7.3: Drafting Effective Sentences

To draft clear and concise sentences, choose clear and concise words and phrases to make up your sentences. In this section, we’ll cover some of the most important considerations when writing effective sentences: active voice, smothered verbs, parallel construction, misplaced modifiers, using the right word for the job and avoiding wordy words and phrases. Let’s get started with probably the most common pitfall to clear and concise sentences-not writing actively.

Write Actively: Doers Before Verbs

Is your active voice all bottled up? Active voice shows the subject as the actor. For example: The girl sang a song. By using mostly active voice, your writing is clear, concise and alive-it reaches out to the reader and gets to the point quickly with fewer words. Unfortunately, many writers overuse passive voice. Passive voice shows the subject as receiver of the action. For example: A song was sung by her. Besides lengthening and twisting sentences, passive verbs often muddy them. Whereas active sentences must have doers, passive ones are complete without them. When you overuse passive voice and reverse the natural subject-verb-object pattern, your writing becomes lifeless.

• Your support is appreciated ...
• Requisitions should be submitted ...
• The IG team will be appointed ...
• It is requested that you submit ...

The actor (or doer) in the sentence is either obscure, absent altogether or just lying there. Who appreciates? Who should requisition? Who appoints? Why not write ...

• I appreciate your support ...
• Submit your requisitions ...
• Colonel Hall will appoint the IG team ...
• Please submit ...

The Symptoms of Passive Voice and Three Cures

How can you diagnose passive voice? You don’t have to be a grammarian to recognize passive voice. First, find the verb by asking yourself, "What’s happening in this sentence?" Then find the actor by asking, "Who’s doing it?" If the actor comes after the verb, it’s passive voice. Also, watch for these forms of the verb to be (am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been) and a main verb usually ending in -ed or -en. Let’s look at a few examples and then try the cures, below.

Passive: The mouse was eaten by the cat.
Active: The cat ate the mouse.

Passive: Livelier sentences will be written by you.
Active: You will write livelier sentences.

Passive: Water is drunk by everybody.
Active: Everybody drinks water.

Put the Actor (Doer) Before the Verb.

This: The handlers must have broken the part.
Not: The part must have been broken by the handlers.

Drop Part of the Verb.

This: The results are in the attachment.
Not: The results are listed in the attachment.

Change the Verb.

This: The replacement has not arrived yet.
Not: The replacement has not been received yet.

Though most writers overuse passive voice, sometimes it’s appropriate. Clear and forceful language may be inappropriate in diplomacy or in political negotiations. Passive voice is also used to soften bad news, or when the doer or actor of the action is unknown, unimportant, obvious or better left unnamed. Here are a few examples:

The part was shipped on 1 June. (The doer is unimportant.)
Presidents are elected every four years. (The doer is obvious.)
Christmas has been scheduled as a workday. (The doer is better left unnamed.)

The bottom line: Passive voice is wordy, indirect, unclear and reverses the natural order of English. Active voice is clear and concise. Using verbs correctly-actively-is key to writing clear, concise and interesting sentences. Activate your writing!

Smothered Verbs

Make your verbs do the work for you. Weak writing relies on general verbs that take extra words to complete their meaning. Don’t use a general verb (make) plus extra words (a choice) when you can use one specific verb (choose).

Wordy: The IG team held a meeting to give consideration to the printing issue.
Better: The IG team met to consider the printing issue.

Wordy: They made the decision to give their approval.
Better: They decided to approve it.

Here’s another tip on verbs-watch out for words ending in -ion and -ment-these are verbs turned into nouns. Change these nouns to verbs: your sentences will be shorter and livelier.

Wordy: Use that format for the preparation of your command history.
Better: Use that format to prepare your command history.

Wordy: The settlement of travel claims involves the examination of orders.
Better: Settling travel claims involves examining orders.

We’ve spent a lot of time looking at verbs because they’re the most important words in your sentences. The bottom line: keep verbs active, lively, specific, concise and out in front, not hidden. Another potential stumbling block for readers is "unparallelism.”

Parallel Construction (Parallelism)

Use a consistent pattern when making a list. If your sentence contains a series of items separated by commas, keep the grammatical construction similar-if two of three items start with a verb, make the third item start with a verb. Violations occur when writers mix things and actions, statements and questions, and active and passive instructions. The trick is to be consistent. Make ideas of equal importance look equal.

Needs work: The functions of a military staff are to advise the commander, transmit instructions and implementation of decisions. [Advise and transmit are verbs, while implementation is a noun.]
Acceptable: The functions of a military staff are to advise the commander, transmit instructions and implement decisions. [Parallel ideas are now written in the same grammatical form.]

Needs work: The security policeman told us to observe the speed limit and we should dim our lights. [Parallel ideas are not written in the same grammatical form.]
Acceptable: The security policeman told us to observe the speed limit and to dim our lights.

Needs work: Universal military values include that we should act with integrity, dedication to duty, the belief that freedom is worth dying for and service before self.
Acceptable: Universal military values include commitment to integrity, dedication to duty, service before self, and the belief that freedom is worth dying for.

If one of the items in a list can’t be written in the same grammatical structure, place it at the end of the sentence. In the previous example, "the belief that freedom is worth dying for" does not match the three-word construction of the other items, but its placement helps the sentence’s readability. Active voice, strong verbs and parallelism can help make your sentences clear and concise. Now, let’s look at some more things you can do to write effective sentences-using the right word for the job.

