8.3: Using Strong and Specific Words

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Page ID: 329055

Talley Caruso
Chabot College

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Each word counts. This is why, when you’re revising your draft, you should pay special attention to the words you choose. Some choices will make your writing more effective than others.

Specific vs. general words

Choose words with specific meanings instead of general ones. For example, instead of “things,” tell your reader what the “things” are. For example, instead of referring to the collection of vegetables in figure 6.5.1 as “things,” or even “vegetables,” consider being more specific, naming and describing them.

Colorful bell peppers in baskets at a farmers market.

"Farmers Market" by ianmalcm is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Specific Verbs

Instead of…	Try…
have	contain, provide, sell, offer, enjoy
change	adapt, adjust, modify, transform
add	increase, expand, extend, incorporate
reduce	decrease, simplify, optimize, minimize
make better	improve, enhance, upgrade, refine
make worse	worsen, complicate, aggravate, exacerbate
say	point out, highlight, mention, express
see	notice, observe, recognize, detect
get	receive, obtain, acquire, gain, secure
help	support, assist, encourage, facilitate
need	depend on, lack, rely on

Strong verbs

Strong verbs show action that your reader can easily imagine. Good writing has life, energy, and detail. Strong, active verbs add these qualities to your writing.

Avoid "state of being" verbs such as be, do, and have. These verbs reflect a state of being, rather than action. Find "state of being" verbs in your writing and convert some of them to active options where possible.

"State of being" Verbs	Examples of Weak Verbs
be	am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been
do	do, does, did, doing, done
have	have, has, had, having

Below are examples of weak "be" sentences transformed through using strong verbs.

Original Sentence	Revised Sentence
Ana is a nice girl.	Ana smiles at her classmates in the hall.
That dog is mean.	The dog growls at everyone he sees.
The weather is nice.	The sun shines in the blue sky.

Compare these two sentences. Which one is more precise and dynamic?

The community garden’s committee made a decision to revise the community guidelines.
The community garden’s committee decided to revise the community guidelines.

The second sentence conveys the same meaning with fewer words and more lively action.

Use Straightforward Language

Eliminate words that are not needed. State ideas only once within a single sentence instead of repeating a key idea in an attempt to clarify.

Original Sentence

Revised Sentence

The students

made a decision

to revise the community guidelines.

The students

decided

to revise the community guidelines.

The student who won the contest is

a very talented and ambitious

student.

The student who won the contest is

very talented and ambitious.

Analyzing a paragraph for strong and specific words

Let's look at the student essay in terms of strong and specific words:

Try this!

Look again at the second paragraph of Amanda’s essay, paying special attention to word choice.

What are some effective choices Alicia has made?
Can you identify some areas where her word choice could be improved?

It’s tough for people of lower socioeconomic status to get healthy food because they cannot afford high-end organic food. According to American FactFinder, the median family income in West Oakland was 35,037 dollars in 2017, which is below the U.S. median family income of $70,850. Based on this, residents in West Oakland are considered to be of a lower socioeconomic status. As mentioned previously, organic food has no chemical fertilizers or pesticides. Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, the 6th Edition. 2019, states that “organic farming requires more manual labor and attention” (“Organic Food”), so its price is higher than conventional food. Take salted butter as an example; one box of four bars of organic salted butter costs $5.29, while one box of non-organic salted butter only costs $3.49 (as listed on the Whole Foods website). Additionally, as reported by an article, “Socioeconomic Status and Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease: Impact of Dietary Mediators,” “Low-income families purchase low-cost items” because “the price of fruit and vegetables was the most determinative barrier in the consumption of these products from low-income families” (Psaltopoulou Chapter: 2.2. Cost). People with lower income may face difficulty living a self-sufficient life, much less purchasing good food.

Adapted from "Accessibility and Affordability of Healthy Food Dependent Upon Socioeconomic Status" by Amanda Wu

Revising for strong and specific words

Now let's apply this to your own writing:

Apply this!

Take a piece of writing you are working on and read it over.

Think about your verb choice. Can you revise any weak verbs?
Are there places where you can make your meaning clearer by using words with more specific meaning? A dictionary or thesaurus may be useful here. Check out information about using a dictionary or thesaurus in our Language Toolkit.

Licenses and Attributions

Remixed by Talley Caruso (2025). The original version can be accessed for free at 6.5: Using Strong and Specific Words is shared under a not declared license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Gabriel Winer & Elizabeth Wadell (ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative (OERI)) .

CC Licensed Content: Original

Authored by Clara Hodges Zimmerman, Porterville College. License: CC BY NC.

Sample paragraphs on food deserts are adapted from "Accessibility and Affordability of Healthy Food Dependent Upon Socioeconomic Status" by Amanda Wu. License: CC BY.

CC Licensed Content: Previously published

"Strong verbs" and "Specific vs. general words" are adapted from 11.1 "Academic Style" in Athena Kashyap and Erika Dyquisto's text Writing, Reading, and College Success: A First-Year Composition Course for All Learners. License: CC BY SA.

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