Fat-Free Gracewriting: Put Your Writing on a Diet! 

Reported by Jennifer M. Greene, CDFA

In a standing-room-only session for our chapter's program, Jennifer Hebblethwaite of Graceworks conducted an interactive workshop called "Gracewriting: Words with Power and Grace." The session focused on the importance of putting the reader's needs first when writing, and how to achieve clarity, concision, and correctness in our writing.

Jennifer began by challenging the traditional approach of business and technical writers, who often prioritize themselves over their readers. She emphasized that effective writing involves understanding the audience, considering how the information applies to them, and presenting it in a way that is easy to understand and remember. Whether it's an email or technical procedures, the question should always be "How can I help my reader understand my message?"

Jennifer had us all do a self-assessment of the writing process, asking us to estimate how much time we should spend on prewriting, writing, and rewriting. She recommended spending 40% of the time on prewriting, which involves research and organizing ideas, 20% on writing, and 40% on rewriting and checking redundancy.Before starting to write,

Jennifer stressed the importance of knowing our audience by asking six key questions:

• Why am I writing?
• Who will read what I write?
• What are the readers’ key issues?
• How many different readers are there, and are their needs the same?
• What do the readers already know, and what do they need to know?
• How will what I'm writing help my readers?

She then gave us tips for writing more concisely, such as using an active voice and strong verbs, and eliminating fluff and redundancies. For instance, she encouraged us to replace nouns formed from verbs with strong action verbs and to consider replacing "to be" verb forms with more specific ones.

For example:

Keys to Conciseness - No Fluff

 Use an Active Voice

Put the actor first. Actor > Action > Object

Instead of saying “The discussion will be led by Pat Leyden” use “Pat Leyden will lead the discussion.”

Use Strong Verbs

Replace nouns formed from verbs that often end in -tion, -sion, -son, -ment, -ance or -ence with strong action verbs. For example, instead of saying “Make a recommendation,” use “recommend.” Instead of “Make a comparison to,” use “compare.”

Consider replacing “to be” verb forms: am, is, are, was, were, be, being and been. Rather than write “Charles Schultz was the creator of the Peanuts comic strip,” write “Charles Schultz created the Peanuts comic strip.”

Conserve Words

Pull the weeds! Substance goes up front. Get rid of empty openings that use expletives such as “There is,” “It is,” and “It is ... that.” Instead of “There is ink in the printer,” use “Ink is in the printer.” Not “It is necessary that we begin to” but “We must begin to...”

Prepositional idioms are clumps of prepositional phrases that can be replaced with one word. Why use several words if one will do? Instead of “In order to” use “To.” Not “With the exception of” but “Except.”

Prune-ly verbs. Instead of “Nancy’s skillfully executed presentation completely convinced everyone that they absolutely should join SDA New York,” use “Nancy’s presentation convinced everyone to join SDA New York.”

Redundancies - Watch for repetition of words and ideas. For example, don’t use “past history,” use “history.” Instead of “free gift” use “gift.” (At this point, Peggy pointed out that not all gifts are free!) If you find yourself repeating the same words at the beginning each list item, move the repeated word into the introductory sentence.

For example:The requirements for tuition reimbursement are listed below:

• a. Employee must enroll in an accredited institution
• b. Employee much maintain at least a “C” average.

Write instead: Employee’s tuition reimbursement requires:

• a. Enrolling in an accredited institution
• b. Maintaining at least a “C” average.

Check for Clear Pronoun References

We often carelessly use “this” and “which” to refer to an entire idea rather than a particular noun. Use a noun! Instead of “This will decrease costs,” use “This program decreases cost.”

Take a Stand

Avoid weasel words - almost, as much as, can be, virtually and I think. Choose specific and concrete words. Rather than say “I think the chart shows...” use “The chart shows...”

Overall, Jennifer's workshop provided valuable insights into writing with power and grace. By focusing on the reader's needs and using clear and concise language, we can communicate more effectively and build stronger connections with our audience.