Newsprint is on
life support, and 300 million people worldwide strive to make their point in
140 or fewer characters.
People don't have
the time or the attention span to read any more words than necessary.
You want your
readers to hear you out, understand your message, and perhaps be entertained,
right? Here's a list of words to eliminate in order to help you write more
succinctly.
1. That
It's superfluous
most of the time. Open any document you've got drafted on your desktop and find
a sentence with that in it. Read it out loud. Now read it
again without that. If the sentence works without it, delete it.
Also? Don't use that when you refer to people. "I have
several friends that live in the neighborhood." No. No, you don't. You
have friends who. Not friends that.
2. Went
I went to
school. Or the store, or to church, or to a conference, to Vegas, wherever it
is you're inclined to go. Instead of went, consider drove, skated,
walked, ran, and flew. There are any number of ways to move from here to there.
Pick one. Don't be lazy and miss the chance to add to your story.
3. Honestly
People use honestly to
add emphasis. The problem is, the minute you tell your reader this particular
statement is honest, and you’ve implied the rest of your words were not.
#Awkward
4. Absolutely
Adding this word
to most sentences is redundant. Something is either necessary, or it
isn't. Absolutely necessary doesn't make it more necessary. If
you recommend an essential course to your new employees, it's essential.
Coincidentally, the definition of essential is absolutely necessary. Chicken or
egg, eh?
5. Very
Accurate
adjectives don't need qualifiers. If you need to qualify it? Replace it. Very is
intended to magnify a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. What it does is
makes your statement less specific. If you're very happy? Be ecstatic. If
you're very sad, perhaps you're melancholy or depressed.
Woebegone, even. Very sad is a lazy way of making your point. Another pitfall
of using very as a modifier? It's subjective. Very cold
and very tall mean different things to different people. Be
specific. She's 6'3" and it's 13 degrees below freezing? These make your
story better while also ensuring the reader understands the point you're
making.
6. Really
Unless you're a
Valley Girl, visiting from 1985, there's no need to use really to
modify an adjective. Or a verb. Or an adverb. Pick a different word to make
your point. And never repeat really, or very for
that matter. That's really, really bad writing.
If you are visiting
from 1985? Please bring the birth certificate for my Cabbage Patch Doll on your
next visit. Thanks.
7. Amazing
The word means
"causing great surprise or sudden wonder." It's synonymous with
wonderful, incredible, startling, marvelous, astonishing, astounding,
remarkable, miraculous, surprising, mind-blowing, and staggering. You get the
point, right? It's everywhere. It's in corporate slogans. It dominated the
Academy Awards acceptance speeches. It's all over social media. It's discussed
in pregame shows and postgame shows.
Newsflash: If
everything is amazing, nothing is.
8. Always
Absolutes lock
the writer into a position, sound conceited and close-minded, and often open
the door to criticism regarding inaccuracies. Always is rarely
true. Unless you're giving written commands or instruction, find another word.
9. Never
See: Always.
10. Literally
Literally means literal. Actually happening as stated. Without
exaggeration. More often than not, when the term is used, the writer
means figuratively. Whatever is happening is being described
metaphorically. No one actually "waits on pins and needles." How
uncomfortable would that be?
11. Just
It's a filler
word and it makes your sentence weaker, not stronger. Unless you're using it as
a synonym for equitable, fair, even-handed, or impartial, don't use it at
all.
12. Maybe
This makes you
sound uninformed, unsure of the facts you're presenting. Regardless of the
topic, do the legwork, be sure, and write an informed piece. The only thing you
communicate when you include these words is uncertainty.
13. Stuff
This word is
casual, generic even. It serves as a placeholder for something better. If the
details of the stuff aren't important enough to be included in
the piece? Don't reference it at all. If you tell your reader to take your
course because they'll learn a lot of stuff? They're likely to tell
you to stuff it.
14. Things
See: Stuff.
15. Irregardless
This doesn't mean
what you think it means. It means regardless. It is literally (see
what I did there?) defined as: regardless. Don't use it. Save yourself the
embarrassment.
Whether you're
ghostwriting for your CEO, updating a blog, selling a product, or finishing
your master's thesis, you need to keep your reader engaged. These 15 words are
a great place to start trimming the fat from your prose. Bonus? You'll sound smarter.
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