Tag Archives: word choice

The power of little words

Plain language / Plain English

When you come right down to it, there is no law that says you have to use big words when you write or talk.

There are lots of small words, and good ones, that can be made to say all the things you want to say, quite as well as the big ones. It may take a bit more time to find them at first, but it can be well worth it. For all of us know what they mean.

Some small words, more than you might think, are rich with the right feel, the right taste, as if made to help you say the thing the way it should be said.

Small words can be crisp, or sharp, or brief, or terse. They go straight to the point.

Small words can dance, or twist, or turn, or sing, with a charm all their own. They are the grace notes of prose. You know what they say the way you know a day is bright and fair – by first sight.

And you find, as you read or as you hear, that you like the way small words can catch large thoughts and hold them up for all to see and hear.

They are like rare stones in rings of gold, or joy in the eyes of a child. Small words can make you feel, as well as see, the cold deep dark of night, or the hot salt sting of tears.

Big words can bog you down and get in the way of what want to say. Small words move with ease to say what you mean.

For those who teach, and for those who learn, small words are links in the chain. There is not much, in all our work, that small words will not say – and say well.

a brilliant piece of writing from Training and Development in Australia, August 1974

 

Use familiar, short words

Plain language / Plain English, writing tip, , ,

When you write, think carefully about the words you choose to use.

In general, select words that will be familiar to your audience – words that they know and use frequently themselves.

This allows readers to quickly find meaning rather than having to search in their mind for the meaning. Or even worse, have to look up the meaning of a word in a dictionary.

Overlap using familiar words with also choosing short and simple words. Shorter words are generally easier to read and process.

So, write ‘use’ rather than ‘utilise’; ‘try’ rather than ‘endeavour’; ‘help’ rather than ‘facilitate’.

Choose words that are firstly familiar to your audience, and secondly prefer simple and short words.

But above all, choose words that convey your meaning with clarity and precision.

Prefer concrete words over abstract ones

Plain language / Plain English, writing tip,

CS Lewis, the famous author, gives this advice:
Never use abstract words when concrete ones will do. If you mean “More people died” don’t say “Mortality rose”.

The power of concrete words is that they communicate meaning immediately; readers are more easily able to create an image in their minds of what it is you are saying.

If you use abstract words readers need to search their minds to find the meaning, and then work to apply that meaning to the situation.  

For example, don’t write about ‘problems’ and ‘corrective measures’ – they are abstract ideas.

Tell the reader what the problem was and how it was corrected. Help them create an accurate image in their mind.

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Write with verbs not nouns

Plain language / Plain English, writing tip, ,

It’s better to write ‘evaluate‘ rather than ‘make an evaluation‘; write ‘decide‘ rather than ‘make a decision‘. ‘Evaluation’ is a noun, ‘evaluate’ is a verb.

Use verbs (action words) to make your writing more lively.

When you write with verbs your writing becomes more engaging and energetic because you are using action words. And it can also help you reduce your word count.

Many noun forms end in …ion, …ent, so keep an eye out for them.

And I’d love to ban the word ‘undertake’- we only ever use that when we need it to accompany a noun.

So we write the wordy phrase ‘we will undertake an investigation’ rather than saying more simply ‘we will investigate’.

Choosing to write with verb forms rather than nouns is a simple change, but it can powerfully improve your text.