Effective Writing: Conciseness in Communication

Journal If you had to choose a song lyric or quote to describe you, what would it be and why?

Moving Past the Paper Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell. William Strunk Jr. What does this quote mean to you? When and where do people tend to write concisely?

Twitter Bios and What They Really Say Read the article and answer the following questions: Mr. Wayne highlights a few different types of twitter bios, what are some the standard parts of each twitter bio? After the standard bio sentence, many include addenda (a list of words added after). What is your favorite example of addenda from the article? Which twitter bio is your favorite example? Why? What does the author convey in so few words?

Brainstorm Time Brainstorm in 2 minutes: A list of 10 words that describe you/your life. What are some positive/negative qualities you have? A list of 5 hobbies/things you re interested in

Create Your Own Twitter Bio The goal of concise writing is to use the most effective words to convey your thinking, but it s not always easy to sum up your bio in 140 characters. Using the words/ideas you just brainstormed and the song lyric/quote from your journal, create your own twitter bio. Start with a sentence, and then include addenda. Create a handle for your twitter.

Miss Conners Example @afolklaur A quite bubble floating on a sea of noise. Dog mom, book worm, life-long learner, amateur photographer, mediocre cook.

Brainstorm Part 2 Think about your research paper and brainstorm in 2 minutes: A list of 10 words/ideas that would describe your research topic and the research that you have found

Create A Twitter Bio for Your Reasearch Topic Using the words/ideas you just brainstormed create a twitter bio for your research topic. Start with a sentence (could be the main idea/thesis of your research), and then include addenda (subtopics). Create a handle for your research twitter.

Lets get even more concise One of the ultimate pieces of concise writing is the six-word story or memoir Each of you will receive a six-word story/memoir which we will each read aloud. As you listen to your peers, think about the chosen words and the story/idea they tell, and pick which one is your favorite,

Answer the following questions What do these six-word stories have in common? Which one caught your attention most and why? Do you think it would be easier or more difficult to write a six-word story/memoir? Why?

Create Your Own Six-Word Story/Memoir You can write a six-word memoir about: Your life/who you are What you did over the three day weekend Offering a piece of advice For example: Always procrastinating, but I m never late.

Create Your Own Six-Word Story about your Research Topic In six words, how would you sum up what you found throughout your research? Ex: I m researching the effects of the moon on Earth so my six-word story would be: The moon creates the ocean waves.

Reflection Think about the twitter bio and six-word stories/memoirs: What is lost, and gained, by adhering to strict and brief word limits? What skills are engaged in writing concisely as opposed to developing an idea? How is the effect different on the reader?