W1:
Use strong, specific language. |
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Incorrect Example |
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a) Replace
weak verbs (is-was-were-had-got) with verbs
that show action. |
He was
often destructive. |
He often destroyed
things. |
Lucy is
the person that I wrote to. |
I wrote
to Lucy. |
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There was a bird flying in the
mulberry tree. |
A bird flew
in the mulberry tree. |
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I was just
sitting there helplessly watching it happen.
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Helplessly, I
watched it happen. |
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She had
behaviors that were inappropriate for the situation. |
She behaved
inappropriately for the situation. |
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b) Write with
specific words, not vague ones. |
Avoid words like these: a lot,
good, like, lots, nice, some, sort of, stuff,
things, etc. |
Use words that apply specifically to your topic. The lifeless words at left can be applied to anything. |
c)
Pronouns must
be clear. |
When Caesar and the
barbarian chieftain met in battle, he was quickly
defeated. |
When Caesar and the
barbarian chieftain met in battle, Caesar was quickly defeated.
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d) Avoid
all-inclusive or all-exclusive words. |
Always, anybody, all, everyone, every
time, everything,
whatever; No one, never, nothing |
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e) Avoid
words that weaken the meaning of the writing.
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He was sort of a great general. He was kind of skinny. |
He was a great general. He was skinny. |
f) Find a
strong word instead of putting “really” or “very” in front of a plain one. Shift-F7! |
I picked a really boring book. |
I picked a lifeless book. I picked a tedious book. I picked a dreary book. I picked a mind-numbing book. I picked a wearisome book. I picked an insipid book. |
g) Avoid
clichés. |
He was always there for me. |
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I had her back through the whole
affair. |
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Quotes:
The wishy-washy writer uses weak
nouns (like destruction) instead of strong verbs (like destroy). The wimp writes, The storm resulted in the destruction of
the building, instead of The storm destroyed the building. Patricia T. O’Conner |
When you’re describing
something or someone, you can’t just chose dull words like “beautiful”, “pretty”,
or “nice”. You must search for more
meaty and imaginative words. Roald Dahl |
Substitute
"damn" every time you're inclined to write "very." Your editor will delete it and the writing
will then be just as it should be. Mark Twain |
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