Use the Right Word for the Job

Without generalizations and abstractions, and lots of them, we would drown in detail. We sum up vast amounts of experience when we speak of dedication, programs, hardware and lines of authority. But such abstract language isn’t likely to evoke the same experiences in each reader’s mind. Lazy writing overuses vague terms such as immense dedication, enhanced programs, viable hardware and responsive lines of authority. It especially weakens job descriptions and performance evaluations, etc.

Be Concrete

Do not write "The commander will give guidance," or "The equipment must meet specs." Your reader might wonder what kind of guidance or what kind of specs? Neither you nor your readers can tackle the problem until you are specific. Be as definite as the situation permits. Include only the ideas your reader needs and then give those ideas no more words than they deserve.

Table \(7.3.1\) Use the Right Word for the Job

 

For	Try	For	Try
commanders	MAJCOM commanders	Ford	Focus
headace	migraine	emotion	love
car, vehicle	Ford	plane	F-22
smarphone	iPhone 4	socialize	minge, meet

 

Know Various Shades of Meaning.

Use different words to express various shades of meaning. The writer with an adequate vocabulary writes about the aroma of a cigar, the fragrance of a flower, the scent of perfume or the odor of gas instead of the smell of all these things.

Judge the Jargon

The aim of all communication is to make a personal contact in the simplest possible way, and the simplest way is to use familiar, everyday words. Above all, it must be adapted to specific circumstances with a minimum of jargon. Jargon consists of "shorthand" words, phrases or abbreviations that are peculiar to a relatively small group of people. DEROS (Date Eligible to Return from Overseas) and AWOL (Absent Without Leave) are examples of military jargon. Every profession has it. NPO which means Nil Per Os (nothing by mouth) and contusion (bruise) are examples of medical jargon. Writers often use jargon in their sentences to fill space and impress the naive. Unfortunately, overuse of jargon can backfire on you by actually confusing your reader. CAUTION! Before you use jargon, make sure you have carefully assessed the audience and use terms that will be familiar to them. Keep it simple with everyday words and phrases, or at least explain any jargon you must use. If you use an abbreviation, spell it out the first time it appears. If it appears only twice or infrequently, spell out the term every time and avoid the abbreviation entirely. For more on abbreviations see Appendix \(1 .\)

Clichés

Clichés are expressions that have lost their impact because they have been overused. Strive for originality in your choice of words and phrases. The list of clichés below is not exhaustive. You just may not find your favorite here.

Table \(7.3.2\) Clichés

acid test	add insult to injury	armed to the teeth
as a matter of fact	at a loss for words	banker's hours
battle royal	beat a hasty retreat	beautyr and the beast
benefit of the doubt	better late than never	bewildering variety
beyond the shadow of a doubt	bite the dust	blazing inferno
blessed event	blessing in disguise	blissful ignorance
brave as a lion	break of day	bright and early
bull in a china shop	burn one's bridges	burn the midnight oil
burning issue	bury the hatchet	busy as a bee
by the same token	calm before the storm	cherished belief
clear the decks	club-wielding police	colorful scene
conspicuous by its absence	cool as a cucumber	coveted award
crack of dawn	crack troops	cutting edge
dramatic new move	dread disease	dream come true
drop in the bucket	easier said than done	fame and fortune
feast or famine	fickle fortune	food for thought
from the face of the earth	gentle hint	glaring omission
glutton for punishment	gory details	grief stricken
grim reaper	hammer out (an agreement)	hand in glove
happy couple	hard as a rock	head over heels in love
heart of gold	heavily armed troops	honest as the day is long
hook, line and sinker	hungry as wolves	in short supply
in this day and age	intensive investigation	iron out (problems)
irony of fate	it goes without saying	Lady Luck
lash out	last but not least	last-ditch stand
leaps and bounds	leave no stone unturned	lend a helping hand
light at the end of the tunnel	lightning speed	limp into port
lock, stock, and barrel	long arm of the law	man in the street
marvels of science	matrimonial bliss (knot)	meager pension
miraculous escape	moment of truth	more than meets the eye
Mother Nature	move into high gear	never a dull moment
Old Man Winter	one more than one occasion	paint a grim picture
pay the supreme penalty	picture of health	pillar of (the church, society)
pinpoint the cause	police dragnet	pool of blood
posh resort	powder keg	predawn darkness
prestigious law firm	proud heritage	proud parents
pursuit of excellence	quick as a flash	radiant bride
red faces, red-faced	reign supreme	reins of government
roud of applause	rushed to the scene	sadder but wiser
scantily clad	scintilla of evidence	scurried to shelter
selling like hotcakes	sharp as a razor	sings like a bird
spearheading the campaign	spirited debate	spotlessly clean
sprawling base, facility	spreading like wildfire	steaming jungle
stick out like a sore thumb	storm of protest	stranger than fiction
supreme sacrifice	surprise move	sweep under the rug
sweet harmony	sweetness and light	tempest in a teapot
tender mercies	terror stricken	tip of the iceberg
to no avail	too numerous to mention	tower of strength
tragic death	trail of death and destruction	true colors
vanish in thin air	walking encyclopedia	wave of the future
wealth of information	whirlwind campaign	wouldn't touch that with a 10-foot pole

Easily Confused Words

Many writers and speakers frequently confuse the meaning of some words. Here’s a small list of some easily confused words. Be on the lookout for others.

