When you sit down to write make, sure that each sentence reflects what you mean. Use active verbs and write clear concise sentences that convey your ideas.
Active Voice
The subject comes first in an active sentence.
Example
Police arrested a man recently freed on bail for allegedly beating and assaulting a woman in a Bay Ridge subway station.
Always look for an active verb to give your writing more energy.
Example:
People scrambled for cover when shots rang out on the boardwalk at Coney Island just before midnight Saturday. Police say one man was killed and four others wounded.
Avoid the passive “to be” verbs: be, am, is, are, was, were, being, been.
Not so good
Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests in New York City are once again surging, driven in part by an increase in people arrested and released the same day, new data covering the agency’s activity through early August shows.
Better
ICE, Immigration and Customers Enforcement arrests surged in New York City. Arrests reached a high of 804 people arrested in July.
Passive Voice
You can use the passive verbs be, am, is, are, was, were, being, been when the subject of the action becomes the object.
Example:
Many Washington Heights residents are forced to move to other neighborhoods because landlords found tenants willing to pay higher rents.
Better
Many Washington Heights residents feel, find themselves, find their families.
Or, Rising rents forced many Washington Heights residents to move.
We use the “to be” verbs to describe a state of being.
Example:
Dayan is a junior in college.
Have
We use variations of the word have when we use it, like must, can or have.
Jorge has to try to rescue his relatives at the U.S. border in Texas.
We might also use a passive verb when we talk about ongoing action.
Example
The student was reading a textbook when the alarm bell sounded and everyone had to leave the classroom.
Pretentious Language
Sure, you may think it sounds better to use flowery language and fussy words. But you end up sounding pretentious.
Example
When the scions of the elderly gentleman thought he had a female paramour, they pondered about their fortunes if he were to suddenly become deceased.
Use language that says what you mean.
Example
The children of the older man thought he had a girlfriend and worried about their inheritance if he died suddenly.
Catch phrases, Cliches and Euphemism
You may think you can make a sentence sound important if you use phrases or words that only suggest what you mean. But fussy sentences confuse readers, listeners and viewers.
Fussy Clear
economically deprived poor
youths teenagers, young men, young women, young people,
chemical dependency drug addiction
downsize lay off
adult entertainment pornography
inner city give the name of the neighborhood
You also want to avoid fussy words that connect ideas
however
furthermore
nevermore
nevertheless
Avoid the Negative
Write sentences that avoid the negative.
Example
President Trump not only picked a fight with NFL players who choose to protest, he ignored the hurricane victims in Puerto Rico.
Better
President Trump picked a fight with NFL players who chose to protest and ignored Puerto Rico’s hurricane victims.
Writing Numbers
Write out numbers one through nine.
Write number 10 and up as you would in math.
Writing Percentages
Write percent rather than %.
Full Names and Acronyms
When you write for print, TV or radio, you separate the full name of an organization and its acronym with the word or, or commas.
Example
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACCA.
When you write for the web you put the acronym in parentheses.
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
