The power of short sentences + removing unnecessary linking devices
4 - Editing for succinctness
The Google Doc I used in the video.
- Downloadable: AI prompts for line editing
A great way to start a fruitful conversation with an AI chatbot is to give it some contextual information and ask the chatbot to adopt a persona. We recommend starting your chat with this prompt (adapt it if you need to):
Hi! I’m an online writer. I was commissioned to write a blog post about __________ for __________ [Insert Your Audience]. The main aim of the blog post is to____________. I wrote the first draft and now I would like to edit it for succinctness and clarity. Can you please act as a writing coach and help me edit my article?
This should set the context and help the chatbot to understand who you are and what type of help you need.
After that, you may want to use any of these prompts.
1. “Can you help me break down this long sentence into shorter, clearer sentences? [Insert Sentence]”
2. “Identify multiple ideas in this sentence and suggest how to separate them into individual sentences: [Insert Sentence]”
4. “Are there any unnecessary linking words in this sentence / paragraph: [Insert Text]”
5. “Does this paragraph overuse linking words and phrases like ‘however,’ ‘on the other hand,’ or 'indeed'? If so, can you suggest revisions to simplify it? [Insert Paragraph]”
7. “Are there any complex, uncommon words in this sentence? If so, can you suggest simpler alternatives? [Insert Paragraph]”
9. “How can I simplify the vocabulary in this text to make it more accessible for my audience? My audience: [Insert Audience]”
10. “Identify any idioms in this paragraph and suggest more straightforward alternatives: [Insert Paragraph]”
15. “Suggest ways to clarify the use of acronyms in this paragraph: [Insert Paragraph]”
19. “Are there any sections in my piece where I tend to over-explain? [Insert Text]”
20. “How can I simplify this text by removing excessive guiding words while keeping the meaning intact? [Insert Text]”
21. “Can you identify and suggest revisions for any sections that could be more succinct? [Insert Text]”
- Giving examples of things to look out for to cut
- “So”
- Transitional words: in fact, indeed etc
- “That”
- How can you get right into the action?
- You’re taught to use linking terms but don’t!
- You’re not writing for your tutor, you’re writing for a reader
- Short sentences with few syllables: KISS principle
- Per-word rates have made us overpopulate our work with words - price per article.
Writing task: Redraft + line-edit your text
Downloadable: A checklist for line editing
- Are there sentences containing multiple ideas that may be hard to process for the reader?
- Can you break these sentences into shorter ones, each containing a single idea?
- Can you join some of these sentences and form medium-length sentences or longer but clearer sentences?
- Are there overused linking words like "however," "indeed," "in addition," etc.?
- Is the relationship between sentences still clear without these linking words?
- Can you remove or simplify linkers that do not add value or are redundant?
- Have you identified complex, less common, or long words in your text?
- Can you replace complex words with simpler, more common alternatives?
- Are there idioms in your text that might not be understood by all readers?
- Can you replace these idioms with more straightforward language?
- Have you defined acronyms the first time you use them?
- Do you remind readers of the meaning of acronyms periodically throughout the text?
- Are you providing clear information without unnecessary elaboration?
- Have you reviewed your text for opportunities to further simplify and clarify?
- Did you seek feedback from others to identify areas that may still be unclear or overly complex?