Table \(7.3.3\) Easily Confused Words

accept: verb, receive except: verb or preposition, omitting or leaving out	exceptional: out of the ordinary exceptionable: objectionable
advice: noun, counsel given, an opinion advise: verb, to give counsel or advice	farther: expresses distance furhter: expresses degree
affect: verb, to influence or feign effect: noun, result; verb, to bring about	fewer: refers to numbers; countable items less: refers to mass; items can't be counted
aggravate: make worse or intensify annoy: disturb or irritate	formally: in a formal manner formerly: in the past
all ready: everyone is prepared already: adverb, by specific time	hanged: to execute; criminals are hanged hung: suspended or nailed up; pictures are hung
all together: collectively or in a group altogether: wholly or entirely	healthy: possessing health healthful: conductive to health wholesome: healthful as applied to food or climate
alright: not acceptable spelling all right: satisfactory	imply: to hint at or suggest infer: to draw a conclusion based on evidence
allusion: indirect reference delusion: false belief illusion: a false impression	incredible: unbelievable, improbable incredulous: skeptical, doubting
alumni: men graduates of group of men and women graduates alumnae: women graduates	instance: example instant: moment of time incident: event or an occurrence
among: used when more than two alternatives between: used when only two alternatives	ingenious: clever or resourceful ingenuous: innocently frank or candid
anxious: worry or fearfulness eager: keen desire	lay: to place lie: to recline; to stretch out
apt: suitable, quick to learn, natural tendency liable: legally responsible likely: refers to the probable, probability	likely: a favorable probability liable: legally responsible apt: a natural fitness or tendency
as: a subordinate conjunction like: a presposition	lose: a verb loose: primarily an adjective
avocation: hobby vocation: customary employment	luxuriant: abundant growth luxurious: pertains to luxury
beside: preposition, next to or near besides: adverb, in addition; preposition, addition to	may be: a modal verb maybe: perhaps
bi-: occurring every two (units of time) semi-: occurring twice (during the time period)	moneys: currency monies: amount of money
bring: action toward the speaker take: action away from the speaker	morale: refers to a spirit or a mood moral: refers to right conduct
can: ability may: permission	persecute: to afflict or harass prosecute: to pursue until finished or to bring legal action against a defendant
capital: city or money capitol: a building	practical: useful, sensible practicable: feasible; a person cannot be praciticable
censor: examine in order to forbid if objectionable censure: condemn or to reprimand	principal: adjective, foremost; noun, main person principle: noun, precept or idea
compliment: praise complement: supplies a lack; it completes	raise: to life or cause to be lifted rise: tp move to a higher position
compose: to consititute comprise: to include or consist of	respectively: in the order given respectfully: full of respect
consul: foreign representative council: a group counsel: advice, to give advice	set: to put or to place sit: to occupy a seat
contemptible: base, worthless, despicable contemptuous: expressing contempt or disdain	shape: condition of being condition: state, situation
continually: closely recurrent intervals continuously: without pause or break	sometime: at some unspecified time some time: a period of time sometimes: now and then
credible: believable creditable: deserving credit or honor credulous: ready to believe anything	specie: coin species: a kind or variety
disinterested: impartial or objective uninterseted: indifferent	stationary: in a fixed place stationery: writing paper, envelopes
eligible: qualified to be chosen illegible: unable to read	than: conjunction of comparison then: adverb, at that time
emigrate: to leave a country to settle in another immigrate: to enter a country to settle there	their: third person plural pronoun, possessive there: adverb or interjection they're: contraction of they are
eminent: noted or renowned imminent: impending	verbal: applies to that which is communicated in words, spoken or written oral: applies only to that which is spoken
enervating: weakening invigorating: stimulating	who: refers to people which: refers to things
ensure: guarantee insure: obtain insurance for

Doubleheaders

The Word by Rene J. Cappon details how to avoid writing a project’s importance and significance when importance will do. Even a person’s success and achievement is okay with just success. Pairs of words with similar meanings add bulk. Although test and evaluate are different, the differences may not be important for all audiences. When you’re tempted to use two words, try one to say it all. Thomas Jefferson said: "The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do."

Table \(7.3.4\) Doubleheaders

aid and abet	each and every	ready and willing
beck and call	fair and just	right and proper
betwixt and between	few and far between	safe and sound
bits and pieces	irrelevant and immaterial	shy and withdrawn
blunt and brutal	nervous and distraught	smooth and silky
bound and determined	nook and cranny	success and achievement
clear and simple	null and void	sum and substance
confused and bewildered	part and parcel	test and evaluate
disgraced and dishonored	pick and choose	various and sundry

Repetitive Redundancy

Not every noun needs an adjective. Not every adjective needs an adverb. Not every writer has gotten the message. Keep your pencil from adding modifiers to those nouns that need no additional voltage. Serious danger, stern warning, deadly poison, grave crisis are examples; the nouns operate better without the modifiers.

