Thinking critically about conciseness

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.

Question

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
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 ...

Thinking about your own writing

Find two or three paragraphs you have written recently, and study them with an eye for empty words. Using 50a for guidance, 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.

Question

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
Find two or three paragraphs you have written recently, and study them with an eye for empty words. Using 50a for guidance, eliminate meaningless...