How to Write Concisely

June 4, 2024 | Learning Center

Given the pace (and shrinking attention spans) of modern life, writers who know how to write concisely are simply more likely to hold readers’ attention. Whether you’re writing an email, a report or an academic paper, learning how to write concisely can make the difference between having your content resonate with your reader or prompting them to click away from your words.

Image by Ron Lach

Need practical advice on writing more concisely? You don’t need to ask us twice.

1. Understand Why You’re Writing

Before you put pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard, clarify the purpose of your text. Being crystal clear on your goal helps you stay focused and counteracts the tendency to “fluff out” your sentences. Ask yourself: What is the main message I want to convey? Who is my audience? What do they need to know? Is this as clear as it can be?

2. Plan and Outline

Before you begin, create an outline. Starting with a skeleton of your paper will help you keep your writing organized, and organization is key. Use your outline to make sure that you cover all of the essential points identified by understanding your purpose (see above) without veering off track. An outline also helps you keep an eye on the overall structure and flow of your document, making it easier to identify and remove redundancies.

3. Choose Simple Words

Where possible, opt for simple, everyday words rather than complex expressions or technical jargon. Simple language makes your writing accessible to a broader audience; this is even true for very technical papers: where the subject matter itself is dense, the reader will benefit even more from your keeping the surrounding language as straightforward as possible. Use no more complexity than necessary to be precise.

Instead of: Utilize

Use: Use

Instead of: Commence

Use: Start

4. Cut Unnecessary Words

Remove words and phrases that don’t add essential meaning to the text. These include filler words (very, really, actually), redundant pairs (each and every, first and foremost) and wordy expressions.

Verbose: In order to

Concise: To (except where you already have a to in the sentence and need in order to for clarity)

Verbose: Due to the fact that

Concise: Because

5. Avoid Passive Voice

Where possible and acceptable in the field, use active voice, which is usually clearer and more concise than passive voice. Watch out for flow, though; it’s easy to end up with repetitive sentences if you add one short active-voice statement after another.

Passive: The report was written by Jane. 

Active: Jane wrote the report.

6. Use Strong Verbs

Use one strong word rather than two weak ones. When you find yourself adding adverbs to verbs to qualify them, see if there’s a single word that captures the exact sense you’re going for.

Weak: She quickly ran.

Strong: She sprinted. 

7. Be Specific

Especially in academic writing, specificity is key. Be as specific as possible in every statement, and you’ll end up with a piece of writing that paints a clear picture in the reader’s mind. Instead of saying “some time ago,” specify the exact time frame, such as “last week” or “in 2023.” It’s particularly important to make sure that references to time and place are precise; “last week” or “in this region” is going to mean something different to the reader depending on when and where they encounter your text, so avoid ambiguity by saying precisely what you mean.

8. Avoid Repetition

Once you’ve made a point, move on. Rehashing your ideas in slightly different words just adds more words, not more ideas.

9. Edit Ruthlessly

Blaise Pascal hinted at the truth when he said, “I have only made this letter longer because I have not had the time to make it shorter”. Editing is the secret to concise writing. It’s only when we return to our words — preferably after a refreshing break of some kind — that we see ways to condense our ideas and strengthen our message.

Reread your work with the express purpose of cutting unnecessary words, and remove anything that doesn’t add to your argument. (This article started with 10 points, but it ended with 9 because the final point was dispensable.)

Writing concisely doesn’t mean sacrificing depth or quality; it’s about choosing your words carefully so you deliver the same message in as few words, and as clearly, as possible.

By understanding your intent, planning your writing, favouring precision and editing ruthlessly, you can master the art of concise writing.

Need more help reducing your word count or writing more concisely?

Our editors are standing by to help. As part of our standard service, we can reduce your word count by up to 10%. If you need more personalised help with how to write concisely, or a more substantial word count reduction, consider our developmental editing service, where we help you identify the content that best serves your stated purpose and remove the rest.

Further reading

For more guidance, check out these useful resources on how to write concisely:

Writing Concisely | The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Writing Concisely and Avoiding Redundancy | Writing Commons