Table \(7.3.5\) Repetitive Redundancy

absolutely conclusive	advance planning	agricultural crops
anthracite coal	ascend upward	assemble together
awkward dilemma	basic fundamental	big in size
bisect in two	blend together	both alike
capitol building	chief protagonist; leading protagonist; or main protagonist	close proximity
coalesce together	collaborate together or jointly	complete monopoly
completely full	completely unanimous	congregate together
connect together	consensus of opinion	continue to persist
courthouse building	current or present incumbent	descend downward
divisive quarrel	doctorate degree	end result
exact counterpart	entirely absent	erupt violently
first beginning	fellow colleague	few in number
from whence	founder and sink	free gift
gather together	fuse together	future plan
habitual custom	general public	grateful thanks
indivdual person	hired mercenary	hoist up
join together	invited guest	irreducible minimum
lonely hermit	knots per hour	large in size
mutual cooperation	meaningless gibberish	merge together
new record	necessary need	new innovation
old antique	new recruit	old adage
original founder	opening gambit	organic life
past history	original prototype	passing fad
personal opinion	patently obvious	personal friend
protrude out	pointed barb	present incumbent
recoil back	real fact	recall back
shuttle back and forth	recur again or repeatedly	short in length or height
small in size	single unit	skirt around
temporary reprieve	tall in height	two twins
universal panacea	true facts	ultimate outcome
vitally necessary	violent explosion	visible to the eye

Wordy Words and Phrases vs. Simpler Words and Phrases

Many people use certain wordy words and needless phrases, such as phrases introduced by prepositions like at, on, for, in, to and by. They don’t add substance; they weaken the message by cluttering the words that carry meaning. So prune the deadwood. The longer it takes to say something, the weaker you come across.

The use of simpler words and phrases in your communications may help convey your meaning; however, there are times when more formal or complex words and phrases convey the intended meaning best and are appropriate. For example, contractions are generally not used in formal policy letters or directions intended for a wide audience, such as an entire squadron, group, wing, or higher, or in academic work. This ensures clarity over simplicity. Your situation will dictate which is best to use; when appropriate, use simpler words and phrases.

