Over 100,000 spanish translations of english words and phrases. Its also likely to be more memorable and make a lasting impact on your reader. Characters can be concepts, theories, institutions, etc. Deleting text can be painful, but remember that it will lead to a stronger document that is more likely to be understood by your reader. Read to the point pdf a dictionary of concise writing by robert hartwell fiske w. Writing concisely can be an easy and effective way to strengthen your argument. Dictionary, translation french, spanish, german reverso. Concise meaning in the cambridge english dictionary. You dont need transitions however, but, and, therefore, nevertheless, meanwhile, moreover, consequently between every sentence or paragraph. The dictionary alphabetically lists wordy phrases with alternative expressions and realworld examples.
You should aim to use the minimum number of words required to make your writing easy to understand, but not so brief that you lose clarity. Concise writing exercises revise the following sentences to. To be effective, concise writing must deliver a clear message using an economy of words. Techniques for reducing wordinessnew macalester college. You can help readers follow ideas in other ways as well, such as the repetition of a key word or the use of words like this. Writing concisely concise writing uses the fewest words necessary to accurately convey an idea and should be the goal of every universitylevel writer. Concise writing repetition, filler phrases, cliches, and empty words can turn your prose into a briar patch.
The dictionary of concise writing, which gives concise alternatives to thousands of wordy phrases. Concise writing in both academic and professional writing you want to be concise. Concise writing doesnt waste time with circumlocution, padding, or verbosity. Writing concise sentences vigorous writing is concise. Sep 20, 2019 in speech or writing, the term conciseness refers to language thats brief and to the point. Tenielle fordyceruff, three tips for concise writing, advocate, oct.
It has been argued by stargill that there is no topic in education on which there. Academic writing should aim to be clear and concise in that order. Download pdf barnhart concise dictionary of etymology book full free. To achieve concise writing and maintain your readers attention, try the following strategies. To improve the readability of your writing, use short sentences. The official collins englishspanish dictionary online. Antoine meillet writing has been with us for several thousand years, and nowadays is more important than ever. John adams wrote the 1780 massachusetts constitution.
Updated and revised with hundreds of new entries, this new edition can tidy up any writers longwinded phraseology with such helpful replacements as because for based on the fact that, cease for put an end to, and violate for fail to comply with. Google definition, the brand name of a leading internet search engine, founded in 1998. Its being funded by the government and mobile phone companies and will involve 2,500 children aged between eleven and twelve who. An easytounderstand guide to the language of law from the dictionary experts at merriamwebster. A large study into whether mobile phones are harmful to childrens health is starting in september what and when. Look also under writing then organizing your writing, then shaping paragraphs. We can make our writing concise by following one golden rule.
The dictionary of concise writing daily writing tips. Many people do not write concisely because they dont know more concise ways to express themselves, but if you study the list of concise substitutes listed on this site that will not be problematic. Barnhart concise dictionary of etymology available for download and read online in other formats. Or, consider taking concise writing into the realm of fiction with our recent lesson plan on reading and writing flash fiction. Eradicate wordiness with concise writing techniques. Readers will appreciate how clearly your concise writing conveys ideas. For over 20 years, has been helping millions of people improve their use of the english language with its free digital services. The only available palienglish lexiconthe work of childers being long out of printis the famous publication of the. Collins spanish dictionary translations, definitions and. Language expert robert hartwell fiske uses each wordy phrase in a sentence and then rewrites or deletes the phrase entirely to show how the sentence can be improved. Having spread steadily over the centuries from clay tablets to computer chips, it is poised for further dramatic. Make your content concise by cutting words that are not necessary. Written by robert fiske, the dictionary of concise writing is the definitive guide to fatfree writing.
In terms of the size if its land, canada is the secondlargest country in the world. The quality of the writing within the report is essential for clear and concise communication of the findings it is describing. Wordy student papers are often cluttered with pointless filler. May 21, 2014 concise writing doesnt necessarily have to do with too many filler words although that is a component. The art of concise writing technical writing toolbox. Whether youre sending a text message, writing an email, or updating your resume, wordy writing dilutes the impact of your message. Concise writing, instead, helps grab and hold your readers attention. Exhaustively researched and thoroughly revised, the fifth edition contains 10,000 new words and senses, over 4,000 dazzling new fullcolor images, and authoritative, uptodate guidance on usage from the. A sentence is wordy if it can be tightened without loss of meaning. This book literally contains its subtitle more than 10,000 alternatives to wordy phrases. The muchanticipated fifth edition of the american heritage dictionary of the english language is the premier resource about words for people who seek to know more and find fresh perspectives. According to the bedford handbook, long sentences are not necessarily wordy, nor are short sentences always concise. A dictionary and thesaurus are important resources for you to be able to choose the most precise word in your writing.
