Strive for Sentence Conciseness to Improve Your Writing.
It is quality not quantity that counts in writing. Most good writing is not cluttered with superfluous words. Here are a few ways to improve your writing.
(1) Eliminate extra words and the unnecessary repetition of ideas. For example:
Wordy: The dog played with a small, little, round ball, which was made of rubber.
Better: The dog played with a little rubber ball.
(2) Reduce clauses to phrases and phrases to single words. For example:
Wordy: We decided that we would leave the meeting early.
Better: We decided to leave the meeting early.
Wordy: The illegal immigrants who had been captured were deported to Mexico.
Better: The captured illegal immigrants were deported to Mexico.
(3) Avoid trying to sound like Shakespeare. Write naturally. For example:
Wordy: Illumination is required when the sun has sunk into the west and left the premises in darkness.
Better: Turn on the lights at dark.
For more help, visit my website and purchase a copy of my grammar workbook: Simple Steps to Sentence Sense.