Table \(7.3.6\) Wordy Words and Phrases vs. Simpler Words and Phrases

Instead of	Try	Instead of	Try
a gread deal of	much	acitvate	start, drive, put into action, turn on
a minimum of	at least	active consideration	consider
a number of	some, many, few	activities	actions
a period of (2 days)	for	actual	real, true
abandon	give up	actual emergency	emergency
abet	help, assist, aid	actual facts	facts
abeyance (hold in)	delay, postpone, wait	actuate	induce, move, drive, impel
abridge	shorten, condense	additional	added, more, other further
abrogate	do away with, abolish, cancel, revoke	address	speech, speak of, speak to, deal with
accelerate	speed up, hasten	adequate	enough, plenty
accept	take, receive	adjacent to	next to
accommodate	make fit, make room for, allow for	advanced plans	plans
accompany	go with	advantageous	helpful, useful, beneficial, good
accomplish	carry out, do complete	adverse to	against, opposed to
accomplish (a form)	fill out, complete, fill in, prepare	advise	recommend, tell inform
according to	per	advised (keep me)	informed (or "inform me")
accordingly	so, then, therefore	affirmative	agree, assent to, say "yes"
accrue	add, gain	affix	put, stick, attach, place, add
accumulate	gather, amass, collect	affix a signature	sign
accurate	correct, exact, right	afford an opportunity	allow, let, permit
acheive	do, make	after the conclusion of	after
achieve the maximum	get the most from, excel	agency	office
acquire	get, gain, earn, win	aggregate	all, total, sum, combined, whole, entire
aircraft	military plane	authority	sanction, control, guidance
all of	all	authorize	allow, let, permit, empower, prescribe
allegation	charge, claim, assertion	autonomous	independent
alleviate	ease, relieve, lessen	avail yourself of	use
allotment	share, portion	availability	presence, use
along the lines of	like, similar to	based on the fact that	because
alter, alteration	change	be acquainted with	know
alternative	choice, option, substitute	be cognizant of	know
amalgamate	merge, combine, unite, mix	be of assistance to	assist, help, aid
ambient	surrounding	befall	happen, occur
ameliorate	better, improve	behest	requrest, order
annually	yearly	behoove	(avoid) proper, helpful, beneficial
antedate	precede	benefit	help
anticipate	expect, forsee	bestow	give
anipathy	dislike, distaste	betterment	improvement
antithesis	opposite, contrast	biannual	twice a year
anxiety	fear	biennial	once in 2 years
apprarent	clear, plain, visible	bilateral	two sided
apparently	seemingly, clearly	bona fide	real, genuine, sincere
appear	seem	brief (duration)	short, quick
appellation	name	brook (tolerate)	allow
append	add, attach	burgeoning	increasing, growing
applicable	which applies, proper, correct, suitable	by menas of	by, with
application	use (noun)	by virtue of	because, by, under
appreciable	many	came to an end	ended
appreciate	value	capability	ability
apprise	tell, inform	capable	able
appropriate	proper, right, apt, pertinent, fit	care should be taken	be careful, take care
approximately	about, nearly, almost	category	class, group
are desirous of	want to	characteristic	trait (noun), typical of (adjective)
are in receipt of	received	characterize	describe, portray
as a matter of fact	in fact	circuitous	roundabout
as a means of	to	classify	arrange
as a result of	because	close proximity	close, near
as against	against	cognizant of	aware of, know, understand, comprehend
as and when	as, when (not both)	as at present advised	as advised
coincidentally	at the same time	as of (this date)	by (today), today
collaboration	(see "cooperation")	as prescribed by	under, per
colloquy	discussion, talk	as to whether	whether, if
combine	join	ascertain	find out, learn, make sure
combined	joint	assert	claim, declare
comes into conflict	conflicts	assimilate	absorb, digest, join, include
commence	begin, start	assist, assistance	aid, help
commensurate	equal to, to agree with	at a later date	later
commensurate with	corresponding, according, equal to	at a much greater rate	faster, more quickly
communicate verbally	talk, discuss, say, tell	at all times	always
compensate, compensation	pay	at an early date	soon
at present	now, currently, presently	comply (with)	follow, carry out, meet, satisfy
at such time	when	component	part
at the present time	currently, at present, now	comprehend	grasp, take in, understand
at the time of	when	comprehensive	all-inclusive, thorough
at this juncutre (time)	now	comprise	form, include, make up, contain
at your earliest convenience (formal)	as soon as you can (informal, more direct)	comprised of	made up of, consists of
concerning	about, on	attached herewith is	here is
conclude	close, end, think, figure, decide	attached please find	here is, attached is, enclosed is
conclusion	end	attain	reach, gain, achieve
concur	agree, approve	attempt	try
condition	state, event, facts	attempts to	tries
conduct (verb)	carry out, manage, direct, lead	attention is invited to	note, see
confront	face, meet, oppose	attired	dressed
conjecture	guess	augment	add,increase, extend, enlarge, raise
connection	link, tie	authored	wrote
connotation	meaning	authroitative	valid, official
consensus of opinion	agreement, verdict, general, view	consequently	so, therefore
due to the fact that	because of hence, since, due to	consider	look at think about, regard
duplicate	copy	considerable (amount)	large, great
duration	time, period	consolidate	combine, join, merge
during such time	while	constitutes	is, forms, makes up
during the periods when	when	construct	build, make
consult	ask	echelon	level, grade, rank
consummate	finish, complete	edifice	building
contained in	in	educator	teacher, trainer
containing	has, that have, etc.	effect (verb)	make, cause, bring about
contains	has	effect an improvement	improve
contemporaneously	at the same time	effectuate	carry out, put into effect
contiguous	next to, near, touching	ellaborate (on)	expand on, develop
continue	keep on	elapsed (time has)	passed
contractual agreement	agreement, contract	elect	choose, pick
contribute	give	elementary	simple, basic
cooperate together	cooperate, help	elevated	height, altitude
cooperation	jointly, with	elicit	draw out, bring out, prompt, cause
coordination	staff action, relate, agree, conform	eliminate	cut, drop, end, remove, omit, delete
couched	phrased, worded	elimination	removal, discarding, omission
course of time	time	elucidate	explain, clarify
criteria (plural)	standards, rules, yardsticks	emanates	emits, comes from, gives out
criterion (singular)	standard, norm	emphasize	stress, point out
currently	now (or leave out)	employ	use
de-emphasize	play down	enable	let
decelerate	slow down, reduce speed	encompass in	include, enclose
