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Effective Use of Language.The Significance Of Language

As a writer, it is necessary not just to considercarefully what you say, but how it is said by you. To communicate effectively, it isn’t adequate to have well organized ideas expressed in complete and coherent sentences and paragraphs. One must also take into account the style, tone and clarity of his/her writing, and adapt these elements into the reading audience. Again, analyzing a person’s audience and purpose is the key to writing effectiveness. The writer must consider the objective of the document, the context in which it is being written, and who will be reading it in order to choose the most effective language.

Characteristics of Effective Language

Concrete language includes descriptions which create tangible images with details the reader can visualize. Abstract language is vague and obscure, and does not think of specific images that are visual. Look at the two sets of statements below. The statement towards the top is abstract, nevertheless the statements become increasingly specific and concrete toward the bottom.

He is a bad roommate
He is lazy and discourteous
He is untidy and unclean
He doesn’t clean up their own messes
He leaves his dirty dishes from the kitchen counter

Your relationship with John is unacceptable
that you don’t get along well with John
You and John have a lot of arguments
both you and John insult each other too much
You and John call one another derogatory names

Notice just how much more effective the statements become as the language becomes more specific and concrete. The statements at the very top, which are far more abstract, can be interpreted in a lot of ways that are possible and leave many questions answered. The statements at the bottom, which are more concrete, are less open to multiple interpretations.

A hallmark of effective writers is the capacity to express the specified message in as few words that you can. Good writers, in other words, use language which can be to-the-point and straightforward. Think about the examples that are following.

(1) It is widely discussed by employees that numerous of them will soon be forced to change jobs and take on new responsibilities when the merger takes place amongst the two companies.
(2) before deciding about if the person on trial is guilty or innocent in cases like this, the people in the jury should always be sure to carefully think about, ponder and think on all of the important and testimony that is relevant the case.

Notice how long-winded these sentences are, and just how easily they are often shortened and simplified. An essential part of revising and editing involves re-phrasing sentences to remove excessive wordiness. One good way to reduce wordiness would be to eliminate redundant words or phrases. Consider example one above. The phrases “to alter jobs” and “take on new responsibilities” are redundant, and may be combined into one short phrase to be expressed more concisely.

Consider example two above. The phrase “. must be certain to carefully think of, ponder and reflect on. ” contains three ways of saying the thing that is same. This sentence might be improved by making use of only 1 https://edubirdies.org of the key phrases: “. to reflect on. “

A way that is second reduce wordiness would be to eliminate “filler” words which serve no purpose into the sentence. Consider example one above. Replace the phrase “. once the merger takes place between the two companies” with “. when the two companies merge.” Consider example two above. Notice the excessive wordiness in the following phrase: “Before making the decision about if the person on trial is guilty or innocent in this instance . ” This sentence could simply read: “Before determining the defendant’s guilt or innocence. “

Familiar language is that that the readers easily recognize and understand simply because they utilize it on a frequent basis. Perhaps one of the most important functions of language would be to build “homophily” or a sense of commonality with a person’s readers. Language that will be foreign and unfamiliar towards the reader tends to emphasize the distinctions between writer and reader, and makes the message tough to understand. By making use of language this is certainly familiar into the reader, the message probably will have more impact.

Consider the following examples.

An assignment directed at a course of business students by their philosophy professor:
“The presently assigned paper necessitates an eloquently articulated analysis associated with Existentialist perspective when it comes to living that is contemporary. You need to adumbrate the points which represent the sine qua non of the analysis.”

A letter delivered to high school students warning them of this risks of an unhealthy diet:
“Individuals who maintain a meal plan of high fat content are subjected to an elevated risk of developing atherosclerosis, which can be a buildup of fat deposits regarding the inner walls of this arteries. This disorder can reduce or cut the flow off of blood into the arteries serving the most important organs of this body. This could result in poor health.”

In both examples above, the language that is used is unfamiliar to your readers. The message loses its impact as a result.

Precise and Clear Language

The utilization of appropriate language is a tricky matter because this is of words is relative and situational. Or in other words, words may be interpreted in numerous ways by each person in various situations. With this reason, it is vital to choose language that will be as precise and clear as you can. The greater amount of precise and one that is clear usage of language becomes, the fewer how many possible interpretations for an email. Look at the words that are following. What numerical value would you assign to every of them? If something is “probable what percentage associated with right time does it occur? P>

(1) probable
(2) doubtful
(3) certainly
(4) unlikely
(5) perhaps

Would other people assign the same value to these words as you did? In actuality, the range of values varies greatly because these terms are relative: they are able to mean things that are different different people in numerous situations. How could one be more precise in his/her utilization of these terms?

Think about the examples below. Observe that these terms can differ widely within the meaning to different people. The easiest way to use such relative terms, then, is to compare them to something concrete and “known” towards the reader. An expensive car?” is best answered with a comparison: “Compared to that Honda, the Acura is expensive for example: “Is that Acura. Compared to that Lexus, it really is inexpensive.”

expensive
hot
intelligent spicy that is good

Look at the following examples. Note the confusion that is potential ambiguity within these phrases.

(1) Why the student body should continue in this state of apathy is not understandable.
(2) Our student body is dull and slack-minded.
(3) The practice and theory of politics are studied into the classroom but habits that are political campus try not to appear to reap the benefits of such labor.
(4) he is an interesting individual.
(5) it is hard to estimate the number of people impacted by AIDS.

Each of the following are actual headlines printed in newspapers. Notice their double meaning.

(1) Include your kids when Baking Cookies
(2) Safety Experts Say School Buss Passengers must certanly be Belted
(3) Bank Drive-in Window Blocked by Board
(4) Killer Sentenced to Die for Second amount of time in a decade
(5) Eye Drops Off Shelf

Simply speaking, it is advisable to consider carefully about your range of words and their potential interpretations. To communicate effectively, precise and language that is clear essential.