4 C s of Writing

1. 4 C’s of Writing Clarity Conciseness Completeness Correctness

2. Applying the 4 C’s of Writing The primary goal of all communication is receiver understanding. To achieve this goal, writers apply the 4 C’s of writing: clarity, conciseness, completeness, and correctness.

3. Clarity Clarity is achieved when the receiver understands a message as the sender intended. Word choice, unity, and coherence affect clarity; each of these will now be explained.

4. Clarity – Word Choice Choose short, familiar words your receiver will understand. A print or electronic thesaurus is a valuable tool in choosing clear, simple words. Clear words are often called “talk” words because they are used in day-to-day speaking.

5. Clarity – Word Choice Concrete words are more understandable than abstract words. Concrete words convey one – and only one – meaning. They are specific and vivid. Abstract words are vague and imprecise. They may mean different things to different people. Many is less specific than most. Vehicle is less specific than car or truck. Car and truck could be made more specific by adding details such as make, model, style, age, and color.

6. Clarity - Unity Sentences and paragraphs have unity when they have one main idea and the other information in the sentence supports that main idea. A topic sentence is the most common way to create unity within a paragraph. EXAMPLES: - Today is Monday; London is in England. - Today is Monday; on Thursday we leave for London.

7. Clarity - Coherence Unified messages are also coherent. They flow naturally and the ideas in them relate to each other. Transitional words and phrases and repetition help make messages coherent. Writers use transitional words and phrases as bridges to join ideas. SEARCH the Internet for a list of transitional words and phrases.

8. Clarity - Coherence Repeating words and using pronouns in place of nouns also helps to achieve coherence. EXAMPLES: The pen and pencil sets are packed 12 to a box. Each set comes in a case that has the look and feel of leather (repetition). The pen and pencil sets are packed 12 to a box. They come in a case that has the look and feel of leather (pronouns).

9. Conciseness Everyone prefers messages that express thoughts in the fewest words possible. Concise messages are only long enough to present all of the necessary information. The key to writing concise messages, ones that are brief yet effective, is to make every word count. Limit repetition, eliminate excess words, emphasize verbs, and use active verbs.

10. Conciseness – Limit repetition You can reduce repetition by: Using a shortened form of a noun. Using a pronoun in place of a noun. The next slide shows these two techniques.

11. Conciseness – Limit repetition ORIGINAL: Johan Erickson was office manager for Ador and Smith from June 11, 1995, until February 27, 1998. Johan Erickson was efficient and effective. Johan Erickson worked well with the employees he supervised and scheduled the work of the employees he supervised to assure prompt, correct completion of the tasks assigned to the employees. REVISION: Johan Erickson was office manager for Ador and Smith from June 11, 1995, until February 27, 1998. Johan was efficient and effective. He worked well with the employees he supervised and scheduled their work to assure prompt, correct completion of the tasks assigned to them.

12. Conciseness – Eliminate excess words A word is excess if it is not needed for correct grammar or clear meaning. Shorten sentences beginning with It is, There is, or There are. Minimize use of that. Delete up, down, over, and under unless referring to relative position or location.

13. Conciseness – Eliminate excess words WORDY: There are three people who can at the time we were meeting move up to Canada combine together in the vicinity of send back at the present time due to the fact that the meeting on May 10 CONCISE: Three people can while we met move to Canada combine near return now because the May 10 meeting

14. Conciseness – Emphasize verbs Verbs are the most powerful words in the English language. WEAK VERBS: find a solution conduct an investigation make a contribution be a participant completed the reorganization made a selection Stressing verbs makes writing concise, clear, and powerful. POWERFUL VERBS: solve investigate contribute participate reorganized selected

15. Conciseness – Use active verbs By using active verbs, writers create messages that are concise, direct, and forceful. Active verbs perform an action (i.e., think, choose, planted, indicated). EXAMPLE Active verb: The members elected Carlos Esteban. Passive verb: Carlos Esteban was elected by the members. Avoid passive or inactive verbs, such as is, was, were, has, have, be, been.

16. Completeness A message is complete when all information necessary for a receiver to understand is included. What information is “necessary” depends on the writing situation. Be sure you have asked and answered who? what? when? where? why? and how? questions.

17. Correctness Writing is correct when content and mechanics are accurate. Grammar and punctuation errors can affect meaning and create a poor impression of writers. Check grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Seek someone’s help to make sure your writing is correct.

18. Correctness You must follow three steps after you complete a draft of your writing: Revise the draft by checking the content for completeness. Edit the draft to correct grammar, punctuation, or spelling problems. Proofread the draft aloud to yourself to catch errors such as missing words or unclear sentences.

19. What you write says A LOT! What you write and how you write are very important. Take the necessary time to revise, edit, and proofread your writing. Students often prepare a draft and then submit it. You MUST take the time to revise, edit, and proofread your writing!