Playwright William Shakespeare states, that “brevity is the soul of wit” and in most cases this is true. In preliminary education, most of us were taught that if you write a lot, your paper is going to sound better, and ultimately be better. However, this is not always the case. People often get caught up in restating what they just said until they somehow manage to turn out eight pages. Often, people find that they come up short and are unable to reach the minimum word count without rehashing ideas more than once. If that’s your assignment, then tough luck, you need more ideas to reach that word count. However, if you do not have a required word count, why make it longer than it needs to be? Here are some tips on how to write with brevity.
1. Stick to the point
In a short essay or story, there is no room for fluffy additions or over accentuate descriptions, stay on the point of the topic and you will find your focus is more defined.
2. Choose your words carefully
Every sentence counts in this kind of paper. Filler words such as ‘this is because’ ‘I believe’ and ‘surprisingly’ only serve to take away from the focus of the paper. See if your sentence will sound more concise without those filler words.
3. Avoid reinstating
There is no point telling your readers what you already told them, move on once you’ve said it once!
4. Get to the point
When writing a short paper, you cannot waste words and paragraphs on long-winded anecdotes or facts (Save those for your capstone!), instead get right to the point of your topic and don’t let facts or figures bog you down. If they’re not necessary, don’t use them.
5. Don’t use the passive voice
The passive voice takes longer to explain what you want to convey and bogs down your language. Without the passive voice, you will appear more confident and easier to understand.
Often, what could have been said in 1,000 words was stretched into 3,000 just because people think length correlates with intelligence. The importance of brevity is that the points remain clear and easy to follow. You can learn more from a shorter piece than a longer one, if it is well worded and clearly articulated.
There is value in the words we say, not how in how many words that we say them. You must create the perfect balance between clarity and brevity in order to create a concise yet beautiful piece. Whether it is short fiction, non-fiction, or essays; in any kind of short piece you must be able to write with great skill. It will grab the attention of the readers in a shorter time period. Writing with brevity is an art form in itself, it takes a great deal of focus and control to be able to write a work in many fewer words. So go out there and make those words count!
