Acaydia School Distinction Between Conciseness and Brevity Paper Two pages Journal, Times New Roman, 12pt. Follow the instructions exactly, i will attch it Readings:
Writing Matters, ch. 26, “Writing Concisely,” pp. 520-528.
Language Matters: William Lutz, “Weasel Words,” pp. 520-530 (PDF on Blackboard).
Journal #12: “Advertisers try to wrap their claims in language that sounds concrete, specific, and
objective, when in fact the language of advertising is anything but.” Do your social, business, and
academic communication fall into the same traps? Do you use excessive or meaningless wording
when simple, direct, clear communication is called for?
Note: Substantive journals will consist of two full pages in standard manuscript format (see syllabus).
If you have done the reading and considered the prompts below, you should have plenty to say.
1. LA: What are “weasel words”? How, according to William Lutz, did they get their name?
What are some of his strongest examples? Consider current advertising, social media, and
even political discourse. What are the most vapid, meaningless expressions bandied about
these days? Which of these would you rate as careless, innocuous hyperbole, and which if
any as outright intentional lying?
2. WM, pp. 520-522: What is the distinction between conciseness and brevity? Do you follow
the edict of “less is more” in your writing, or do you throw the entire dictionary at every
paper you right? Why is wordiness taxing for the reader? As in “Weasel Words,” what are
some of the meaningless, empty phrases listed that seem most common to you, or that you
use to often yourself?
3. WM, p. 523: What is “repetition and redundancy,” and how is the phrase “repetition and
redundancy” itself repetitious and redundant? How does an “elliptical construction” tighten
prose? Give an example.
4. WM Exercise 26.1 (p. 524): Rewrite 2 of the 4 examples shown, eliminating as many wordy
expressions and as much unnecessary repetition as possible.
5. WM, pp. 524-528: What are the types of indirect constructions shown, and how does one
avoid them? What is the difference between “active” and “passive” voice, and is one or the
other always bad? Exercises 26.2 and 26.3: Rewrite two examples from each exercise in a
new, improved form.
6. Reflection: The negative examples of both readings (“weasel words” and wordiness) can
each confuse or mislead a reader, and interfere with your message. Is the chief difference
then the intention of the writer (i.e., the intention to deceive vs. inadvertent sloppiness)?
Support your answer using examples.
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