English: The Right Word, and No Extra Ones

This is Unit Four of ACT Preparation: the right word, and no extra ones. Unit three matched words by rule; this unit chooses among words that are all grammatical. One goal runs through it: the exact word, and no more words than the sentence needs. By the end you will be able to cut filler without losing a fact. To choose concrete nouns, exact verbs and the right voice. To place the key idea at the end. To keep the passage's tone. And to choose between confused words by the job they do.

Eight entries on concision: what to cut, and what never to cut.

What wordiness means.

ACT 0301 Wordiness Is Filler, Not Length

Wordiness means words that add no meaning; it is not length or detail. "The fact of the matter is that the bus is late" becomes "the bus is late." A long sentence full of needed detail is not wordy.

A verb hidden in a noun.

ACT 0302 An Action Verb for a Noun Phrase

A weak verb paired with a noun can often become one action verb: give consideration to becomes consider. "The board will conduct an investigation of the costs" becomes "the board will investigate the costs." Watch for make, give or conduct.

One word for a stock phrase.

ACT 0303 One Word for a Filler Phrase

Many stock phrases have a one-word equivalent: in the event that becomes if, and in order to becomes to. Read the sentence with the single word; if nothing is lost, the phrase was filler.

Openings that pad.

ACT 0304 Openings With There Is and It Is

Opening with there is, there are or it is often forces a wordy sentence built around who or that. "There are many students who walk to school" becomes "many students walk to school." Move the real subject to the front.

Saying the same thing twice.

ACT 0305 Redundancy

Redundancy repeats a meaning already given: return back, each and every, the reason is because. Ask what each word adds; if two words carry one meaning, keep one.

The limit on cutting.

ACT 0306 Shorter Only if Nothing Is Lost

When two choices are both grammatical, the shorter wins only if it keeps the full meaning. "The train leaves" drops the time and the platform, so it is wrong. Concision cuts repetition and filler, never content.

Three moves for a wordy sentence.

ACT 0307 Cutting a Wordy Sentence in Three Moves

Delete repeated meanings, replace filler phrases and weak verb-noun pairs, and move a real subject ahead of there are, rereading after each move. The shelter sentence drops each and every, turns in light of the fact that into because and give assistance to into help, and puts volunteers first: twenty-two words become ten, with no fact lost. A cut that changes who did what is an error, however tight.

Finding repetition in a passage.

ACT 0308 Spotting the Repeated Meaning

Read the underline against the whole sentence, because the repeated meaning often sits outside it; reject choices that restate it; and if deleting loses nothing, delete. "Which takes place annually" repeats every year, so it goes; cooperated already means worked together, so together goes. Each phrase sounds fine alone; the repetition shows only when both halves are read together.

Seven entries on precision, voice and where emphasis falls.

The particular word.

ACT 0309 Concrete Nouns and Exact Words

A concrete noun names a particular thing; a general noun names a category. "A bird landed on the building" becomes "a heron landed on the library roof." A formal-sounding word that means something slightly different is an error, not an upgrade.

Who performs the action.

ACT 0310 Active Voice

In the active voice the subject performs the action; in the passive it receives it, and the doer moves to a by-phrase or disappears. "The chef prepared the meal" is active. The passive needs more words for the same fact.

When the passive belongs.

ACT 0311 When the Passive Is Right

The passive is not an error in itself: science writing has long used it for objectivity, and it can leave the doer unnamed. "The samples were heated to ninety degrees" keeps attention on the samples. When the doer is known and matters, the active is clearer.

Choosing a voice, step by step.

ACT 0312 Active or Passive

Find the doer and what receives the action; ask whether the doer is known and matters; if so, use the active. "Fifth graders designed the new playground" is stronger because they are the point. "The fossil was found in 1921" stands, because the finder is not given. A choice that invents a doer adds a claim the passage does not make.

Where a sentence stresses its idea.

ACT 0313 The End Carries the Emphasis

The most emphatic place in a sentence is the end. "Despite injuries all season, the team won the title" ends on the win; the other order ends on the injuries. Neither is wrong; the question is which idea the passage needs to stress.

Choosing the emphatic version.

