Brevity, as it relates to writing, is synonymous with succinctness when expressing ideas.  Economizing on your words results in crisp and clear writing. By being brief, not only do you save your readers time to grasp the point you put across, but you also sharpen your skill at weaving words that are effective and impactful.

All too often, you may get preoccupied with word count requirements by your lecturers. Many a time, one’s goal of achieving the set number of words for an essay or a research report supersedes brevity. Your readers, however, will know if you’ve wasted that precious blank page on MSWord, or worse, might cringe at your circumlocutions. When you beat around the bush by using long-winded phraseologies, you bury the meat of your ideas in a heap of choking words.

Here are some ways you can practice brevity and realize that being brief is brilliant writing:

  1. Bear in mind sentence length and variety. Theodore Cheney, author of Getting the Words Right: 39 Ways to Improve your Writing, says that the average sentence length generated by professionals consists of 25 words. In contrast, he cited four popular literary works whose average sentence lengths include 15 words. Cheney goes on to say that any sentence with over 40 words is too long and can be painful to read. Aside from sentence length, consider variety, too. Do not sound choppy and monotonous, but be short and sweet. This is achieved by varying your sentence length. As Cheney puts it, juxtapose a “40-word beauty with a ten-word gem.”
  2. Review your sentence structure. There are sentence structures that be can be a sore. Too many subordinating conjunctions, for example, may take away sharpness and brevity. Consider this sentence: The shooting which was considered as the worst in the country’s history was carried out by a man who pledged allegiance to the terrorist group. For brevity you may want to do away with the subordinate clauses as in the following: The worst shooting in the country’s history was carried out by a man pledging allegiance to the terrorist group.
  3. Let your verbal deadwood drift away. Cut out words that do not add to the meaning of an expression. Often, these words are used as qualifiers, but they could render your writing redundant or downright silly. Take a look at the phrase free gift. Who has ever received a gift he or she had to cough up money for? Look at the following phrases: new recruits, final decision, final deadline, advance preparation, unfortunate accident, thoughts and ideas. The list goes on.
  4.  4. Practice ‘microwriting.’ Twitter has a 140-character rule. If you can squeeze an idea into such limited word count without sacrificing meaning, it is a good place to write. While it is true that Twitter’s word limit is there for another reason, it forces you to be brief and concise. When you write a longer piece of writing as you switch to a ‘limitless’ platform like a word processing program, being reminded of parsimony with words can make you become an effective writer. Another good way to practice brevity is through writing witty captions for your photos on Instagram and/or Facebook. Getting ‘loves’ and ‘likes’ may put you in a good mood, but monitoring your writing for brevity should also be a concern for the writer in you.
  5. Work on your wit. Brevity and wit go together. Shakespeare marries the two in Hamlet when Lord Polonius declares “Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit, and tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes, I will be brief: your noble son is mad.” Snappy and smart utterances result from crafting witty words and expressions. In doing so, you can work with the sound and rhythm of English or work with imagery. If you are writing an academic paper, however, be cautious about sounding literary as this may be disadvantageous. Figurative devices such as the use of alliteration when used appropriately can be brief and witty. Ponder on the phrases crisp and clear, snappy and smart, and synonymous with succinctness. Spot other examples of alliteration in this article. In terms of imagery, think of a heap of choking words as found in the second paragraph.
  6. Revise, revise, revise. You may have heard that writing is revising. Roald Dahl said “Good writing is essentially rewriting.” The element of revising is integral to achieving writing success.  Professional writers take it seriously. To illustrate this point, Cheney cites the story of Ernest Hemingway who revised the ending of ‘A Farewell to Arms’ 39 times. Literary giants exhort those in the art and business of writing to revise, revise, and revise for many different reasons, brevity included.

 

Whatever piece of writing you aim to work on, be reminded that brevity should be in your writing success kit. Steer clear from verbosity and tread the path to clarity and conciseness.

Happy writing!