How to Write Clearly (3)

7. Be as brief as possible.
Whatever you write, shortening - condensing - almost always makes it tighter, straighter, easier to read and understand. Condensing, as Reader's Digest does it, is in large part artistry. But it involves techniques that anyone can learn and use.

• Present your points in logical ABC order:  Here again, your outline should save you work because, if you did it right, your points already stand in logical ABC order - A makes B understandable, B makes C understandable and so on. To write in a straight line is to say something clearly in the fewest possible words.
• Don't waste words telling people what they already know. Notice how we edited this: Before editing, the sentence was "Have you ever wondered how banks rate you as a credit risk? You know, of course; about your income, your job, and so on. But actually, many banks have a scoring system...." (after editing) "Have you ever wondered how banks rate you as a credit risk? Many banks have a scoring system...."
• Cut out excess evidence and unnecessary anecdotes: Usually, one fact or example (at most, two) will support a point. More just belabor it. And while writing about something may remind you of a good story, ask yourself: "Does it really help to tell the story, or does it slow me down?"
• Look for the most common word wasters: windy phrases.
  Windy phrases.............................Cut to...
  at the present time........................now
  in the event of..............................if
  in the majority of instances............usually
  
  Look for passive verbs you can make active: Invariably, this produces a shorter sentence. "The cherry tree was chopped down by George Washington." (Passive verb and nine words.) "George Washington chopped down the cherry tree." (Active verb and seven words.)
  
  Look for positive/negative sections from which you can cut the negative: Instead of "The answer does not rest with carelessness or incompetence. It lies largely in having enough people to do the job.
  " (after editing) "
  The answer is having enough people to do the job."

Finally, to write more clearly by saying it in fewer words: when you've finished, stop.

Info Cloud
Teaching Topic: Editing and Proofreading 編輯與校對
寫完文章之後, 還有二個重要的工作: editing and proofread
edit 編輯(修改、潤飾)
proofread 校對 (proof 校對的樣本)


Grammar Gym
Don't waste words [by] telling people what they already know.
Don't [verb 1] [verb 2-ing]. 
- Don't lie to yourself thinking your problem will disappear magically.
- Don't be foolish buying things with money you don't have.


Language Lab
condense v. 使精簡, 濃縮篇幅, 變濃稠
to make something that is spoken or written shorter, by not giving as much detail or using fewer words to give the same information
- Jason condensed his report from 2,000 words to 1,500.
- The playwright condensed her script from 60 minutes down to 45 minutes.
condense v. 變濃稠
to make a liquid thicker by removing some of the water
condensed milk n.
a type of thick sweet milk sold in cans

artistry n. 藝術性, 藝術才華, 藝術造詣 [uncountable]
skill in a particular artistic activity:
- He played the cello with great technique and artistry.
- The actor won the award for his acting artistry.

invariably adv. 不變地, 總是, 始終如一地
if something invariably happens or is invariably true, it always happens or is true:
- Henry is invariably responsible for the most difficult tasks.
- The enemies are invariably seeking opportunities to attack.

incompetence n. 無能, 不能勝任
lack of the ability or skill to do a job properly
- The company fired Eric for his incompetence.
- The manager's incompetence caused a great deal of loss.


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