Concisely, Dr. Watson!

Let's start 3/11 with a little 311:

Hemingway’s Rules

1.     Use short sentences.   

• For sale: baby shoes, never used.

2.     Use short first paragraphs.  That's for short stories! For essays, short, no; concise, yes.

3.     Use vigorous language. 

a.     Precision

b.     Concision

c.     Connotative value

4.     Use positive syntax

a.     Say what a person/thing is…instead of what it is not.

• She aced the test. Not: She didn’t do too bad.

Wordy Sentences Need Your Brain To Identify Them; Need Your Fingers To Sculpt Pots Out of Clay Like Your Name Is Patrick Swayze and Your Essay Is Demi Moore And This is Ghost:

• That was an intentionally overthought, overwrought title. 

1. Prepositional phrases ( ____ of ______) that imply ownership can be turned to possessives (_______’s ______). Common Ownership Prepositions: of, at, by

2. Redundant phrases/ sentences: Are you saying the same thing twice two different ways?  (ex: for some reason unknown)

• Repeated words/phrases à especially verbs and verb phrases in one sentence! 

3. Extra modifiers that really don’t modify! You are really, truly amazing.

4.  Use active voice construction. (check our Rules for Writers)

• passive voice:   ____ was versed by _____

5. 5 to 1 phrases:  (at some point and time= later | at this moment=now)

• Use one precise word instead of a phrase
• Don't use big words just to use big words
• Don't get flowery with adjectives and adverbs. (See #3)
• Don't overcomplicate the image, the action:
• "You're acting like little children playing basketball who've fallen behind by several two-pointer buckets so you just take your basket home, and now no one else can play."