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How can conciseness be achieved?

1) Using passive construction
2) Substituting nouns for verbs
3) Eliminating negative constructions
4) Replacing words with phrases

1 Answer

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Final answer:

To achieve conciseness, one must use action verbs, the active voice, and remove unnecessary words and phrases that don't contribute to the content's clarity or intent.

Step-by-step explanation:

To achieve conciseness in writing, it is critical to ensure that every word in a sentence serves a purpose. One way to do this is by using action verbs instead of passive constructions or wordy phrases. For instance, 'reach a decision' can be replaced by the more direct 'decide'. Furthermore, avoiding nouns that have been created from verbs (nominalizations) and employing the verbs themselves can also make sentences more concise. For example, 'make an improvement' can be reduced to 'improve'.

It is also important to eliminate unnecessary words and phrases that do not add meaningful content or clarity to the writing. Sentences that contain structures like 'There are' and 'It is' often conceal stronger action verbs that could be used instead. By revising sentences to eliminate these weak structures and extraneous filler words, writing becomes clearer and more impactful.

Therefore, achieving conciseness typically involves the use of action verbs, the active voice, and the elimination of unnecessary words. It is critical to scrutinize sentences for any element that does not directly contribute to conveying the intended message, and then condense or restructure accordingly.

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