deem	think, judge, hold, believe	encounter	meet, find, meeting
deficiency	defect, shortage, lack	encourage	urge, promote, favor, persuade
definitely	final	end product	result, product, outcome
delegate authority	empower, assign	end result	end, result, outcome
delineate	draw, describe, portray, outline	endeavor	try, effort, action
delinquent	late	enhance	increase, raise, heighten, improve
demeanor	manner, conduct	ensue	follow, result
demise	death	ensure	make sure, see that
demonstrate	prove, show, explain	enumerate	count, list
depart	leave	envisage	picture, view, have in mind, regard
depict	describe, show	equally as	as
deprivation	loss	equanimity	poise, blanace
deprive	take away, remove, withhold	equitable	fair, just
derive	receive, take	equivalent	equal
derogatory	damaging, slighting	eradicate	wipe out, remove, destroy, erase
descend	go down	erroneous	wrong, mistaken
designate	appoint, name, pick, assign, select	especially	chiefly
desire	wish, want	essentials	basic, necessary, vital, important
detailed	more, full	establish	set up, prove, show, make, set, fix
deteriorate	run down, grow worse	estimate	conclude, appraise, judge
determination	ruling	evaulate	check, rate, test, measure, analyze price
determine	decide, figure, find	detrimental	harmful
evaluation	rating	develop	grow, make, take place
eventuate	result	dialogue, dialog	talk, discussion
every effort will be made	(I/you/we/they) will try	dichotomy	split, separation
difficult	hard	everyboyd, everyone	each, all
dimension	size	evidence	fact
diminish	drop, lessen, reduce, decrease	evidenced	showed
disadvantage	drawback, handicap	evident	clear, plain, obvious
disallow	reject, deny, refuse	evince	show, display, express
disclose	show, reveal, make known	evolution	change, growth
discontinue	drop, stop, end	exacerbate	to make more severe, worse or bitter
disseminate	issue, send, pass out, spread, announce	examination	checkup, test, check, search, questioning
distribute	spread, share, allot	divulge	make known, reveal
examine	check, look at or into, test, study, inspect	donate	give
donward adjestment	decrease	exceed	go beyond, surpase
due in large measure	because, due to	exceedingly	notable, extremely, very
excessive	too much, too many	execute	sign, perform, do act
give rise to	raise, cause, bring about	exercise (authority)	use
goes without saying	(unnecessary)	exhaustive	thorough, complete
govern	rule	exhibit	show, display
habituate	accustom, make use to, adapt, adjust	exigency	urgend demand, urgent need, emergency
has the ability	can	exorbitant	too much, abnormal
has the capability	can	expedite	hurry, rush, speed up, fast, quick, hasten
has the capability of	is capable of, can, is able to	have the need for	need
expeditious	fast, quick, prompt, speedy; exercise care, watch out, take care, use care	have to	must, need to
held a meeting	met	expend	pay out, spend, use
henceforth	until now	expendable	used up, consumed, replaceable
hereby	by this	expenditure	(see "expense")
herein	here (often unnecessary)	expense	cost, fee, price, loss, charges
heretofore	until now	experience indicates	experience shows, learned
hiatus	gap, lapse	experiment	test, try, trial
higher degree of	more	expertise	expert opinion, skill, knowledge
hitherto	up to now, until now	explain	show, tell
hold in abeyance	suspend, delay, wait	expostulate	demand, discuss, object
homogeneity	unity, agreement, consensus	extant	existing, current
hopefully	I hope	extend	spread, stretch
however	but	extensive	large, wide
identical	same	extenuating	qualifying, justifying
identification	name, designation	external	outer
identify	find, name, show, point out, recognize	extinguish	quench, put out
if and when	if, when (not both)	fabricate	construct, make, build, invent
ilk	sort, kind	facilitate	ease, help along, make easy, further, aid
illustrate	show, make clear	factor	reason, cause
immediately	at once, now, promptly, quickly	failed to	did not
imminent	near	familiarity	knowledge
impact	affect (verb), effect (noun)	familiarize	inform, learn, teach
impacted	affected, changed, hit	fatuous numskull	jerk
impediment	block, barrier	feasible	possible, can be done, workable, practical
imperative	urgent	impetus	drive, power, force
females	women	implement	carry out, do, do follow, complete, fulfill
final	last	implication	impact meaning, effect
finalize	complete, finish, conclude, end	importatn	major, greater, main
firstly	first	impugn	assail, attack, criticize
foe	enemy	impulse	drive, push, thrust
for example	such as	in a manner similar to	like, in the same way, as
for the purpose of	for, to	in a number of cases	some, often, at times
for the reason that	becasue, since	in a position to	can
for this reason	so	in a satisfactory manner	satisfactorily
for your information	(usually not needed)	forfeit	give up, lose
in a situation in which	when	formulate	make, devise, repair
in accordance with	by, under, per, according to (AFI XX-XXX, commander's order, law)	forthcoming	coming, future, approaching
forthwith	at once, right away	in addition to	also, besides, too, plush
fortuitous	by chance, lucky, fortunate	in an effort to	to, so that, so
forward	send	in case of	if
fragment	piece, part	in close proximity	near, nearby, close
frequiently	often	in compliance with the	as directed as requested, request
fullest possible extent	as much as possible, fully	in conjunction with	with, together
function	act, role, work	in connection with	in, with, on, aobut
fundamental	basic, main, primary	in favor of	for
furnish	give, send, provide, supply	in its entirety	all of it
further more	besides, also	in lieu of	instead of, in place of
future date	sometime, later	in order that	for, so, so that
gained from	obtained, learned, source	in order to	to
gainsay	deny, dispute, contradict	in process of preparation	being prepared
generate	produce	germane	relevant, fitting, related
in recent past	lately	give consideration to	consider
in reference to	regarding, about, on, concerning	give encouragement to	encourage, urge (see "encourage")
in regard to	about, concerning, on	give feedback	respond
in relation to	about, concerning, on	give instructions to	instruct, direct
in respect to	regarding, about, concerning, on	in sufficient time	early or soon enough, ahead of time
interpret	grasp, explain, understand	in the amount of	for, of
interrogate	question	in the course of	during, in, when
investigate	examine, study	in the event of	if
irrespective	regardless	in the event that	if, in case
is dependent upon	depends on	in the immediate future	soon
is in receipt of	receives, got	in the majority of instances	most cases or most times
is responsible for obtaining	obtains	in the matter of	in, on
