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As a licensed attorney in the State of Georgia, I am required to attend continuing legal education classes yearly. Several years ago, I attended a seminar taught by Steven Stark, a writer and consultant who taught a CLE seminar about how lawyers could improve their written communication skills. Although I chose this seminar because I needed some credits for that year and it was already December, Mr. Stark’s seminar turned out to be one of the most useful and practical programs I have ever attended.
I was reminded of Steven Stark by an article in the October, 2008 issue of the Georgia Bar Journal. Entitled “The Road to Heaven is Paved with Good Verbs,” authors Karen Sneddon and David Hricik echo many of Mr. Stark’s suggestions when it comes to using adverbs and adjectives.
Specifically, Ms. Sneddon and Mr. Hricik, as well as Mr. Stark, argue that adverbs should be used sparingly, and that strong verbs will produce significantly more impact. Ms. Sneddon and Mr. Hricik note that less effective writers use adverbs as intensifiers – words like “really,” “clearly,” and “very,” and they give examples:
Less effective: “The police officers ran really fast across the lawn.”
More effective: “The police officers dashed across the lawn.”
Mr. Stark takes the same position with regard to adjectives. He argues that strong noun and verb combination create a much more vivid mental picture in the reader’s mind. Mr. Stark also advises writers to avoid using weak verbs like “is,” and “was.”
I think that if you sensitize yourself to how much adverbs and adjectives are overused, you will discover that sentences with strong nouns and verbs make for much more enjoyable reading.
As a marketing consultant I find myself writing a lot – blog posts, web pages, articles for republication, autoresponder series, and sales letters – and I make a conscious effort to think about my choice of verbs and nouns and to limit my use of qualifiers and intensifiers. You will likely find discover that your writing will improve when you keep these suggestions in mind when for your writing projects.
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