“Write in a clear and concise manner.” You’ve probably heard this advice before. And the truth is, it’s confusing —how do you know which words to cut, which sentences to simplify, and which ideas are really important?
So, in this article, we’ll walk you through practical strategies to turn that vague advice into writing that’s sharp, simple, and of course, concise.
1. Reduce Prepositional Phrases
A prepositional phrase is, as its name implies, a phrase that has a preposition (of, in, on, for, or at), an object, and words that modify the object. Their purpose? Give more details.
And yes, they can be useful, but having too many in one sentence can blur your main point.
Example: The focus of this project was to study the effects of sea level rise on coastal habitats.
Revised: This project examined how sea level rise affects coastal habitats.
2. Add Transitions
Transitions (often placed at the beginning of sentences) explain how one point relates to the next, whether through contrast, sequence, or cause and effect. They will help you to keep your writing logical from start to finish.
Without transitions: The company values efficiency. The workflow slows employees. Remote work could improve output.
With a transition: The company values efficiency. However, the current workflow slows employees. A remote model could improve output.
Something to keep in mind: A transition is not necessary for every sentence or paragraph. They can also feel heavy and distracting when used excessively.
3. Get to the Subject Quickly
There’s nothing more frustrating than reading an introduction that should have been just 5 sentences tops. So, whenever possible, stop beating around the bush, cut excessive details, and get to the subject quickly.
Wordy opening: After reviewing several reports and discussing recent performance trends, the team decided to revise the strategy.
Revised: The team revised the strategy after reviewing reports and performance trends.
Tip: You do not need to remove all introductory phrases. Use them only when they add context that truly matters.
4. Use the TOWER Approach
Sometimes, unnecessary wordiness is a result of a disorganized writing process (or the lack thereof). If you are overwhelmed, you can use the
TOWER method. Here’s how it works:
- First, think about your topic, audience, and main ideas.
- Next, you organize your ideas into a simple structure.
- Then you let yourself write freely.
- Edit for clarity and errors.
- Rewrite to refine your message.
5. Eliminate Repetition
Repeating an idea without adding any value also weakens your writing. The trick? Give enough detail to give context, but not so much that the point feels diluted.
Repetitive: The report explains the results, and those results explain the findings to the reader.
Revised: The report explains the findings.
Tip: When editing, you can check for repeated words or for words with similar meanings that appear near each other.
6. Eliminate Unnecessary Words
When a word doesn’t add any value to a sentence, you can just cut it in the final draft. So, how do you know what to remove? One way is to ask yourself this question: “Can I rewrite this sentence with fewer words?”
Wordy: In fact, she paused for a brief moment before answering the question.
Revised: She paused briefly before answering the question.
7. Use Descriptive Adjectives and Adverbs
Words like very, really, or extremely don’t strengthen your writing. You can get better results by choosing one precise adjective or adverb.
Weak: The movie was very interesting.
Revised: The movie was thought-provoking.
8. Stick With Active Voice
Writing in active voice means that readers don’t have to guess who did what. Why? That’s because your sentence clearly identifies someone (the subject) is clearly doing the action, instead of letting readers assume who did it.
Passive voice example: The results were analyzed.
Active voice example: The research team analyzed the results.
9. Use Signposting
Signposting is basically telling readers where you’re going next in your writing. And yes, you’ll be using short cues (or signposts) to explain how ideas connect.
Example without signposting: The premise of clear writing is simple. Short sentences help readers process ideas faster. Structure also matters.
Example with signposting: The premise of clear writing is simple. First, use short sentences to help readers process ideas more quickly. Second, there should be a strong structure that keeps your message easy to follow.
10. Use Bullet Points
Bullet points not only break up long paragraphs, but they also make it easier for your reader to scan and understand important points.
Paragraph: To improve your writing, you need to plan your ideas, organize your thoughts, refine your key points, and edit out unnecessary words.
Bullet point version: To improve your writing, you need to:
- Plan your ideas.
- Organize your thoughts.
- Refine your key points.
- Edit out unnecessary words.
11. Avoid Jargon
Jargon is a specific or technical language used by a particular group of readers. So why avoid it? Removing jargon ensures your writing is inclusive and accessible to more people.
Jargon-heavy: The system uses asynchronous parallel processing to optimize throughput across heterogeneous networks.
Clear version: The system processes tasks concurrently to improve performance across different networks.
12. Structure Sentences Logically
Structuring sentences logically means that each sentence should build on the one before it, not jump to a new point without warning. Why? When sentences follow a clear sequence, you can avoid misunderstandings and prevent information overload.
