Page 43 - Today’s Business Communication; A How-to Guide for the Modern Professional

32 TODAY’S BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

Delete It Is/There Are Starters
We tell our students that of all the ways they can introduce conciseness
into their writing, this tip is the easiest to follow. Look at the first two
words of your sentences. Those sentences beginning with “it is,” “it was,”
“there is,” or “there are” have at least two to many words. They can be
deleted. The sentence may need some additional modification, but in
many cases, that modification will include the elimination of a pronoun
or relative pronoun. So, eliminating the it is/there are starter often results
in saving at least three words.
Here’s an example. One of the book’s authors is a distance runner who
routinely runs half and full marathons. He recently received an email from
a race coordinator with instructions, including the following sentence:

“There are shuttle buses that will bring you to the start site�”

We can delete the “there are” starter and the relative pronoun “that” in the
process—voila! The revision results in a sentence with three fewer words.

“Shuttle buses will bring you to the start site�”

Watch Out for Redundancies

Admittedly, this tip is the most difficult to follow because it requires
you to know the definitions of the words you use. Redundancies include
words that describe or define the obvious. For example, the expression
“absolutely essential” is redundant. By definition, something or someone
is either essential or nonessential. Therefore, there exists no such thing
as “degrees of essentiality.” Here are a few other redundancies: (a) old
antiques, (b) rules and regulations, (c) final outcome, and (d) true facts.

Tips for Achieving Clarity

Achieving conciseness demonstrates respect for your audience and saves
time and money. In writing, however, conciseness is of little use with-
out clarity. Achieving clarity—in our writing, not in man’s quest for
meaning—is another means by which we can put our audience first. Here
are some tips for achieving clarity.