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Writing Succinctly:

The Importance of Clear, Accurate, and Concise Communication

An Important Life Skill

If you have a lot of work to do (who doesn’t!) or you want to make your writing easier to understand, ABEL will help you to understand why writing clearly, accurately, and concisely is important.

With some practice (which you will have to do anyway — throughout your life! — you will see your marks go up, and the time spent on writing go down.

As they say, Work Smarter, Not Harder…..

First, to help you understand what you're aiming for, below is a quick summary of the important terms on this page.

You should make sure that, as much as possible, your writing is:

Succinct

You don’t need to write too much. Be brief, using only the words you need to be clear. Don't include unnecessary details.

A succinct statement or piece of writing is focused and to the point, conveying information or ideas effectively with the fewest words possible.

Aim to communicate only the essential information or main points, without being too “wordy”.

Remember: Straight to the Point!

Clear

Can your writing be easily understood? Is it unambiguous? Will the person reading it have any questions that aren’t answered in the text?

Clear writing conveys ideas, instructions, or explanations in a straightforward manner, making it easy for the reader to understand what you wanted to say.

Clear writing uses simple language, organises thoughts logically, and provides sufficient context or explanations to aid understanding.

Remember: Easy to Understand

Accurate

To write less, write with precision. Make sure that the details in your answer are correct and supported by evidence from credible sources.

Use words that the reader expects to see. Use keywords and appropriate terminology. This could be the right name of a scientific process or using language that doesn’t discriminate, depending on your subject.

Try your best to avoid errors, misinformation, or misinterpretation. Remember to cite your sources!

Remember: Precise and Correct

Concise

If your writing ticks the 'Succinct', 'Clear' and 'Accurate' boxes, you can say that it is "Concise".

Your ideas/information are expressed in a brief, clear, and focused manner, using only the necessary words to convey the intended meaning or message.

You avoid all unnecessary or redundant information, superfluous details, and digressions. Many people find it hard to do this in their first draft, but you can delete redundant phrases when you read through your work.

Remember: Easy to Read

How do I make my writing Succinct, Clear, Accurate, and Concise?

As shown in the above table, your writing does not have to be 100% clear and succinct on your first attempt — in fact, it rarely is. However, when you read and check your writing, you look for these potential areas to improve:

Remove any superfluous, unnecessary words.
Replace any complicated words and phrases with simple language.
Review the logical flow of your writing.
Check that all statements are clear and supported by facts/citations.
Read your work from someone else’s point-of-view, do you have any questions about what you have read?

These 5 points are discussed in detail below:

Don't be too "Wordy"

Look at the first point in the list above, does it contain too many words?

Superfluous and unnecessary mean the same thing, so only one is needed!

Students often find it hard to remove words because they are aiming to hit that all-important word count. However, a teacher would much rather read a well composed answer that is at the lower limits of the required amount than an overly-wordy and complicated answer that basically says the same thing.

So, look for “redundant” phrasing like “may suggest......”, “In addition this also......”, “In order to......”, “maybe implies......”, and “could change......”.

All these phrases have unnecessary repeats in them and can be replaced with simpler language that is often clearer, for example: “suggests”, “In addition this”, “To”, “implies”, and “changed”.

Don’t be afraid to delete words that don’t change the meaning of a sentence!

2. KISS! Keep It Simple....

Look at the first point again, both “Remove” and “superfluous” may be seen as needlessly complex language, why not just say “1. Delete any unnecessary words”?

This statement can be easily understood and flows better when you read it.

Students often think that they need to use “posh” or “academic sounding” words in their writing, but only do this if you know how the word or phrase should actually be used and helps the reader understand your point. Academics and researchers who use over-the-top language are often disliked and criticised by their peers!

3. Follow and Flow

Does each sentence follow on nicely from the one before it? Are there logical steps in between each sentence or is there a “jump” between them that might confuse the reader?

This step is hard to check yourself, because by the time you are rereading your work, you know the content really well and you know why you have written each sentence. So gaps and jumps are hard to spot. Sentences, or even paragraphs, being in the wrong place can also be hard to spot in your own writing.

To spot sentences and paragraphs that could be reordered to improve the logical flow of your work, you can use a colour scheme that relates to the main points of your answer. Simply highlight each sentence with the relevant colour. This can help you visualise where incorrectly placed sections are, that can be reordered to help improve the flow of your work.

Use transition words between sentences to improve the flow of your writing, but only in fictional writing should these be used at the start of a paragraph. Usually, you don’t need to transition to a new paragraph with words such as “Additionally” or “Furthermore”, because the new paragraph tells the reader that these are additional points to your overall argument.

4. Clear Statements

Not only does the language you use in your answer need to be correct and be clear to the reader, they need to see that you know what you’re talking about! Will they be able to trust what you are saying/describing/arguing?

You can build confidence in your writing by using clear wording and explaining your reasoning. In some subjects, this might include using in-text reference citations. The reader will then know where you found the information and they can judge for themselves if it comes from a credible source.

Here are some tips to help you, but please note that there are few shortcuts! To sound trustworthy, you need to be somewhat of an expert on the subject and communicate your ideas clearly. To ensure that all statements in your school work are clear and supported by facts/citations, you can follow these steps:

Understand the topic: Display a clear understanding of the subject matter.
Conduct thorough research: Find relevant information from credible sources.
Use reputable sources: Use information from experts in the field, reputable websites, and trusted educational organisations.
Use the correct citation style (if needed): Use in-text citations or footnotes to indicate where you found the information. Use the citation style specified by your school or teacher.
Quote and paraphrase correctly: When quoting directly, use quotation marks. For paraphrased information, restate the idea in your own words but always include the correct citation.

5. Be your own worst Critic!

It is hard to criticise your own writing, either because you have spent so long on it, or you know you haven’t spent enough time on it and you know how much more you need to do!

This is one reason why you must plan your work schedule properly and give yourself enough time to review your own work before the submission deadline. With practice, this will save you time in the long-run, giving you more free time.

Try to read your work from someone else's point-of-view (for example the target audience, like an assessor/teacher), or use a Critical Friend.

Be honest with yourself, if a section could obviously be improved, try to do it before you hand it in. This is important whether the work is for a formative or summative work.

Having the above 5 points in mind when you write will help you to improve the overall quality of your writing. This will help you not only in written assignments but also with oral presentations, application processes, production of videos, letters and emails, and in-person meetings.

This is a life-skill that is well worth a bit of extra work now, to benefit you in the future.

ABEL INSIGHT

The above 5 tips will help you revise your work to make sure it’s clear and concise, but a great way to start writing is to have a clear plan or outline of what you want/need to say.

Plan and organise your answer/essay before you start writing. Create an outline or structure to guide your thoughts.

This will help you to present your ideas in a logical and organised way, making your writing clearer and more concise from the beginning! You will feel better about your writing and you will see your marks improve!

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