Words to Write By: Clear & Concise Writing

I've posted about clearing out words that simply clutter up your writing here and here. The point of those posts were to emphasize the importance of presenting clean writing. Here's another reason: it makes your writing weaker when you use unnecessary words, especially adverbs.

Consider this, from Mignon Fogerty, better known on this blog as Grammar Girl:

Look for single-word modifiers that don't enhance your meaning, such as “very,” “really,” “totally,” “quite,” “actually,” “already,” “fairly,” and “much.” You may have seen ads touting a “very unique” product that's “really special” and comes with an “added bonus,” though it may be “currently unavailable.” Words like “very” are unnecessary and frequently redundant: If something is unique, then by definition it's one-of-a-kind; it can't be “more” one-of-a-kind.Copywriters insert these words for emphasis, but the result can be less emphatic and effective.

It's worth heading over and listening to the whole podcast.