These phrases are not necessary because your writing comes with an unwritten agreement that what you. The 8th edition of the mla handbook does not list specific rules on how to cite a dvd, a book, a journal article, etc. Occupational hygienists therefore need to be accomplished writers in order to produce effective reports. Writing concisely requires proofreading over what you have written and looking for places to cut down words andor sentences.
Concise writing packs more punch, conveys more energy and inspires greater response. To the point robert hartwell fiske pdf a dictionary of concise writing. Fiske also offers alternatives to the fact that, a prolix phrase that should be cut from every sentence in which it appears. The men who invented and perfected writing were great linguists and it was they who created linguistics. For more ways to make your writing concise, look over this resource pdf from joseph williams style. You can see the quality of the reserve content that will be shown to you. A professor once described verbs as poetry in motion. English words generally have two types of meanings. Leave time during proofreading to find and prune wordy outgrowths. Change is or was, when they occur alone, to an action verb. Atkins 2009 liberty university online writing center email. Writing concisely is challenging because it requires significant attention to detail regarding word choice, sentence structure, and organization. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts.
Pick 12 writing exercises from 50 ways to practice writing that. This can be achieved by presenting only one idea per sentence and limiting the sentence length to a maximum of 2025 words. These are the guidelines we followed to develop the following examples for you. Concise writing demands strong verbs and concrete images. A dictionary of concise writing is the guide that recommended to you to read. Eliminate redundancies avoid unnecessary repetition of words. Unless you overstep brevity into inscrutability and shorter helps you avoid that pitfall shorter gets the job done better. Pdf barnhart concise dictionary of etymology download. Concise definition of concise by the free dictionary. Three tips for concise writing cu commons concordia. Concise writing is a skill that takes consistent practice to develop.
Oct 18, 2015 the dictionary of concise writing, which gives concise alternatives to thousands of wordy phrases. Keep all the necessary detail, but watch out for wordy writing. At a time when highstakes testing has squeezed substance from many curricula, johnson and johnson provide ways to enhance. Decisions in regard to the launch of the new product rests with. Choosing words that are appropriate in your writing can convince your readers that. Sample sentence in my opinion, in response to the issue of wordy sentences in college writing, it is. Fortunately, a book called the dictionary of concise writing crossed my desk. This means making your point in the fewest words possible. Buy concise dictionary of idioms by tanvir khan pdf online. Some general points which are appropriate for occupational hygiene reports are presented below.
Law dictionary search more than 10,000 legal words and phrases for clear definitions written in plain language. Aug 01, 2002 concise alternatives for thousands of common, wordy phrases are provided in this guide to clean, strong prose. The dictionary of concise writing is a thorough examination of how to write tight, wellcrafted prose. To make this sentence more concise, move the subject to the front and get rid of the to be verb in this case, was. Part one is words and people, with concise advice about concision, and part two, beginning on page 45, is the dictionary of concise writing. An analysis of concise oxford english dictionary globalex. This book literally contains its subtitle more than 10,000. Skills practice concise writing the new york times. It was william harvey who first wrote about the circulation of the blood. Words are precious and should be treated like money spend them only when there is a necessity. Conciseness is the extent to which a piece of writing communicates clear information in as few words as possible. Download concise dictionary of idioms by tanvir khan pdf online.
Hornbostelsachs system western symphonic classification. Repetition, unnecessary jargon, and needless details are to be avoided. Apr, 2012 the word concise has its root in the late latin word concisus which means to cut short. This handout describes common issues and ways to repair them. One good way to think about conciseness is to think about what, in auto mechanics. The book begins with a section on perfectibility of words. Concise writing exercises revise the following sentences to make them concise.
1367 911 104 1302 191 541 1135 204 322 1001 685 1283 1292 575 998 938 549 1116 768 175 1183 1557 1398 1114 989 339 444 863 315 1449 1493 886 182 781 1216 237 597 1393 1157 1051 675 12 1414 1018 611 1272