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 alone—without 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