Write concisely
If your work tends to be longwinded or ‘wordy’ this post offers nine tips to help you write concise sentences and fix this problem.
Why bother making your writing concise?
Compare concise, or succinct, writing with wordy writing and you’ll find it’s not only shorter but also:
- easier to read
- quicker to read
- more likely to be read
- less likely to be misunderstood
- more professional.
Not convinced? Have a look at this example from a council website.
Original text (92 words)
A flowchart setting out the process by which the Council makes decisions to allocates names to open spaces, roads, suburbs, localities and subdivisions is included at Appendix 1. For naming decisions to be taken by the Council, responsibility is determined by Council delegations. Some decisions are made at a business unit level (such as the naming of rooms within Council Buildings) or executive level. Others are made at a committee or Council level. Council officers will generally determine when names are needed, and may recommend names reflecting the criteria in this policy.
Revised text (62 words)
The Council’s approach for deciding names for open spaces, roads, suburbs, localities and subdivisions is shown in Appendix 1. Usually, the Council’s officers decide when a name is needed; they may recommend names that reflect this policy’s criteria. Depending on what is being named, the Council may delegate the naming decision to its executive, or one of its committees or business units.
Not only is the revised text a third shorter, so quicker to read, it is also easier to read and understand. Follow the tips below to transform wordy text into concise sentences.
Nine tips to help you write concisely
Tip 1: Plan what you want to say
If you don’t know or understand what you are writing about, your writing is more likely to be confusing and wordy.
When you know what you want to say your writing will be clear and specific, which will make it more succinct. Planning your writing will help you achieve this.
Read more about how to plan your writing and download our writing-plan template.
Tip 2: Present one idea at a time
Planning your writing helps you identify the purpose of your writing, and the different ideas you want to write about to achieve your purpose. Once you know which points you want to present, follow these rules to keep your writing clear, focused, uncluttered and easy to read.
- Make one point at a time.
- Limit your sentences and paragraphs to one point.
- Check that each point contributes to the purpose of your writing.
- Don’t add extra points that may distract your readers.
Tip 3: Eliminate unnecessary words
If you’ve worked hard on writing a document, you may be emotionally attached to words you’ve written, even if they don’t add any value to the writing. But being ruthless and removing redundant words from your sentences will make your writing sharper, concise and easier to read.
Read about the six main ways to get rid of unnecessary words.
Tip 4: Don’t smother verbs
Writers often smother or replace verbs with the words ‘take’, ‘give’, ‘make’, ‘conduct’ and ‘come’. This adds unnecessary words to sentences and can make them unclear. Look at these examples.
| Original sentence with smothered verbs | Succinct sentence |
|---|---|
| The committee needs to take the results into consideration. | The committee needs to consider the results. |
| The team must give a presentation on its work programme to the new CEO. | The team must present its work programme to the new CEO. |
| The CEO needs to make a decision about which candidate to appoint to the vacant position. | The CEO needs to decide who to appoint to the vacant position. |
| The government has announced it will conduct a review of how its ministries handled the problem. | The government has announced it will review how its ministries handled the problem. |
| The team needs to come to a decision on how to log its workload. | The team needs to decide how to log its workload. |
Tip 5: Use short, commonly used words
Short words are best and the old words when short are best of all.
Winston Churchill
Complex terms can alienate or confuse readers, who may understand the terms differently to the way you intended them. Where possible use plain English alternatives or explain complex terms the first time you use them.
Never use words or phrases in your writing that you don’t understand yourself.
Read more about how to use plain English and download our plain-English checklist.
Tip 6: Avoid jargon and clichés
Organisations and sectors adopt and overuse jargon phrases. The problem with these phrases is they are often longer and less well understood than simpler phrases, and can sometimes mask uncertainty. Rather than use jargon terms, say what you mean.
Here’s a small selection of jargon terms and phrases to avoid.
- leverage
- synergy
- think outside the box
- win-win situation
- low-hanging fruit
- face the music
- litmus test
- tried and tested.
Tip 7: Avoid zombie nouns
Zombie nouns (or nominalisations) are nouns formed from other parts of speech such as adjectives or verbs. They are referred to as ‘zombie nouns’ because they suck life out of speech and replace it with abstract entities. Because zombie nouns are often used with the passive voice, they tend to make your writing wordier and unclear.
Read more about zombie nouns and three simple steps to identify and eliminate them from your writing, so you can write concise sentences.
Tip 8: Use the active voice
When you write in an active voice you put the subject of the sentence at the beginning. When you write in a passive voice you put the subject of the sentence towards the end, or don’t include it at all.
The active voice simplifies your message. It removes ambiguity by explaining who is doing what. Sentences written in the active voice are generally shorter than those written in the passive voice. So using active voice is another way to cut out unnecessary words, making your writing more concise.
Read more about the active voice and how to use it in your writing.
Tip 9: Change negatives to affirmatives
Expressing ideas as negatives involves using an extra word. It also makes readers work harder to understand your meaning.
Look for examples of negatives in your writing and replace them with positive alternatives.
Here’s an example of a sentence that expresses its ideas in negative ways:
If you don’t have more than five years’ experience, don’t expect to get called for an interview if you haven’t been invited to apply for the role.
Here’s the rephrased sentence:
If you have more than five years’ experience, or have been invited to apply for the role, you may be called to an interview.
When you combine these nine techniques your writing will not only be shorter and more concise, but also clearer. Clear writing is quicker and easy for people to read and they are more likely to understood and act on your points.
Capire is a leading New Zealand writing consultancy for governments, NGOs and international development agencies. We help organisations transform their complexity into plain English. Find out more about how we can help your organisation or sign up for our newsletter to get more tips to improve your writing.