is responsible for selection	selects	in the nature of	like
in the near future	soon	is symptomatic of	shows
in the negative	no, denied, disapproved	it is	(leave out)
in the neighborhood	about, around	it is essential	must
in the time of	during	it is important to note	note
in the vicinity of	near, around	it is obvious that	clearly, obviously
in view of	since	it is possible that	may, possibly
in view of the above	so, since, therefore	it is recommended	I, we recommend
in view of the fact	because, as	it is requested	pelase, request
in this day and age	today, nowadays	jeopardize	endanger
in this instance	here (often necessary)	jurisdictional authority	control
in-depth	(avoid if possible) thorough, complete	justification	grounds, reasons
inaccurate	wrong, incorrect	justify	prove
inadvertently	accidentally, mistakenly	juxtaposition (in)	alongside, next to
in as much as	since, because	knowledge	experienced, well- trained
inaugurate	start, begin, open	legislation	law
inception	start, beginning	limitations	limits
incident to	pertaining, connected with	limited number	few
incidental	related, by chance	locate	find
incombustible	fireproof, (it) will not burn	location	place, scene, site
incorporate	blend, join, merge, include, combine, add	magnitude	size, extent
maintain (maintenance)	keep, support (upkeep)	increase	rise, grow, enlarge, add to
majority	greatest, longest, most	increment	increase, gain, amount
make a decision	decide	incumbent upon	must
make a reply	reply	indebtedness	debt
make a request	request, ask for	indefinite	vague, uncertain
make a statement	state	indeterminate	vague, uncertain
make an adjustment	adjust, resolve	indicate	show, write down, call for, point out
make every effort	try	indication	sign, evidence
make provisions for	provide, do	individual (noun)	person, member
mandatory	must, required	individually	each, one at a time, singly
manifest (to be)	clear, plain	ineffectual	futile, useless, ineffective
manufacture	make, build	inexpensive	cheap, low-priced
materialize	appear, take form	infinite	endless
materially	greatly	inflammable	(it) burns, flammable, burnable
maximal	highest, greatest	inherent	basic, natural
maximize	increase	inimical	hostile, unfriendly, opposed
maximum	most, greatest	initial (adjective)	first
meets with approval	is approved	initially	first, at first
mention	refer to	initiate	start, begin, act
metamorphosis	change	innate	basic, native, inborn
minimal	least, lowest, small	insignificant	slight, trivial, unimportant
mitigate	lessen, ease	insofar as	since, for, unimportant
mitigate	lessen, ease	insomuch as	since
modify	change, moderate, qualify	instance	case, example
monitor	check, watch, oversee, regualte	instantaneously	instantly, at once, suddenly
multitudinous	populous, large (crowd)	insitute (verb)	set up, start
more specifically	for example	integrate	combine
most unique	unique	interface	connect, talk, coordinate, join, work together, merge, joint, point of contact, frontier, junction, common boundary
negligible	small, trifling	neophyte	new, novice
nevertheless	however, even so, but	interpose no objection	do not object
nebulous	vague	interpose objections to	disapprove, disagree, object, non-concur
necessitate	cause, need, make, require, cause to be	not infrequrently	often
portend	predict, mean	not later than	by, before
portent	sign, omen	not often	seldom
portion	part, share, lot	notwithstanding the fact	although, nonetheless, nevertheless
position	place	positively	(often unnecessary)
notification	announcement, report, warning	possess	have, own
notify	let know, tell	posterior	end, rear
numerous	many, most	postpone	put off, delay
objective	aim, goal	postulate (verb)	claim, assert, suggest
obligate, obligatory	bind, compel	posture (on an issue)	view, position, attitude
observe	see	potential (adjective)	possible
obtain	get	practicable	possible, workable
obviate	prevent, remove, rule out	practically (done)	almost, nearly
obvious	plain, clear	precept	order, command, principle, rule of action
of great importance	important	of large dimensions	large, big, enormous
precipitate (adjective)	rash, sudden, hasty, abrupt	of late	lately
preclude	prevent, shut out	of no avail	useless, no use
predicament	fix, dilemma	of the opinion (to be)	to believe, think
predicated on	based on	often times	often
predominant	dominant, main, chief	on account of	because
predominantly	mainly, chiefly, mostly	on behalf of	by, for, representing
preeminent	chief, outstanding, foremost, first	on the basis of	based on
preliminary to	before	on the grounds that	because
premier	first, leading	on the part of	for
preparatory to	before	operate	run, work
prepared	ready	operation	action, performance
operational	working	presently	now, soon
optimize	improve, strengthen	preserve	keep
optimum	greatest, most favorable, best	prevail upon	persuade
option	choice, way	prevalent	widespread
opus	work	primary	first, chief
organization	makeup, work site	prime	best
orifice	hole, vent, mouth	prior to	before
originate	start, create, begin	previous to	before
outlook	view	previously	before
outstanding (debt)	unpaid, unresolved	probability	chance, likelihood
over the signature of	signed by	problematical	doubtful
overlook	view, sight	procedures	rules, ways
parameters	limits, factors, boundaries	prioritize	rank, order, organized
paramount	superior, supreme, principal, chief	preventative	preventive
partake	share, take part in	previous	earlier, past
participate	take part	proceed	do, go on, try
particularize	(avoid using) details, specifies, itemize	procure	get, gain
patently	evidently	proficiency	skill, ability
peculiar to	unusual	profound	deep
penitentiary	prison	programmed	planned
per annum	each year, a year	prohibit	prevent, forbid
perform	do, act, produce, complete, finish	project (ed) (verb)	planned
period of time	period, time	promulgate	announce, issue, set forth
periodic	cyclic, recurring	proportion	share, part, size, amount
periphery	confines, limits, perimeter	porposal	plan, offer
permit	let	prototype	first or original, model, pattern
pernicious	deadly, harmful	provide	give, say, supply, furnish
personnel	perople, staff	provide for	care for
pertaining to	about, of, on	provided that	if
pertinent	to the point	provides guidance for	guides
peruse	read, study	provisions (of a law)	terms
phenomenon	fact, event	proximity	nearness, distance
pictured	shown, imagined	purchase	buy
place	put	purport	claim, mean
plaudits	praise, applause, approval	pursuant to	comply with, in, undre, per, according to
plethora	excess, too much	point in time	time, now, then
purvey	supply, provide, sell	point of view	(usually unnecessary)
