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Cutting Out the Fat

Cutting Out the Fat. How to write concise sentences in your research paper. Replace several small and vague words with specific, powerful words. Suzie believed but could not confirm that Billy had feelings of affection for her . Suzie assumed that Billy adored her .

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Cutting Out the Fat

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  1. Cutting Out the Fat How to write concise sentences in your research paper

  2. Replace several small and vague words with specific, powerful words • Suzie believed but could not confirm that Billy had feelings of affection for her. • Suzie assumed that Billy adored her. • Working as a pupil under someone who develops photos was an experience that really helped me learn a lot. • Working as a photo technician's apprentice was an educational experience.

  3. Combine Sentences • Ludwig's castles are an astounding marriage of beauty and madness. By his death, he had commissioned three castles. • Ludwig's three castles are an astounding marriage of beauty and madness. • The supposed crash of a UFO in Roswell, New Mexico aroused interest in extraterrestrial life. This crash is rumored to have occurred in 1947. • The supposed 1947 crash of a UFO in Roswell, New Mexico aroused interest in extraterrestrial life.

  4. Change phrases into single-words and adjectives • The employee with ambition… • The ambitious employee • We read the letter we received yesterday and reviewed it thoroughly • We thoroughly read the letter we received yesterday.

  5. Change unnecessary that, who, and which clauses into phrases • The report, which was released recently… • The recently released report… • The system that is most efficient and accurate… • The most accurate and efficient system…

  6. Cut out words that explain the obvious and too much detail • Imagine a mental picture of someone engaged in the intellectual activity of trying to learn what the rules are for how to play the game of chess. • Imagine someone trying to learn the rules of chess. • I received your inquiry that you wrote about tennis rackets yesterday, and read it thoroughly. Yes, we do have. . . • I received your inquiry about tennis rackets yesterday. Yes, we do have. . .

  7. Cut out unnecessary determiners and modifiers • Any particular type of dessert is fine with me. • Any dessert is fine with me. • Balancing the budget by Friday is an impossibility without some kind of extra help. • Balancing the budget by Friday is impossible without extra help.

  8. Cut it out! • Cut out words like kind of, sort of, basically, for all intents and purposes, basically, specifically, etc. • Cut out repetitive wording! • The supply manager considered the correcting typewriter an unneeded luxury. • The supply manager considered the correcting typewriter a luxury.

  9. Omit redundant pairs • Past memories • Free gift • True facts • Future plans And redundant categories: • Large in size • Heavy in weight • Honest in character • Extreme in degree

  10. Avoid using expletives (it + be verb or there + be verb) • It is the governor who signs or vetoes bills. • The governor signs or vetoes bills. • There was a big explosion, which shook the windows, and people ran into the street. • A big explosion shook the windows, and people ran into the street. Source: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/572/1/

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