| Most people have experienced the crushing feeling of | | | | impressive words few people understand. Good word |
| receiving a piece of writing back from a teacher with | | | | choice simply means avoiding overused words and |
| a lower-than-expected grade on it. It is a sinking and | | | | employing some under-used ones. For instance, instead |
| frustrating feeling. | | | | of "laughed," one might use "snickered" or "guffawed." |
| Even for folks no longer in school, the indelible | | | | Instead of "hit," one might say "slugged" or "belted." |
| impression remains even years later. And with every | | | | Instead of "traveled," one might use "jetted" or |
| report you write and every important e-mail you send, | | | | "journeyed." Instead of "walked," one might say |
| it gnaws at you... I hope it sounds ok, you meekly tell | | | | "strolled" or "trekked." |
| yourself, frustrated by this skill which is rated so | | | | Second, a big focus of word choice has to do with |
| subjectively. | | | | one's choice of verbs. Verbs in the "to be" family are |
| No matter how perfect your spelling, punctuation, and | | | | WAY overused, verbs like is, was, were, am, are, |
| grammar are, your writing is, you admit, missing | | | | been, be, being, etc. The "to be" family of verbs is very |
| something. You might include the same information as | | | | necessary to the English language and so one should |
| another student or a business competitor, but their | | | | not feel the need to avoid them altogether, but their |
| writing is better: it's more clear, more readable, and, | | | | use should be restricted when it's reasonably easy to |
| therefore, they have presented themselves in a more | | | | do so. |
| favorable light. What can you do to improve your | | | | There are other verbs that should be avoided at all |
| writing? | | | | costs, like get, gets, got, and gotten (not a word!). |
| There are, thankfully, some quantitative things about | | | | Third, don't ever try to sound impressive-say what you |
| good writing-it's not all so subjective. | | | | mean in the clearest terms possible. Don't say |
| Here are some tips any regular Joe can implement to | | | | "Enlighten me on the sum of your research and |
| immediately improve his or her writing: | | | | deliberations." Instead say, "Tell me what you think." |
| 1. Sentence Variety | | | | Clarity is king! |
| First of all, don't abandon the short sentence. Three to | | | | 3. About Clichés |
| five-word sentences pack a lot of punch. They're | | | | Here are some clichés: "hit the nail on the |
| dramatic, and they make a reader pause for a | | | | head," "when it rains it pours," "it ain't over till the fat |
| moment. If you have a point to make, end it with a | | | | lady sings," etc. Clichés draw attention away |
| short, powerful sentence. | | | | from what you are trying to communicate. Readers |
| Second, there should be some-not a crazy amount, | | | | see clichés and roll their eyes. Writing that is full |
| but some-variety in the lengths of your sentences. Go | | | | of clichés has no power because |
| ahead and count the words in your sentences. I bet | | | | clichés are so over used that readers are just |
| that most of your sentences are within five or six | | | | about numb to their meaning. Clichés are simply |
| words of each other in the amount of words they | | | | lame and boorish-two words you never want to be |
| contain. Once in a while bust a long one. Once in a | | | | associated with you! |
| while go short. Sure, most sentences will be | | | | 4. Your Tone of Voice |
| medium-to-long in length, but you have to have some | | | | If any degree of formality is called for, do not use |
| exceptions in there. This is what your teacher meant | | | | contractions (use "is" instead of "isn't," etc.) and stay |
| when she said, "Write the way you speak." Only | | | | away from pronouns that refer to yourself, such as "I" |
| robots use the same length sentences over and over | | | | and "me." Try to avoid the pronoun "you" as well. |
| again. | | | | 5. Comma Usage |
| For those of you who remember something about | | | | Never over-use commas. If you don't know much |
| grammar, a third thing to consider regarding sentence | | | | about grammar, a good rule of thumb is to only use |
| variety would be to look at how you begin your | | | | commas when you must in order to avoid confusion. |
| sentences. Does every sentence begin with the | | | | Let's face it, folks, what we're talking about here is |
| subject and follow with the verb? Why not begin with | | | | style-the computer will pretty much do the punctuation |
| a prepositional phrase (after the meeting, in the hallway, | | | | and mechanics for you, and so it's these very simple |
| near 23rd Street, etc.)? You might also begin with an | | | | stylistic strategies that can set you apart from your |
| "-ing" word once in a while (gerunds and participles), like | | | | peers. |
| "Having sentence variety is very important..." or | | | | Employing even just a few of these tips will go a long |
| "Pushing the limits of his car, Jeffrey throttled the | | | | way toward improving your writing; and they're so |
| engine and whipped around the final bend." | | | | simple that your writing will improve with the very next |
| 2. Word Choice | | | | piece of writing you do. Best of luck!! |
| First, "good word choice" does NOT mean using | | | | |