3
Administrative Assistant's
UPDATE
Change long nouns to short verbs
Barbara McNichol (www.wordtrippers.com), posting as
a guest blogger on https://officedynamics.com, sug-
gests changing long nouns to short verbs.
For example: Instead of "They remain in contradic-
tion with themselves," write "They contradict them-
selves."
Or, instead of "He made an acknowledgment of her
success," write "He acknowledged her success."
Or, instead of "We get closer to the implementation
of leadership practices," write "We get closer to imple-
menting leadership practices."
She suggests watching especially for nouns ending
in ion and ment, then rewriting them "using a lively
verb."
Focus on message, then edit your words
By George Pearson
AAU Editor
As you are writing (a letter or email,
for example), be more concerned
with ideas and directness than perfection in style or
mechanics. Let the thoughts flow; you can tighten your
mechanics later.
Then edit what you've written (if you
have the time, do it later today or even
tomorrow to put some distance between
the creation and the revision), casting a
fresh and critical eye on it. Could you say something more
directly? Cut all unnecessary words, phrases and even sen
-
tences. Substitute shorter words for longer ones.
Writing Tips
For practice, simplify the sentences below. Then com-
pare with the suggested revised versions.
(a) Shaun offered an explanation of the recently ef-
fected travel expense rules.
(b) Benjamin will construct a new residence for the
Everleys.
(c) Ramon endeavoured to facilitate our efforts to
determine the root cause of the problem.
(d) In the event that the main gate fails to function
properly, utilize the small gate which is located
approximately 100 feet to the west.
(e) Subsequent to the time that we held our conver-
sation regarding the objectives of the company,
I calculated that we needed somewhere in the
neighbourhood of twenty-five million dollars in
order to have the ability to compete with ABCD.
(f) Due to the fact that Smedley arrived long after the
meeting began, we found ourselves in a situation
where we had to schedule an additional meeting
later in that same day.
(g) We are optimistic that the work can be accom-
plished in a timely manner owing to the fact that
we have put in place some new equipment to
replace the old equipment.
(h) A search for a missing piece of genetic code is be-
ing carried out by scientists.
Some suggested revisions of the above sentences:
(a) Shaun explained the new travel expense rules.
(b) Benjamin will build the Everleys' new house.
(You can also delete new, for obvious reasons.)
(c) Ramon tried to help us learn the cause of the
problem.
(d) If the main gate doesn't work, use the small gate
about 100 feet west.
(e) After we talked about the company objectives, I
calculated we needed about $25 million to com
-
pete with ABCD.
(f) Since Smedley arrived late, we had to schedule
another meeting later in the day.
(g) We hope (or think) the new equipment will en-
able us to finish the work soon.
(h) Scientists are searching (or looking) for a miss-
ing piece of genetic code.
Credit: Kaleo (Shutterstock)
