Style Lesson 7
In Style lesson 7, Concision, Williams discusses several principles of concision. He introduces the reader to five principles on revising for concision:
1) Delete words that mean little or nothing
2) Delete words that repeat the meaning of other words
3) Delete words implied by other words
4) Replace a phrase with a word
5) Change negatives to affirmatives
Williams encourages his audience to revise because readers think you write clearly when you only use necessary words to make a point.
Williams then begins discussing metadiscourse, which is language used to refer to the writers’ intentions and confidence, give directions to the reader, and imply the structure of the text. Avoid using metadiscourse to attribute ideas to a source or announce a topic. Also avoid excessive hedging and intensifying because it destroys the readers view or the writer as a confident crafter. Metadiscourse is necessary sometimes, but keep it to the minimum. We often use metadiscourse when we are inexperienced about a topic. Regardless of his instruction on concision, William’s tells the reader to not be so concise that your writing becomes terse. Although concise style is good style, realize that the reader wants to see something interesting as well as clear.