Transcript Weeding Words Notes

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