英文写作的凝练
Highlights from Chapter 16 <<Writing Science>> by Joshua Schimel
1.
Good writing is tight and sleek, giving you what you need with just enough extra to create flow and highlight. Bloated writing is bad writing.
By skipping the time to streamline your writing, you may feel that you are saving time, but in fact, you are squandering it.
2.
A strategy for condensing：
- Prune the big limbs, then shake out the dead leaves.
- First figure out what you don’t need to say; then, don’t say it.
- The next step is shaking out the dead leaves. That means cutting unnecessary words from the pieces that stay.
3.
Targets for the delete key:
- Redundancies
- Obvious
- Modifiers: adjectives and adverbs
- Metadiscourse
- Verbosity
4.
Redundancies
Sometimes we use several words where one does all the work that needs doing.
Example: Most, but not all of the test subjects responded.
Correction: Most of the test subjects responded.
Often we repeat ideas in multiple sentences, in which case collapsing redundancy means collapsing sentences together. Sometimes we can delete an entire sentence, but often there is an idea, a few words, to capture.
5.
Obvious
Obvious is close kin to redundant, as both encompass words that offer no useful information. The difference is that whereas redundancies duplicate information within a passage, obvious ideas are well known or implied and so don’t need to be said anywhere.
Example: The greatest challenge in dealing with the crisis of a pandemic is that it is global in scope and so public health responses must operate across national borders.
Correction: The greatest challenge in dealing with a pandemic is that public health responses must operate across national borders.
6.
Modifiers: Adverbs and Adjectives
Adjectives modify nouns, and adverbs modify everything else (including adjectives). But good words don’t need modifying. Strong, clear nouns and verbs give writing power, a power you can’t match by decorating weak words. Eliminating unnecessary adjectives and adverbs will make your writing stronger and tighter.
Example: The entire reaction sequence takes less than one hour to complete.
Correction: The reaction sequence takes less than one hour to complete.
Example: The pressure dramatically increased X.
Correction: The pressure increased X by a factor of 3.
Empty amplifiers: Certain(ly), Quite, Substantial(ly), Dramatic(ally), Rather, Very, Entire(ly), Real(ly), High(ly), Simple(ly)
7.
Verbs and Action
Active verbs are tight, while passives, fuzzies, and nominalizations are not — they require extra words.
Putting the action into verbs is a powerful tool for condensing writing.
8.
Condensing to clarify
Sometimes you’re faced with text that feels long and wordy but is also confusing.
Often, the best way to clarify the message is to start by stripping away the excess to bring into focus what the text says.