Prompt Proofing Blog Post: How to Improve Your Writing: Part 4
This is the fourth of a six-part series on improving your writing style. Whether you write for business or academic purposes, there are a few golden rules that will help you sharpen up your prose.

VANCOUVER, BC, April 29, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- This is the fourth of a six-part series on improving your writing style. Whether you write for business or academic purposes, there are a few golden rules that will help you sharpen up your prose.

Part 4: Limit use of cliches

Phrases become 'cliche' when they are overused. Writing that is full of cliches is annoying to read and suggests laziness on the part of the author. Once clever, these phrases have now become trite and should be replaced with a more concise phrase, or even omitted altogether.

Consider the following, and their alternatives:

1. News of the scandal spread like wildfire.
2. News of the scandal spread rapidly.

1. You won't get her to change her vote; she's a dyed-in-the-wool Conservative.
2. You won't get her to change her vote; she's a confirmed Conservative.

1. When she heard the news, she turned as white as a sheet.
2. She paled when she heard the news.

In each case, sentence 2 makes the point equally well, and without annoying the reader.

Sometimes the cliche can be omitted completely without having any effect on the sentence. Remember that effective writing is concise. See part 1 (and part 5 next week) for more on this!

Consider the following:

1. It goes without saying that we will do everything we can to minimize job losses.
2. We will do everything we can to minimize job losses.

1. To make a long story short, my car was towed and I was late for work.
2. My car was towed, making me late for work.

So, to make a long story short, try to avoid cliches. It goes without saying that - in this dog-eat-dog world - an employer will be quick to regard your recent success as just a flash in the pan and will drop you like a hot potato if you give him/her cause. :)

Check back next Friday for another Prompt Proofing blog post!

About the Author

Pat Wootton is originally from England and is a former high school English teacher. Having spent many years in the Caribbean, where she raised her family, she now lives in Vancouver, BC. In addition, she has taught English as a Second Language (ESL) for several years after earning a diploma in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) from the University of British Columbia. She now owns and runs Prompt Proofing, a copy editing and writing service that caters to both individuals and businesses.

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