Fat-free Writing

"Contrary to what some people seem to believe, simple writing is not the product of simple minds. A simple, unpretentious style has both grace and power. By not calling attention to itself, it allows the reader to focus on the message"—Richard Lederer and Richards Dowis, Sleeping Dogs Don't Lay, 1999.

A distinguishing mark of forceful writing is economy — using no more words than necessary. Many words and phrases rarely add anything to a sentence. When you trim your stuffy sentences, your writing becomes logical and clear.

Bureaucratic and academic writing likes to pad every sentence with phrases like ‘It is important to note that’ or ‘it should be pointed out’. Don't: it makes for slow reading. While making a public speech, do not say "I would like to thank"; simply thank whoever you want to thank, instead. Similarly, you will make a better impression on your interviewers if you don’t repeatedly say, "I’d like to say"; have your say without such interjections.

After you write a sentence, look it over and ask whether the sense would be damaged by judicious trimming. If not, start cutting, because the shorter version is usually better. Pascal once said, "The letter I have written today is longer than usual because I lacked the time to make it shorter."

Don’t you think ‘We decided that we would leave the meeting early’ is wordy? A better option would have been to write ‘We decided to leave the meeting early’.

Pompous words do not make a good writing. "Any fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius—and a lot of courage--to move in the opposite direction." Words of the genius, Albert Einstein.

A short list of some of the offenders (and their replacements): quite, in the event that (if), it can be seen that, prior to (before), owing to the fact that (because or since), it has been indicated that, basically, essentially, totally, completely, therefore, it should be remembered that, it should be noted that, it is imperative that, at the present moment in time(now), in order to (to), preplanning(planning – you always plan before the event), personal opinion (opinions are personal), new discovery, oral conversation, actual reality, free gifts, absolutely essential, advance warning, attach/associate together, all inclusive, ask a question, at this point in time, bare naked, basic fundamentals, component parts, empty hole/space, whether or not, surrounded on all sides, postponed until later, near vicinity, passing fad, sufficient enough.

Avoid these whenever you can.

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