Effective Editing Tips for Clear Communication
Watch out for insider terms, loaded cliches, and alphabet soup in your writing. Use clear and concise language to convey your message effectively. Examples show how to improve sentences by avoiding jargon and focusing on clarity.
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Beltway Blues Editing Washington copy
Watch out for insider terms. Ditto for loaded (or meaningless) terms and cliches. Avoid alphabet soup (NRO, NHTSA, CFPB). Stay out of the weeds. Remember the boilerplate. Unify spellings in quoted material.
INSIDER TERMS The group is an alternative to the Republican Study Committee, which some lawmakers contend has become too close with the House Republican leadership.
INSIDER TERMS Better: The president needs to show good faith, that he s going to enforce the law of the land, said Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., chairman of the Republican Study Committee, a coalition of House conservatives.
INSIDER TERMS Nearly half of new vacancies in science, technology, engineering and mathematics occupations for which there are H-1B requests remain unfilled by domestic workers a month later, according to a study by the Brookings Institution.
INSIDER TERMS Better: Fidelity to text is the foundation of the rule of law, Hatch said Monday during a presentation at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative research center in Washington.
INSIDER TERMS Becker's nomination failed last month on a cloture vote.
INSIDER TERMS Better: In the Senate, there aren t enough Republicans for the 60 votes needed to end debate and proceed to a vote, and Democrats have stood firm against undoing Obama s easing of deportations.
INSIDER TERMS President Obama and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell pledged to try to work together, and the first test will be around Dec. 11, when a continuing resolution to fund the government runs out.
INSIDER TERMS Better: House lawmakers then approved a short-term funding measure by voice vote to give the Senate time to act on the huge budget bill.
INSIDER TERMS Abomination: House aides said the chamber was prepared to vote on a short-term continuing resolution or CR to keep the government flush with cash for several days to buy time for the cromnibus to pass both chambers.
INSIDER TERMS The Khorasan Group develops external attacks, constructs and tests improvised explosive devices and recruits Westerners to conduct operations, according to the news release.
INSIDER TERMS Better: Shortly before noon, Raven 23 heard that a vehicle- borne homemade bomb had detonated near where U.S. officials were meeting with Iraqi officials.
INSIDER TERMS Others that you know of?
LOADED TERMS Health care reform Tax reform Campaign finance reform Education reform
LOADED TERMS to put or change into an improved form or condition to amend or improve by change of form or removal of faults or abuses to put an end to (an evil) by enforcing or introducing a better method or course of action to induce or cause to abandon evil ways
LOADED TERMS Alternatives: Overhaul Revise Restructure Change Revamp
LOADED TERMS The Democratic Party s progressive wing has long seen Hillary Clinton as too cozy with official Washington and corporate interests.
LOADED TERMS Should it be capitalized like Roosevelt s Progressives? Does it mean liberal ? Does it mean something different from liberal? Who knows?
LOADED TERMS Other examples?
MEANINGLESS TERMS In his 14 years as governor, two Texases emerged. One for the wealthy allies and special interests he never fails to help out; and one for the working families and very poor who have to suffer the consequences of his policies.
MEANINGLESS TERMS Time and again he lined the pockets of the wealthy and big businesses with tax cuts, at the expense of working families and their children, said Democratic National Committee spokesman Ian Sams.
MEANINGLESS TERMS Elizabeth Warren won t be afraid to pursue a populist progressive agenda and act for working families, Chamberlain said.
MEANINGLESS TERMS The deal would make permanent big items on the Republican wish list while only temporarily extending two measures Obama wants to make permanent: the Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit, a tax break for working families that is set to expire in 2017.
MEANINGLESS TERMS Which ones drive you nuts?
DC CLICHES Drugeon joined al Qaida in Waziristan, the mountainous region of Pakistan where al Qaida continues to maintain safe havens and training facilities. New YouTube app provides safe haven for young viewers
DC CLICHES Haven, from Merriam Webster: A place where you are protected from danger or trouble
DC CLICHES Underscoring how the incident has become a political football, Karimi himself appeared to parrot Karzai's line in an interview. The research and development tax credit is a political football that's tossed around every year before eventually being renewed.
DC CLICHES The botched rollout of HealthCare.gov created a firestorm of controversy and led HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to resign. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest scrambled to clarify presidential remarks that touched off a firestorm. The release of the executive summary was certain to ignite a fresh political firestorm.
DC CLICHES Maliki s undermining of the movement, along with a laundry list of other grievances Sunnis have racked up, means a revival of such a strategy is a nonstarter. He cites a study that shows presidents have used the address to ask for a laundry list of requests from Congress a median of 31 requests since 1965.
DC CLICHES I m sure you have a laundry list of your own to share.
HUH? The so-called Islamic State The self-proclaimed Islamic State The self-styled Islamic State
Other ideas or questions? Thank you for coming! Beryl Adcock News desk chief McClatchy Washington Bureau BAdcock@mcclatchydc.com Twitter: @BerylAdcock
