Use “additive” words to show how a new idea connects to the topic.

You have just written an important idea. Now you want to make another point related to the same topic, and you want the reader to know that it is just as important as the previous idea. You can use “additive” words to do this.

“Additive” words are words that show you are adding to the previous idea. [I’m using quotes around “additive” because this is our word, not the official word.] Sample “additive” words are as follows: additionally, also, similarly, likewise, and furthermore.

These words provide useful signposts to your readers, telling them that the next idea you state is on the same topic as the previous statement, that it is a new idea (not redundant), and that it is as important as the previous statement.

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This is the strategy for day 96 in 300 Days of Better Writing, available at Hostile Editing in PDF, Kindle, and paperback formats.

For a sample of 300 Days of Better Writing and other books by Precise Edit, download the free ebook.

Use the simplest correct words.

Using big words makes you seem smart. They make your reader think, “Wow, this writer really knows a lot!” Right? Probably not.

Using words that are outside of your readers’ common vocabulary may have three effects, all negative. First, they reduce the readers understanding of what you are trying to communicate. Second, they distract the reader from what you are trying to communicate and force the reader to concentrate on word meaning. Third, they can give the impression that you are trying to impress the reader, which will make you seem pretentious. If your goals are clear communication and improving your credibility, use the simplest correct words.

One note about the “correct” word: While you are choosing simple words that mean what you want to say, you also need to consider how readers will respond to them. As such, you need to think about the tone you wish to create.

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This is the strategy for day 33 in 300 Days of Better Writing, available at Hostile Editing in PDF, Kindle, and paperback formats.

For a sample of 300 Days of Better Writing and other books by Precise Edit, download the free ebook.

Remove unnecessary that is/are and who is/are phrases.

Concise writing promotes reader understanding. It also helps keep the reader interested in what you are writing. Many of these tips discuss strategies for writing concisely and removing unnecessary words. This tip provides another strategy for concise writing.

Writers use these phrases to introduce a description. Consider this sentence.

“The office manager who is greeting new employees is well liked.”

Here, the phrase “who is” is being used to introduce the descriptive phrase “greeting new employees.” “Who is” can be removed without changing the meaning or damaging the clarity of the sentence, so it should be removed. This gives us

“The office manager greeting new employees is well liked.”

The reader will still know which office manager is being described. Here’s another example.

“The boys who are in the hallway are standing in front of the door that is open.”

We can apply this tip to change “The boys who are in the hallway” to “The boys in the hallway.”

However, we might not want change “the door that is open.” This phrase implies that multiple doors are in the hallway but that only one is open. In this case, the phrase “that is” is necessary for clarifying where the boys are. On the other hand, if only one door is in the hallway, we can apply this tip, resulting in “the open door.”

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This is the strategy for day 64 in 300 Days of Better Writing, available at Hostile Editing in PDF, Kindle, and paperback formats.

For a sample of 300 Days of Better Writing and other books by Precise Edit, download the free ebook.

Thus and therefore statements should follow logically from the previous statements.

The topic here is non sequiturs. Non sequitur is a Latin term meaning does not follow. A non sequitur is a problem with logic; it is a conclusion that isn’t logical, based on previous statements.

A non sequitur looks like this:

Idea A is true.
Idea B is also true.
Thus, Idea C MUST be true.

The fault in this logic is assuming that C is true just because A and B are true. In this case, C might be true, but it certainly isn’t true just because A and B are true. It is a non sequitur.

When you start a sentence with thus or therefore, you are saying that the statement you are about to write is the logical conclusion of the previous statements.

If the thus/therefore statement isn’t true based on the previous statements, you have created a non sequitur. Let’s look at an example.

A: People love to eat beef.
B: Beef comes from cows.
C: Thus, people love cows.

The first two statements in this sample are true. The last statement might also be true, but it is not the logical conclusion of the previous statements. It is a non sequitur.

Here’s the point of this tip: When you start a sentence with thus or therefore, make sure the statement logically follows from the previous statements. If it doesn’t, your reader will reject your ideas.

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