ACT 0314 Moving the Key Idea to the End

Name the idea the paragraph points to, find where it sits in each choice, and prefer the one that ends on it. In a paragraph arguing that the library changed the town, "according to residents surveyed last spring, the library changed the town" ends on the change. In a paragraph about the survey, the same sentence would end on the residents.

Sharpening a vague sentence.

ACT 0315 Making a Sentence Precise

Replace general nouns with concrete ones the passage supports, replace a weak verb with an exact one, and check each against the passage. "The weather did damage to things in the area" becomes "the storm downed oaks along Elm Street," every word from the passage. A choice that names a detail the passage never gives is precise and wrong.

Four entries on register and tone.

Words that fit the reader.

ACT 0316 Register Fits the Audience

Word choice should fit audience and purpose: slang is too casual for academic writing, and technical terms can shut out general readers. Standard American English is one dialect among many; ACT English holds its passages to standard written English.

Keeping one voice.

ACT 0317 Keep the Tone Consistent

A passage sets its tone through word choice, and every sentence should keep it. In a calm rainfall report, "the rain was totally insane" breaks the tone; "the rain was heavy" keeps it. Hear the tone in the sentences around it.

Language that excludes.

ACT 0318 Biased Language

Biased language excludes or demeans people by gender, age, ethnicity, class, or physical or mental traits. Police officer replaces policeman, and mail carrier replaces mailman. The neutral term is the precise one: it names the job, not the person's sex.

Matching tone, step by step.

ACT 0319 Matching a Passage's Tone

Name the tone of the surrounding sentences, test each choice against it, and among those that fit, prefer the plainest. For a calm museum guide, "a ton of fish" and "an awesome number of fish" are too casual, "a veritable multitude of piscine creatures" is inflated, and "hundreds of fish" fits. Formal is not the same as fitting.

Seven entries on words that sound alike, and the whole unit in one paragraph.

Affect and effect.

ACT 0320 Affect and Effect

Affect is a verb meaning to produce a change; effect is a noun meaning a result. "The drought affected the harvest"; "the drought had a severe effect." If a or the could come before it, it is the noun, effect.

Than and then, to and too.

ACT 0321 Than and Then, To and Too

Than compares; then marks time. To shows direction or begins an infinitive; too means also or excessively; two is the number. "She finished faster than her brother, then stretched." Ask what the word does.

Possessives and contractions that sound alike.

ACT 0322 Their, There and They're; Your and You're

Their is possessive, there names a place, and they're means they are; your is possessive, and you're means you are. Expand any apostrophe form: if they are or you are fits, keep it.

Counting, and distance.

ACT 0323 Fewer and Less, Farther and Further

Fewer is for things that can be counted, less for things that cannot: fewer cars, less traffic. Farther is physical distance; further means more. If a number can go before the noun, use fewer.

Two more pairs.

ACT 0324 Imply and Infer, Lay and Lie

Imply means suggest; infer means conclude, so the speaker implies and the listener infers. Lay means put something down; lie means recline: "lay the map on the table, then lie down."

Choosing a confused word, step by step.

ACT 0325 Choosing Between Confused Words

Name the job the word does, expand any contraction and test it, then match the job to the word. "Less delays then the old one, and it's effect" becomes fewer, because delays are counted; than, because it compares; and its, because it is does not fit; effect stays, a noun. Confused words sound alike, so the ear will not catch them.

The whole unit in one paragraph.

ACT 0326 One Paragraph, Tightened

This unit serves one goal: the exact word, and no extra ones. Concision cuts filler, hidden verbs, there-is openings and redundancy, never content. Precision prefers concrete nouns, exact verbs, and the active voice when the doer matters. Emphasis falls at the end, tone stays where the passage set it, and confused words are chosen by their job. In the mill paragraph, in the event that becomes if and the there-are opening goes; it's becomes its; together goes after collected; and totally epic becomes memorable. The passive about the settlers stands, because the mill is the subject. Every cut and substitution is checked against the passage.

Look at what you can now do. You can cut filler, hidden verbs and repetition without losing a fact. You can choose concrete nouns, exact verbs, and a voice on purpose. You can end a sentence on the idea that matters. You can keep a passage's tone, without slang or inflation. And you can choose confused words by their job. Unit five moves from the sentence to the passage: whether a sentence belongs, and what it does for the writer's purpose.