What Makes a Concise Writing Essay Editing Tips

What Makes a Concise Writing: Essay Editing Tips Courtesy:inspireportal.com Writing concisely is a great skill and it makes your paper (regardless of the subject) readable and precise. Let’s face it; nobody likes to read a mile-long sentence or a paragraph that doesn’t specify anything. In fact, fluff should never be a part of professional, concise writing whose primary aim is to inform readers about certain topic. Does this mean you have to interrupt your work flow only to check whether writing is concise? No, not really. Editing is an excellent opportunity for you to make your work more concise. I know how challenging this process can be which is why this article will provide useful tips you should implement to write better and concisely. Replace vague words with specific words Writers use small and ambiguous words to express a certain point. Oftentimes, including too many small words can make your work seem confusing. Generally, more specific words lead to more concise writing. To use specific words instead of small and ambiguous ones, you have to brainstorm or use a thesaurus. Plus, this practice will extend your vocabulary. Example: The politician talked about several problems that are related to economic crisis in the country on national TV. Revise: The politician addressed economic crisis on national TV. Question every word in a sentence When you’re proofreading your work check every word to make sure it contributes something important to the sentence. If some words are dead weight you can delete or replace them. Example: The teacher showed me different techniques of cutting unnecessary words from my essay that I had written for English literature class today. Revise: The teacher showed me different techniques of cutting unnecessary words from my essay. Incorporate and combine sentences Sometimes, information doesn’t require full sentence and you can easily combine it with another sentence without decreasing its value. In these cases, combined sentences form informative and concise info. Example: Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies demonstrate the importance of true friendship and moral values to accomplish great things. He made three movies. Revise: Peter Jackson’s three Lord of the Rings movies demonstrate the importance of true friendship and moral values to accomplish great things. Eliminate words that point out the obvious When making your paper more concise, always consider readers. If some sentences or phrases describe or explain things that are obvious to everyone you can fix that problem by rewording or deleting them. Keeping non-essential details in text or pointing out the obvious makes readers lose their interest in your work. Example: I received your inquiry about Apple laptops yesterday, and read it carefully. Yes, we do have†¦ Revise: I received your inquiry about Apple laptops yesterday. Yes, we do have†¦ Eliminate unnecessary modifiers and determiners Let’s face it; sometimes we add a word or phrase that seems to narrowly determine or modify the noun but it doesn’t contribute to the entire sentence. In appropriate context, these words or phrases can be meaningful, but in most cases they are used as â€Å"fillers† and eliminating them doesn’t ruin the meaning of your sentence. To determine whether some word or phrase is unnecessary, write down your sentence without it. If that sentence makes sense, then phrase should be eliminated. If meaning of the sentence is affected, then you can leave it. Example: I don’t really like any particular type of dessert on this menu. Revise: I don’t like any dessert on this menu. Stay away from repetitive wording Pay attention to words or phrases that you keep mentioning frequently in your text, particularly in a same paragraph. To make your paper concise, bear in mind that words and sentences which don’t contribute to the content of the text are rarely necessary. Example: Our customer service department employed five new interns. These interns do an excellent job during weekdays, but they can’t keep up with high demand on weekends. Revise: Our customer service department employed five new interns who do an excellent job during weekdays, but cannot keep up with high demand on weekends.