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Change Cliches for Impact and Engagement

Here are two premises about clichés:

1. Clichés are bad. People will notice them and think you don’t have any new thoughts. This is bad impact.
2. Original language is good. People will notice it and think you have a new perspective on the topic. This is good impact.

For really good impact, however, take a familiar cliché and modify it in a unique way. Of course, the modification must communicate a meaning relevant to your ideas. This will get the reader’s attention, make him think about the topic in a new way, and make you appear clever, knowledgeable, and interesting.

Three common ways to do this are to

1. reverse words in the cliché, i.e., put them in a new order,
2. replace one of the key words with a new word, and
3. add additional information to the end.

Example cliché: “It’s the journey that matters, not the destination.”

Re-ordered words: “It’s the destination that matters, not the journey.”

Replaced words: “It’s the company that matters, not the destination.”

Replaced and re-ordered words: It’s the company that matters, not the journey.”

Additional information: “It’s the journey that matters, not the destination, unless you’re on your way to the bank.”

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This is the strategy for day 245 in 300 Days of Better Writing, available at Hostile Editing in PDF, Kindle, and paperback formats.

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Antecedents and pronouns must agree in number.

Most people know what pronouns are: he, she, it, we, him, her, them, they, etc. The antecedent is the word to which the pronoun refers. Consider these sentences.

“I gave Mary her box of treasures. It was small.”

The first pronoun is “her,” and it refers to the antecedent “Mary.” The second pronoun is “it,” and it refers to the antecedent “box.”

This can be confusing when the antecedent has more than one thing. Consider this sentence.

“The toy under the table and the doll on the shelf should be placed immediately in THEIR respective containers.”

This needs the plural pronoun “their” because it refers to two things.

To make sure the pronoun and antecedent agree in number, ask yourself whether the antecedent includes more than one thing. If it does, the pronoun should do the same.

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Top writing strategies and expert instruction from each of Precise Edit’s writing guides 1 critical article from Precise Edit Training Manual 8 days of instruction from 300 Days of Better Writing 5 top strategies from Bang! Writing with Impact 2 essential word choices from Which Word Do I Use? 1 major comma use from Zen Comma 1 section on main verbs from Concise Guide to Technical and Academic Writing several sections from the three-book series, Essential Writing Skills Get the free e-book (PDF) OR Purchase the Kindle version ($0.99).

YOU MUST HAVE TO

I received an interesting question from an English teacher in Iran who wanted to know the differences, if any, between “must” and “have to/has to.” This is an interesting question because the expressions are nearly identical. To answer, I had to think not only about their strict definitions but also about how they are used.

The terms “must” and “have to/has to” are modal auxiliaries that communicate (1) an obligation to perform some action or (2) that some state of being or action is highly likely. They are nearly interchangeable.

SLIGHT DIFFERENCES

These expressions have differing connotations when used to communicate an obligation. Unlike “have to/has to,” “must” communicates a sense of moral obligation such that the action is the morally correct action. They also have slightly different connotations when used to express states of being or the likelihood of an action. Unlike “must,” “has to/have to” can describe the absence of any other choices.

Finally, “must” may express an opinion as a moral judgment, as in, “In my opinion, this action I am telling to you perform is the right action. If you do something else than what I am telling you, you are doing something bad.” Thus, similar to “should,” “must” can take an opinion and change it into a moral judgment. This is true because morals are value judgments, which are subjective.

MUST

In some contexts, “must” is similar to “should” in that “must” communicates a sense of moral obligation to perform some action or moral correctness of a choice. In other contexts, “must” communicates that a certain state of being is so likely that any other possibility is inconceivable.

“She must pay her bills on time or she will go to jail.” – moral obligation to perform some action

“She must pay her bills on time because she never gets late payment notices.” –highly probable state of being

“You must protect your children.” –moral obligation, the right choice

“You must be tired by now.” –highly probable state of being

“I must stop at the corner.” –the only correct state of being or action

HAS TO/HAVE TO

In most contexts, “has to/have to” communicates a requirement to perform some action, similar to “must” but without the sense of moral correctness. In other contexts, “has to/have to” communicates that a certain state of being is so likely that any other possibility is inconceivable.

“She has to pay her bills on time.” –obligation to perform some action.

She has to pay her bills on time because she never gets late payment statements.” Highly probable state of being

“You have to protect your children.” An obligation or requirement

“You have to be tired by now.” –highly probable state of being

“I have to stop at the corner.” –the only possible state of being, with no other options

USING THESE WORDS

However, as mentioned, in casual speech these words are often interchanged. A particularly astute person can draw on the connotative differences to argue against a statement that he “must” or “has to” perform some action. A person may use one connotation of the expression, and another person can argue using a differing connotation. This will create conflict. If it doesn’t create conflict, it will, at least, create confusion.

For example, if my wife says, “You have to take out the trash,” I could respond, “I could watch TV instead.” Here, she is using the connotation that expresses an obligation, but I respond as if she meant that no other options are possible. I reply that her statement is wrong because I do have other choices.

On the other hand, if my wife says, “You must take out the trash,” I could respond, “No, I probably won’t.” Again, she is expressing an obligation using words that can communicate an opinion about the morally correct choice. I reply as if she meant that taking out the trash is the most likely, or highly probable, action, which, in my opinion, it isn’t.

In practice, neither response will be well received. My response is pretty much guaranteed to create conflict.

The best communicator will seek to understand what the other person intends to communicate with “have to/has to” and “must,” and then will respond to that intended meaning, regardless of the words used.

Use concluding words to state your main point.

When you are writing a document to persuade your reader about an idea, you present your supporting ideas or evidence leading up to the main point. If you do this well, your reader will come to the same conclusion that you are trying to make.
To show that you have finished making your argument (i.e., completed writing about the reasons for your idea) and are about to state the main idea, you use a concluding word. A concluding word tells the reader, “Based on this information, I conclude that . . . .” Sample concluding words and phrases are thus, therefore, in conclusion, and as a consequence.
These concluding words provide a signpost for the reader. They say, “I’m done giving the evidence, and now I’m going to tell you the idea that I want you to believe.”
You may be able to make your main point without them. However, they are very effective for helping the reader identify what it is you want them to understand.

Free E-book to Improve Your Writing Skills

Top writing strategies and expert instruction from each of Precise Edit’s writing guides 1 critical article from Precise Edit Training Manual 8 days of instruction from 300 Days of Better Writing 5 top strategies from Bang! Writing with Impact 2 essential word choices from Which Word Do I Use? 1 major comma use from Zen Comma 1 section on main verbs from Concise Guide to Technical and Academic Writing Essential Writing Skills series features two short guides: “Perfect Paragraphs and Super Sentences” and “Strategies for Concise Writing.” Get the free e-book (PDF) OR Purchase the Kindle version ($0.99).