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  • Hello.

  • Today, we're going to discuss

  • eliminating wordiness

  • from our writing.

  • Good writers avoid unnecessary words.

  • Notice that I have said the word unnecessary.

  • Details are important, and details require words.

  • Essentially, writers should strive to say

  • exactly what they want to say

  • without eliminating important details

  • in as few words as possible.

  • To do this,

  • writers should choose every word carefully.

  • One way to say what you want to say

  • in as few words as possible is to focus on strong verbs.

  • is to focus on strong verbs.

  • To help you focus on strong verbs,

  • this video will discuss

  • Most verbs, as we know, depict actions.

  • When we hear a verb,

  • we can picture the action depicted.

  • When we hear the verb vote,

  • we can picture the action occurring.

  • When we hear the verb celebrate,

  • we can picture the action occurring.

  • Not all verbs are action verbs, though.

  • Think of the word was

  • as in the sentence

  • Theo was class president last year.”

  • Nothing happens in this sentence.

  • The word was is a verb,

  • but it does not depict an action.

  • When used alonewithout any other verbs

  • the word was is a linking verb.

  • Common linking verbs include

  • Linking verbs should not be

  • in fact, they cannot be--

  • eliminated entirely from our writing.

  • However,

  • writers should limit the use of linking verbs.

  • Too many linking verbs will weaken our writing.

  • Writers should look at every sentence

  • that includes a linking verb

  • and determine if the sentence can be revised

  • to include an action verb instead.

  • Consider this sentence:

  • Notice the linking verb are.

  • This sentence can be revised

  • to eliminate the linking verb.

  • Often, a linking verb in a clause

  • can be eliminated

  • by adding the information in the clause

  • to another clause.

  • Let’s look at an example.

  • Notice the linking verb is.

  • By adding the information from the first sentence

  • to the second sentence,

  • we can eliminate the word is.

  • Notice the linking verb is in the first clause.

  • This linking verb can be eliminated easily.

  • This is a better sentence.

  • However, it can still be improved.

  • There is another linking verb

  • that can be eliminated.

  • We can eliminate this linking verb

  • by thinking of an action verb

  • that means the same as

  • is in charge of creating.

  • Consider this revision:

  • The original sentence is 13 words.

  • The final sentence,

  • which gives the same information,

  • is only 6 words.

  • This makes the final sentence

  • a better sentence.

  • Now,

  • don’t misunderstand the point here.

  • The final sentence is not better

  • just because it is shorter.

  • It is better

  • because it presents the same information

  • in fewer words.

  • Now you try.

  • Eliminate the linking verbs

  • in the following sentences.

  • Push the pause button as you think.

  • Another way to cut out unnecessary words

  • is to watch out for passive voice.

  • Here is an example:

  • This sentence has an action.

  • The subject, the Boston Marathon,

  • does not perform the action.

  • Here's another example:

  • This sentence also has an action.

  • Once again, the subject,

  • does not perform that action.

  • In most cases,

  • In the first sentence,

  • my aunt performs the action.

  • We can turn this passive-voice sentence

  • into an active-voice sentence

  • by making my aunt the subject.

  • In the second sentence,

  • Now you try.

  • Turn the following passive-voice sentences

  • into active-voice sentences.

  • I mentioned earlier

  • that writers should generally choose

  • active voice over passive voice.

  • There are times, though,

  • when passive voice is preferable,

  • but we are not going to get into that right here.

  • For more information on passive voice,

  • go to www.grammargrounds.com.

  • Click on index,

  • and then click on passive voice.

  • Finally, I’d like to discuss limiting nominalizations,

  • which will also help you as a writer

  • focus on strong verbs and eliminate wordiness.

  • Here are some examples.

  • Investigate is a verb;

  • investigation is a nominalization of investigate.

  • Enjoy is a verb;

  • enjoyment is a nominalization of enjoy.

  • Often, writers will use weak verbs

  • and nominalizations instead of strong verbs.

  • Using weak verbs and nominalizations

  • will create wordy, cumbersome sentences.

  • Consider this sentence:

  • The verb in this sentence is made.

  • Can you picture this action occurring?

  • It is probably difficult because made is a weak,

  • imprecise verb.

  • Decide, though, is a stronger, more precise verb.

  • Compare the first sentence to this sentence:

  • Let’s look at a few more examples.

  • As I said earlier,

  • writers should limit nominalizations;

  • however,

  • like with linking verbs and passive voice,

  • writers should not eliminate

  • nominalizations altogether.

  • To learn when you should use nominalizations,

  • visit

  • Click on index

  • and click on nominalizations.

  • The rest of this video

  • will give you additional practice

  • limiting liking verbs, passive voice,

  • and nominalizations

  • so that you can avoid writing wordy sentences.

  • I hope you've enjoyed this video.

  • For more information and resources,

  • visit

Hello.

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