Resource of the Week #182: An Aid to Editing Your Own Writing

Hello again. Is your writing ever needlessly hard to read? Is it ever excessively long? A few days ago I learned of a new article titled “25 Ways to Tighten Your Writing”. This article presents tips that can help solve such problems.

Here are some examples of the tips:

• “Cut long sentences in two.” (If a sentence contains multiple ideas, put each in a separate sentence.)
• “Replace stuffy words with simple ones.” (Where possible, use familiar words.)
• Delete the word “very”, which usually doesn’t add much meaning.
• “Eliminate ‘there is’ or ‘there are’ at the beginning of sentences.” (Restructure sentences that start with these empty words.)

One tip, though, doesn’t always apply. It states, “Use contractions.” Contractions (such as doesn’t and they’re) can work well in casual writing, such as blog posts. However, they’re not suitable for formal writing, such as journal articles and grant proposals.

“25 Ways”, which is by a freelance writer, contains many examples. These examples both clarify the points and enliven the article. Also, the article has links to sources of further information on some of the points.

This article can aid in editing one’s own writing. I encourage you to look at it.

Until next post—

Barbara