the reason that… In spite of the fact that… In the event that… In the final analysis… In order to… For the purpose(s) of… Now Soon Near Must Can Because Although If Finally To

Wordy PhraseConcise Alternative As a matter of fact At all times At that point in time At this point in time At the present time Because of the fact that By means of Due to the fact that In order to In spite of the fact that In the event that Nowadays, in today’s society… In fact Always Then Now, currently Because By Because To Although, though If Now

 Redundancies are meaningless repetitions that result in wordiness.  Eliminate common redundancies such as: First and foremost Full and complete Final result Past histories Round in shape Refer back

 Students living in close proximity in the dorms need to cooperate together if they want to live in harmony.  That film was really hard to watch, but absolutely worth seeing.  The ending definitely shocked us very much.

 Switch essays with a person next to you and circle unnecessary phrases on the first page:  Modifiers (e.g. very, really, definitely)  Introductory phrases (e.g. there are/is; it has been said that)  Redundancies (e.g. past history; first and foremost)

 Brevity: A good thing in writing.  Six words can tell a story. The Six-World Memoir: Write your autobiography in six wo rds.  “Not quite what I was planning.”  “Fix a toilet, get paid crap.” (A plumber)  “Couldn’t cope so I wrote songs.” Aimee Mann  “Well, I thought it was funny.” Stephen Colbert  “Forever on the bus to enlightenment”  “Wait, can I do that again?”