Writing can be difficult, no matter your age or occupation. While we use writing in our everyday lives, it’s easy to become lax in following the rules.

But writing is much more important than you realize. Using proper grammar and removing filler words helps potential employers take you seriously and shows your ideas in a clear, concise way. These quick tips will help you write like the professional you want to be..

1. Remove Uncertain Words

Remove words or phrases that make you sound uncertain, such as sort of/kind of, maybe, might, perhaps, etc. Even if you are trying to keep from offending anyone through your writing, these words weaken your writing considerably.

Consider this sentence: “Editing an article before submitting it might be a helpful way to elevate your writing.” Using these words makes you sound confused. These words have a time and a place, but don’t use them often ‒ especially when you are trying to build an argument or convey an idea. Instead, remove those words.

Now the sentence reads: “Editing an article before submitting is a helpful way to elevate your writing.” See how much more certain it sounds?

2. Get Rid of Unnecessary Adverbs

Toss out empty adverbs. If you are unsure whether you’ve written an empty adverb or not, read the sentence without the word. If the meaning of the sentence doesn’t change, leave the word out. Examples of empty adverbs are: actually, basically, really, very, suddenly, seriously. These words make your writing longer, but fill your writing with empty words.

Consider the sentence: “The movie we saw last week was really scary.” While the message comes across, that adverb doesn’t need to be there. Eliminating it or replacing it with something stronger will make your writing more concise.

Instead, try: “The movie we saw last week was terrifying.”

3. Don’t Overuse Fancy Words

Don’t use too many large, fancy words. It’s good to use advanced words to convey ideas more precisely, while also elevating your writing. However, using too many of these words makes reading your content confusing and difficult to follow, which causes readers to lose interest. Remember: using a big vocabulary doesn’t necessarily make you sound smarter. Your ability to clearly communicate information can make you sound professional.

Here’s an example: “Unfortunately, the culinary artist added too much salt to the cuisine and subverted the meal.” While those words make the sentence sound fancy, using too many big words makes your message cluttered.

Instead, simply say: “The chef added too much salt to the dish and ruined the meal.”

4. Forget too many pronouns

Omit words such as “that,” “it,” “their” and “this.” These pronouns are a great way to simplify your writing when consistently referring to the same noun. However, they can make your writing vague, which makes your point harder to understand. A key element of strong writing is being specific. The more specific you are, the better your ideas are conveyed to the readers, and the more the readers will understand.

Example: “The teachers tried to set up meetings with the students, but they were too busy.” With sentences like this, readers have a hard time figuring out what you are referring to. Were the teachers too busy or were the students too busy? Be specific in your writing.

Replacing pronouns makes the sentence easier to read. Try the sentence like this: “The teachers tried to set up meetings with the students, but the students were too busy.”

5. Use Positive Phrases

Replace negative phrases with positive phrases. By keeping your writing more positive, it will be more straightforward. Negative phrases you need to omit are: don’t, shouldn’t, can’t.

An example of this is, “You don’t want to continue making writing mistakes.” Do you see how choppy it was at the beginning of the sentence?

This is better stated as, “You want to avoid making writing mistakes.”

Get Cleaner Writing Today

These 5 tips are simple, yet powerful. As long as you forgo filler words, simplify your adjectives, sound certain and stay positive, your writing will immediately improve.

Learn more about Soapbox Agency at soapboxagency.net.