Write Simple

Word Abuse

There is an epidemic of word abuse, misuse and overuse. Don't contribute to the madness. As William Zinsser so eloquently stated:

We are strangling in unnecessary words, circular constructions, pompous frills and meaningless jargon, bloated, ponderous euphemisms that turns a salesman into a marketing representative, slums into depressed socioeconomic areas and garbage men into waste disposal personnel. Laborious phrases have pushed out the short word that means the same thing.

And don't forget Mark Twain's admonitions:

Eschew surplusage
Use the right word, not its second cousin

Eliminate Unnecessary Words

Many words are unnecessary and can be eliminated, making your writing more readable. Consider the following list of words and their shorter alternatives.

In the automated world of word processing, you can set your WP software to automatically replace these words and banish them from your writing.
(Use Tools> Autocorrect Options in MS Word)

Long	Short
accordingly	so
afterwards	afterward
articulate	explain
at the present time	now
at your earliest convenience	soon
attempt	try
backwards	backward
be in a position to	can
by means of	by
consequently	so
considerable	much
correspondence	letter
culmination	end
due to the fact that	because
endeavor	try
facilitate	ease
for the reason that	because
for the purpose of	for
forwards	forward
in accordance with	as
in order to	to
in order that	so
in reference to	about
in regard to	about
in the amount of	for
in the event that	if
in the near future	soon
in view of the fact that	because
indication	sign
initial	first
noted in our record	noted
numerous	many
pending receipt of	awaiting
pertaining to	about
prior to	before
provided that	if
referred to as	called
reiterate	repeat
remainder	rest
subsequent	later
sufficient	enough
towards	toward
under the circumstances	therefore
until such time as	until
usage	use
utilize	use
whether or not	whether
with the possible exception of	except

Use Smaller Words

Use small words and as few words as possible. Your readers will appreciate it. It makes it easier to read. The reader will not tire as quickly. Nor will you.

Simplify your writing; use smaller words with the same meaning

Many words gain power as they shrink in size. The following is a partial list used to demonstrate this simplifying idea:

Long Word ® ® ® Small Word
Accelerate	expedite	hasten	rush
Accentuate	emphasize	highlight	stress
Alleviate	moderate	lesson	ease
Communicate	interface	discuss	talk
Delineate	illustrate	depict	draw
Elucidate	clarify	explain	tell
Initiate	introduce	begin	start
Intensify	amplify	augment	boost
Invalidate	nullify	negate	void
Investigate	examine	explore	probe

Think about the words you use every day. You can come up with many more.

Some commonly used words don't even exist
irregardless	regardless
Irregardless is not a word. It's a double negative. Think about it. Don't ever use it.

Words are your tools. Use them well, use them sparingly

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