Reading with an eye for conciseness

Bring two pieces of writing to class: one that is not just short, but concise—wasting no words but conveying its meaning clearly—and one that uses too many words to say too little. Bring both pieces to class to compare with those chosen by your classmates.

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Thinking about your own writing

Find two or three paragraphs you have written recently, and study them with an eye for empty words. Eliminate meaningless words such as quite and very. Compare notes with one or two classmates to see what empty words, if any, you tend to use. Finally, make a note of the empty words you use, and try to avoid them in the future.

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