W1. Word Choice

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W1. Word Choice

• Based on the St. Martins Guide to Writing,
• 7th edition
• Handbook Section, W1, W2, W3

2
Effective language

• Concise (to the point)
• Exact (precise)
• Appropriate for the content and audience
• E.g. Tears stream down James face as he sits
  scrunched up in the corner of the shabby living
  room, wishing that he had anyone elses life.

3
W1-a Concise Sentences

• Eliminate redundancies and repetitions, e.g.
• Many machines in the drilling area need to be
  updated to be better and more modern equipment.

modernized.
4
W1-a Concise Sentences

• Delete extra words from a redundant or repetitive
  sentence, e.g.
• Student volunteers will no longer be overworked,
  overburdened, and exhausted from working
  continuosuly at the jobs without any breaks
  because of the shortage of labor.

labor
exhausted
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W1-b Eliminate meaningless words

• Eliminate prepositional phrases. Compare
• One of the best examples in recent times of an
  actor being completely overexposed is Brad Pitt.
• Brad Pitt is an excellent recent example of an
  overexposed actor.

wordy
good
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W1-b Eliminate meaningless words

• Eliminate wordy expressions or replace them with
  fewer words. Compare
• Demanding Bushs resignation at this point in
  time will not solve the problem.
• Demanding Bushs resignation now will not solve
  the problem.

wordy
good
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W1-b Eliminate meaningless words

• Rewrite a wordy sentence to simplify its
  structure. Watch for there are or there is at
  the beginning of a sentence. Compare
• There are always five or six spots open at the
  ends of the rows.
• Five or six spots are always open at the ends
  of the rows.

indirect
simplified, direct
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W1-c Eliminate unnecessary intensifiers or hedges

• Delete very, really, clearly, quite, and of
  course if necessary. Compare
• The plot of the this movie is really great.
• The plot of the this movie is thrilling.

small impact
more forceful
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W1-c Eliminate unnecessary intensifiers or hedges

• Eliminate unnecessary hedges.
• In most cases, realistic characteristics tend to
  undermine comedys primary function of making us
  laugh at exaggerated character traits.
• Realistic characteristics often undermine
  comedys primary function of making us laugh at
  exaggerated character traits.

uncertain
straight, makes an impact
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W1-d Eliminate unnecessary prepositions

• I went to the hospital so that the clerk could
  admit me in.
• Consequently, student volunteers will not be
  inclined to seek for smaller hospitals with less
  intense shifts.

look
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• The end