purview	range, scope	quantify	count, measure, state the amount
specify	list	rationale	reason
square in shape	square	reach a decision	decide
state (verb)	say	reason for	why
statutory	legal	reason is because	because
still remains	remains	recapitulate	sum up, summarize, report
stimulate	stir, arouse	recipient	receiver
stipend	salary, payment, fee	recommend	propose, suggest, advance
strict accuracy	accuracy	recommendation	advice, thought, counsel, opinion
subordinate (verb)	to lower, subdue	reduce	cut
subordinate commands	their commands	referred to as	called, named
subsequent to	after, later, next	reflect	show, say
submit	offer, give, send	regarding	about, of, on
substantial	large, real, strong, much, solid	regardless	in spite of, no matter
substantiate	prove, support	reimbursement	payment, repayment
substitute (verb)	replace	reiterate	repeat
succor	help, aid	related with	on, about
succumb	die, yield	relating to	on, about, for
such	similar, like	relative to	on, about, for
such as	like, that is	relocation	move
sufficient	enough, ample	remain	stay
subsequently	after, later, then, next	remainder	the rest, what remains
stringent	tight, strict	remedy	cure
subject	the, this, your	remittance	payment
subject to examination	check, examine, verify	remove	take away, take off, move
sufficiently in advance	early enough	remuneration	pay, payment
sum total	sum, total	render	give, make, report
superfluous	extra, too much, useless	repeat again	repeat, do again
supervise	manage	replete	full, filled
supposition	belief, thought, idea	represent	stand for, depcit
surmise	think, guess, suppose	reproduce, reproduction	copy
susceptible to	open to, subject to	symptom	sign
request	ask, please	synthesis	merging, combining
require	must, need, call for	synthesize	put together, group, assemble
requirement	need	tabulation	table
requisite	needed	take action	act
reside	live	take apporpriate action	please
retain	keep	take necessary action	act
return	go back	take necessary steps	do
review	check, go over	technicality	detail, fine point
rudiments	first steps, basics	technique	way, method
salient	main, important	tender (verb)	offer, give
salutary	good, healthy	tentative	uncertain
sans	without	terminate	end, stop
satisfactory	fine, good, good enough	terrible disaster	disaster
saturate	soak, fill	that	(leave out)
scant	little, only	that aforesaid	(usually unnecessary) given or said above
scrupulous	careful	scrutinize	study carefully, look into
the fact that	(usually unnecessary) that	segment	part
the following	this, these	seldom ever	seldom
the foregoing	these, those, (something) above	selection	choice
the fullest degree possible	fully, as much as possible	serves to	acts, helps, works
significance	meaning, point, importance	the provisions of	(leave out)
significant	main, great, major, marked,	the question as to whether	whether
signify	mean, show (verb)	similar to	like
the undersigned desires	I want	sine qua non	essential
the use of	(leave out)	situated	placed, located, work asssignment, state
thence	from there	small in size	small
therapy	treatment	so as to	to
there are	(leave out)	solicit	ask for
there is	(leave out)	solitary	lone, single
thereafter	after that, afterwards, then	somewhat	(usually padding)
thereby	by that, by it	specifications	terms, details, conditions
therefore	so	therein	in (usually unnecessary)
thereof	of, its, their	very	(usually unnecessary)
thereon	on (usually unnecessary)	very far	distant, remote
thereto	to that, to it	very hot	torrid, scorching, fiery
thereupon	at once	very large	enormous, immense, huge, spacious, vast
thirdly	third	this office	us, we
very last	last	this point in time	now
very least	least	thither	there
very near	adjacent, close	through the use of	by, with
very pretty	gorgeous, beautiful	thus	so
very quiet	still, silent	thwart	frustrate, block, stop, hinder
very small	tiny, puny	time period or time frame	time, period, span
very strong	powerful, potent, forceful	very stupid	dense, moronic, idiotic, stupid
timely basis	promptly, fast, quickly	very weak	exhausted, frail, flimsy, inadequate
to be aware of	know	via	in, on, though, by way of
to effectively direct	to direct	viable	workable, capable of growing
to the extent that	as far as, so much that	vicinity of	close, near
transcend	go beyond	vicissitudes	ups and downs, changes, difficulties
transformation	change	vie	compete
transmit	send	virtually	almost
transparent	clear	visualize	see, imagine, picture
transpire	happen, occur	vitiate	weaken, spoil, impair, debase
transport	carry, move	voluminous	bulky, large
transverse	crosswise	warrant	call for, permit
trauma	shock	whence	from where
true facts	facts	whenever	when, each time
type	(leave out)	whereas	since, while
ultimate	final, end	whereby	by which
ultimately	in the end, finally	wherein	in which, where
under advisement	(avoid) being considered	wherever	where
under separate cover	(usually necessary)	wherewithal	means
underprivileged	poor, deprived	whether or not	whether, if
understand	know	will be effected	will be done
unintentionally	by mistake, mistakenly, accidentally	will make use of	will use
until such time as	until, when	with a view to	to, for
upgrade	improve	with due regard for, or to	for, to
upon	on	with reference to	on, about
upward adjustment	raise, increase	with regard to	about, on, regarding, concerning
usage	use	with the exception of	except, except for, but
utilize, utilization	use, employ	with the purpose of	to
validate	confirm	with the result that	so
value	cost, worth	within the purview of	under
variation	change	withstand	stand, resist
velocity	speed	witnessed	saw
vend	sell	verbatim	word for word, exact
veritable	(padding-usually unnecessary)

We've been looking a lot at how to use the right word for the job to write clear and concise sentences. Before we leave this section on effective sentence writing, there are two more areas we need to cover that have an impact on readability-sentence length and using questions.

Sentence Length

The purpose of words on paper is to transfer thoughts in the simplest manner with the greatest clarity. You should avoid long, complicated sentences over 20 words (average is 17 words). Break up long, stuffy sentences by making short sentences of dependent clauses or by using lists. Short sentences increase the pace; long ones usually retard it. The key is to vary your pattern since constant use of either form can be monotonous.

Using Questions

Use questions now and then to call attention to what you want. You’re actually reaching out to your reader when a sentence ends with a question mark. In a longer communication, a question can definitely be a welcome change.