Writing Tip #3: Words To Avoid

Words to avoid in your writing:

SO: used as an intensifier, “so” can often have the opposite effect, making your adjectives less punchy. So, don’t strive to be so clever. Just be clever.

VERY: should be used very, very sparingly. In fact, see if you can give it the week off in your writing. It’s very tired of holding up words that are strong enough to support themselves.

LAST WEEK’S GRAMMAR QUIZ asked, what is this group of verbs called (is, am, are, was, were, be, been, have, has, had, would, could, should, may, might, can, must, do, did, does, will, shall)? Answer: The helping verbs. They come before the main verb, setting a specific moment in time or refining the mood of the sentence. Cool!