When you take the time to make savvy tweaks to your writing, you add pizazz to your prose. You can transform your writing from blah to colorful, from humdrum to fascinating, from monotonous to engaging. These tweaks improve all types of writing, including business articles and reports.
Once you have completed your first draft, read through your writing using these seven tips as your guide. Then make changes appropriate for the type of writing you are creating.
1. Use specific action verbs. Select verbs that describe the specific action that is happening. For example, walk is an action verb but a general one. When you choose a specific action verb, you help your readers envision the action that you want them to see. Compare these two sentences:
John walked into the store.
John swaggered into the store.
The general verb, walk, in the first sentence leaves much to the reader's interpretation. The specific verb, swaggered, in the second sentence evokes a descriptive image. With specific verbs, you exert more control over your reader's experience. And your reader finds the writing more engaging.
2. Use specific nouns. Choose nouns that specifically describe a person, place or thing. For example, building is a general noun. It could be one of a variety of structures: a barn, house, skyscraper, garage or even a school.
Each of these nouns creates a different image in your reader's mind. When you use a specific noun, you help your readers see the image you want them to see. In addition, specific nouns enrich your writing and the reader's experience.
3. Use objective adjectives. When you use objective adjectives, you provide descriptive details that paint a detailed picture for your readers. For example, compare the following:
lush, green lawn
lovely lawn
The first description creates a detailed image with the specific adjectives lush and green. The second description uses a subjective adjective--lovely. Is it lovely because it's green? Shaded with trees? Well-tended? Edged with flower beds? The writer has abdicated control by leaving the interpretation to the reader. And like it or not, the reader must fill in the details.
4. Avoid adverbs. Adverbs are words that end in ly, used to further describe a verb or adjective. Typically, adverbs indicate that the writer failed to select a verb or adjective whose description could stand on its own. For example:
The lizard moved quickly across the sand.
The lizard skittered across the sand.
The first sentence uses the adverb quickly to describe how the lizard moved. The second sentence uses a specific, descriptive verb--skittered--that shows the lizard's action. The result of replacing a verb and adverb with a well-chosen verb is tighter, colorful writing.
5. Use the active voice. Sentences that use the active voice have the following parts of speech sequence: subject, verb, object. In comparison, sentences that use the passive voice start with the object, followed by the verb and the subject. Notice how the passive voice slows down the pace in the example below.
Active voice: John threw the ball. (Subject+Verb+Object)
Passive voice: The ball was thrown by John. (Object+Verb+Subject)
The passive voice does have some purposes. One example is when the object is more important than the subject, such as "The law was enacted in 1732." But passive voice tends to get overused, especially in business and academia, and misused everywhere.
6. Remove unnecessary qualifiers. Qualifiers drain the effectiveness of your writing. Typically, they serve as a means to avoid taking a firm position on a subject or to escape searching for the appropriate descriptive adjective. Check out these examples:
I'm kind of sure this is correct. The writer wants to avoid being wrong by using the qualifier kind of.
He was very upset. The qualifier very suggests that upset does not adequately describe his reaction. Was he upset? Or was he mad? Angry? Outraged?
7. Vary sentence length and structure. When you mix a variety of simple, compound and complex sentences, you can orchestrate the pace and rhythm of your writing. When you don't, you risk creating monotonous writing that turns readers away. How does the following paragraph sound to you when you read it out loud?
The store opened in January. It sells men's clothing. It caters to executives. It has 5 employees. First quarter sales surpassed projections.
Boring, right? Every sentence is a simple sentence. The paragraph would be just as monotonous if it used all complex sentences or all compound ones. Mix them up!
When you fine-tune your drafts with these seven tips, you will enrich and enliven your writing. And, better yet, you will engage your readers' interest in what you have to say.
Once you have completed your first draft, read through your writing using these seven tips as your guide. Then make changes appropriate for the type of writing you are creating.
1. Use specific action verbs. Select verbs that describe the specific action that is happening. For example, walk is an action verb but a general one. When you choose a specific action verb, you help your readers envision the action that you want them to see. Compare these two sentences:
John walked into the store.
John swaggered into the store.
The general verb, walk, in the first sentence leaves much to the reader's interpretation. The specific verb, swaggered, in the second sentence evokes a descriptive image. With specific verbs, you exert more control over your reader's experience. And your reader finds the writing more engaging.
2. Use specific nouns. Choose nouns that specifically describe a person, place or thing. For example, building is a general noun. It could be one of a variety of structures: a barn, house, skyscraper, garage or even a school.
Each of these nouns creates a different image in your reader's mind. When you use a specific noun, you help your readers see the image you want them to see. In addition, specific nouns enrich your writing and the reader's experience.
3. Use objective adjectives. When you use objective adjectives, you provide descriptive details that paint a detailed picture for your readers. For example, compare the following:
lush, green lawn
lovely lawn
The first description creates a detailed image with the specific adjectives lush and green. The second description uses a subjective adjective--lovely. Is it lovely because it's green? Shaded with trees? Well-tended? Edged with flower beds? The writer has abdicated control by leaving the interpretation to the reader. And like it or not, the reader must fill in the details.
4. Avoid adverbs. Adverbs are words that end in ly, used to further describe a verb or adjective. Typically, adverbs indicate that the writer failed to select a verb or adjective whose description could stand on its own. For example:
The lizard moved quickly across the sand.
The lizard skittered across the sand.
The first sentence uses the adverb quickly to describe how the lizard moved. The second sentence uses a specific, descriptive verb--skittered--that shows the lizard's action. The result of replacing a verb and adverb with a well-chosen verb is tighter, colorful writing.
5. Use the active voice. Sentences that use the active voice have the following parts of speech sequence: subject, verb, object. In comparison, sentences that use the passive voice start with the object, followed by the verb and the subject. Notice how the passive voice slows down the pace in the example below.
Active voice: John threw the ball. (Subject+Verb+Object)
Passive voice: The ball was thrown by John. (Object+Verb+Subject)
The passive voice does have some purposes. One example is when the object is more important than the subject, such as "The law was enacted in 1732." But passive voice tends to get overused, especially in business and academia, and misused everywhere.
6. Remove unnecessary qualifiers. Qualifiers drain the effectiveness of your writing. Typically, they serve as a means to avoid taking a firm position on a subject or to escape searching for the appropriate descriptive adjective. Check out these examples:
I'm kind of sure this is correct. The writer wants to avoid being wrong by using the qualifier kind of.
He was very upset. The qualifier very suggests that upset does not adequately describe his reaction. Was he upset? Or was he mad? Angry? Outraged?
7. Vary sentence length and structure. When you mix a variety of simple, compound and complex sentences, you can orchestrate the pace and rhythm of your writing. When you don't, you risk creating monotonous writing that turns readers away. How does the following paragraph sound to you when you read it out loud?
The store opened in January. It sells men's clothing. It caters to executives. It has 5 employees. First quarter sales surpassed projections.
Boring, right? Every sentence is a simple sentence. The paragraph would be just as monotonous if it used all complex sentences or all compound ones. Mix them up!
When you fine-tune your drafts with these seven tips, you will enrich and enliven your writing. And, better yet, you will engage your readers' interest in what you have to say.
Rose Muenker, founder of Get Great Results, is a writing coach and award-winning writer who specializes in helping solopreneurs, small business owners, writers and creatives promote their services with effective writing. Sharpen your writing skills with coaching, classes and resources available through her website, Get Great Results.
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