You are a budding writer. You want to move on to the next level and become one of the best writers around. How do you go about it? There’s always room for improvement when it comes to writing. Even the most prolific writers are constantly working on their craft to get better!
In this article, we are going to consider 7 editing and writing tips that are guaranteed to make your writing more powerful.
- Keep Passages Short
Take a look at any daily paper and take note of the short passages. They are written that way to make reading less demanding since our minds take in information better when it’s broken into little pieces. With academic writing, every paragraph creates an idea and regularly includes various sentences. However, in ordinary written work, the style is less formal, and paragraphs might be as short as a solitary sentence or even a word. This is something to look out for when editing your work.
- Avoid Empty Filler Words/Grammar Expletives
Grammar Expletives are scholarly developments that start with the words ‘it’, ‘here’, or ‘there’ and then followed a type of the verb ‘to be’. Common occurrences include ‘it will be’, ‘it was’, ‘it won’t’, ‘here is’, and ‘there will be’.
When ‘it’, ‘here’, and ‘there’ allude to things later in the sentence or to something anonymous, they debilitate your writing by moving away far from the real components of your sentences. Also, they more often than not need other help words like that and when, which weaken your writing.
Be ready to spot occasions of ‘it’, ‘there’ and ‘here’ followed by a ‘to-be’ verb, (for example, is, are, was, and were).
Tip: Make use of your word processor’s ‘discover usefulness’ and look for there, here, and it to establish whether you’ve utilized an expletive)
Other before-and-after illustrations include:
- It’s enjoyable to alter – Editing is entertaining
- It sets aside opportunity to compose – Writing requires some investment
- There are many people who compose – Many people compose
- There’s nothing superior to blogging – Nothing’s superior to blogging
- Here are a few things to consider: – Some things to consider are:
- Use Strong Verbs
Pay special attention to words that reduce the impact of what you’re stating. Then, ensure that you replace them with effective and brief verbs. For example:
- Give out free things – Offer free things
- He circumvented the world – He traveled far and wide
- Make up another thought – Create another thought
- Focus On Powerful Adjectives
Concentrate on powerful adjectives
When you’re depicting something, avoid words like really or very. Rather, utilize words that get the point across conclusively. For instance:
- Really gross – Disgusting
- Really awesome – Phenomenal
- Very vast – Massive
- Very lovely – Gorgeous
Regardless of the possibility of cutting out those two words before the adjectives, make sure to concentrate on telling your audience what something is instead of what it isn’t. For example:
- Basketball isn’t hard – Basketball is simple
- It’s not that exciting – It’s boring
- She’s not terrible – She’s stunning
- Avoid Nominalization
Nominalization is the point at which a stronger adjective or verb can be used instead of a weaker noun in a sentence. These tend to incorporate a few other words that pad out the sentence. For example:
-
- Give your articles a decent edit – Proofread your articles.
- She has a high level of ignorance – She is ignorant.
- Don’t Overcomplicate Commas
Use commas sparingly
Punctuation in the English dialect comes with many guidelines. Even punctuation marks like commas are subjected to many rules and regulations.
Here’s a tip when you want to utilize commas: Use them sparingly. However, if you forget one and it makes the reader quit reading, at that point include another comma.
Read your sentences out loud so that in the event that they sound peculiar; you can add a comma to elucidate your ideas. Otherwise, if you don’t do this, your readers will have to stop to reread the sentences.
- Stick To One Voice
Make up your mind on which voice to use
Once in a while, it’s important to use both first and second person. However, that can be taxing for your readers. For instance, you may begin your writing by talking about yourself. Afterward, switch part midway through the piece and begin talking to your readers. Endeavor to stick to “I” voice or “you” voice throughout.
Also, in the event that you should switch, begin with one and end with the other. Your readers will get lost if you move back and forth between the two.
Conclusion
In summary, the points above are just but some of the tips that can make your writing powerful. Therefore, if you want to be an excellent writer, go ahead and incorporate them. Never get comfortable with your current skills, always be on the lookout for new ways to improve. Be it writing an essay, white paper, proposal, article or blog post, you can always push yourself to new heights of success!