Commentary | Good writing and effective communication go hand-in-hand. When asked to share how to write better – particularly in days when people use emojis and new acronyms (LMAO) faster than a speeding bullet – we often suggest an oldie but a goodie: Strunk and White’s “The Elements of Style.”
The book started as a short guide to better writing for students in Cornell University English professor Will Strunk’s classes after World War I. Celebrated writer E.B. White, once a Strunk student, updated it for broad dissemination in the late 1950s.
“Will felt that the reader was in serious trouble most of the time, floundering in a swamp, and that it was the duty of anyone attempting to write English to drain this swamp quickly and get his man up on dry ground, or at least throw him a rope,” White explained in his introduction.
Here are some writing tips gleaned from 40 years of writing. Some are in the book. Others are based on experience. All of them work and help to keep the writer on dry ground.
Use short, simple sentences. The more words that are in a sentence make it harder for readers to comprehend and understand, according to readability studies. Therefore, write short, simple sentences with a subject-verb-object structure. Fancy opening clauses or phrases in the middle of the action are distracting. Keep it simple. And if it gets too complex, split it into two or more sentences.
Be concise. Our version of this tip is one word shorter than Strunk’s “Omit needless words.” He explained a sentence does not need extra words, just as a good drawing doesn’t need extra lines. Each word in a sentence should count.
Be specific. Don’t write about something as merely brown. Instead, perhaps describe it as cardboard box brown. Or pumpkin spice brown. Rather than writing about a few swans, make the sentence sparkle with a description of nine honking swans.
Highlight sensory details. If you’re writing about something that smells, describe the smell. If it is loud, illustrate how loud. If it tastes horrible, share what it tastes like.
Don’t back into sentences. This is a pet peeve. But backing into sentences with phrases before the subject-verb action drives us nuts. Bad: Today as the school let out, children raced out of classrooms. Better: Children raced out of classrooms today when school ended.
Use the active voice. Strunk and White ask which is better: “My first visit to Boston will always be remembered by me.” Or “I will always remember my first visit to Boston.” Using the active voice is more direct and vigorous. Get rid of passive voice. The easiest way to tell is that verbs in passive voice usually have a couple of words, such as “had visited” or “have heard.” (Why not just “visited” or “heard”?)
Use pronouns correctly. In this day of political correctness, more people are using “they” as pronouns replacing “he” or “she.” This promotes murky, unclear writing and ineffective communication. If you prefer the distracting “they,” consider writing around the need for a pronoun by using the name or stick to using “he” or “she.”
No run-on sentences or fragments. Part of this rule is from my dad, a career journalist. His rule is simply: “About them sentence fragments,” illustrating an incomplete thought. Similarly, run-on sentences are too many thoughts jammed into one mind-numbing, confusing sentence.
Rewrite. Your first draft is never your best draft. Any decent editor will tell you that good writing is really all about rewriting to promote better, clearer communication.
Spellcheck. Computers allow us to spellcheck. Nevertheless, there’s also a great value of reading your masterpiece aloud. You might be surprised how much you can improve something if you hear it after writing it.
Most of all, use common sense when you write. It will make for better writing and better communicating.
Andy Brack is editor and publisher of Statehouse Report and the Charleston City Paper. Have a comment? Send to: feedback@charlestoncitypaper.com.
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