Unclear flow: The policy was revised. Employees raised concerns. Management reviewed feedback.
Logical flow: Employees raised concerns about the policy. As a result, management reviewed feedback and revised it.
13. Reduce Expletive Constructions
Expletive constructions are phrases that begin with words like it is, there is, or there are. They act as placeholders instead of delivering the main subject right away. These constructions usually add no meaning and can make your sentences wordy and indirect.
Expletive construction example: It is the plan of the team to finish the project by Friday.
Revised: The team plans to finish the project by Friday.
14. Vary Sentence Length
Too many short sentences can feel choppy, and too many long ones can feel overwhelming. So, what do you do? Your paragraph should have a mix of sentences in varying lengths.
Tip: You can use verbals to vary sentence length and flow.
15. Reduce Nominalizations
Nominalizations occur when you change verbs into longer noun phrases. And, yes, they are grammatically correct, but they often have a lesser impact, are more prone to misinterpretation, and make the sentence unnecessarily wordy.
With nominalization: The team conducted an analysis of the test results before making a decision. (13 words)
Revised: The team analyzed the results before making a decision. (9 words)
16. Reduce Qualifiers and Intensifiers
Qualifiers and intensifiers such as very, really, quite, somewhat, or extremely can weaken sentences, especially when a stronger word exists.
Example: She was quite certain that the data was accurate.
Revised: She was convinced that the data was accurate.
17. Eliminate Low-Value Phrases
Low-value phrases don’t add anything valuable to readers. They often water down what you’re trying to say and make sentences drag.
Common low-value phrases include:
- It is important to note that
- In today’s society
- This article will discuss
Example with a low-value phrase: It is important to note that regular exercise can improve mental health. It helps reduce stress and increase focus.
Revised: Regular exercise improves mental health while reducing stress and increasing focus.
18. Change Negatives to Affirmatives
Negative constructions—using words like not, never, or no—make readers pause because they have to process what isn’t true before understanding your point. This extra mental step can slow down reading. Luckily, there’s a quick and easy solution. All you have to do is switch to affirmatives. Let’s take a closer look:
Negative: The policy does not allow employees to work remotely on Fridays.
Affirmative: The policy allows employees to work remotely from Monday through Thursday.
19. Use the Paramedic Method
The Paramedic Method, created by Richard Lanham, is a way to fix sentences that feel long, clunky, or unclear. So, how does it work? Well, the process is pretty straightforward:
- Start by circling prepositions like of, in, about, for, onto, or into.
- Then box every “is” verb and ask yourself, “Where’s the real action happening?”
- Turn that action into a simple, strong verb, and make sure the person or thing doing it is the subject.
- From there, trim any slow introductions or extra fluff and remove redundant words.
Original sentence:
It is important to note that the manager of the department is responsible for making sure that all employees complete their monthly reports on time, which is something that has been a recurring problem in the past few months.
Revised using the Paramedic Method:
The department manager ensures all employees submit their monthly reports on time.
Tip: This method works well if you want to avoid overexplaining complex ideas.
AI Prompt for Clear and Concise Writing
You are a professional editor. Your goal is to make the provided text below clear and concise while preserving the author's original meaning and intent. When revising the text, please apply the following whenever applicable:
1. Remove unnecessary words and low-value phrases (ex. "It is important to note that" and "In today's society")
2. Use active voice instead of passive voice whenever possible.
3. Use transition words and phrases and signposting to connect sentences and ideas smoothly.
4. Combine or restructure sentences to improve logical flow and readability
5. Get to the subject quickly. Remove wordy introductions or filler.
6. Replace weak adjectives or adverbs (ex. very and really) with more precise and stronger words.
7. Eliminate repetition of ideas or redundant words.
8. For clarity, convert negatives to affirmatives
9. Vary sentence length and structure for a more natural flow
10. Avoid jargon; use accessible, inclusive language whenever applicable.
11. Use bullet points when presenting multiple ideas
12. Reduce prepositional phrases
13. (Optional) Apply the Paramedic Method-identify prepositions, locate, the main action, make the subject clear, and trim extra words
User Input Section: [paste your text here] Final Thoughts
And there you have it! Writing clearly and concisely might sound like one of those tips that’s easy to say but impossible to do—but now you’ve got a handful of practical strategies to achieve it. And, yes, it won’t happen overnight, but with more practice and patience, you can have clear and concise writing right from your very first draft.