4 Cs of Writing

Clarity Conciseness

Completeness
Correctness

Applying the 4 Cs of Writing

The primary goal of all communication is

receiver understanding. To achieve this goal, writers apply the 4 Cs of writing:

clarity, conciseness, completeness, and correctness.

Clarity
Clarity is achieved when the receiver

understands a message as the sender intended. Word choice, unity, and coherence affect clarity; each of these will now be explained.

Clarity Word Choice

Choose short, familiar words your receiver

will understand. A print or electronic thesaurus is a valuable tool in choosing clear, simple words. Clear words are often called talk words because they are used in day-to-day speaking.

Clarity Word Choice

Concrete words are more understandable than abstract words. Concrete words convey one and only one meaning. They are specific and vivid. Abstract words are vague and imprecise. They may mean different things to different people. Many is less specific than most. Vehicle is less specific than car or truck. Car and truck could be made more specific by adding details such as make, model, style, age, and color.

Clarity - Unity
Sentences and paragraphs have unity when

they have one main idea and the other information in the sentence supports that main idea. A topic sentence is the most common way to create unity within a paragraph. EXAMPLES: - Today is Monday; London is in England. - Today is Monday; on Thursday we leave for London.

Clarity - Coherence
Unified messages are also coherent. They flow naturally and the ideas in them

relate to each other. Transitional words and phrases and repetition help make messages coherent. Writers use transitional words and phrases as bridges to join ideas. SEARCH the Internet for a list of transitional words and phrases.

Clarity - Coherence
Repeating words and using pronouns in

place of nouns also helps to achieve coherence. EXAMPLES: - The pen and pencil sets are packed 12 to a box. Each set comes in a case that has the look and feel of leather (repetition). - The pen and pencil sets are packed 12 to a box. They come in a case that has the look and feel of leather (pronouns).

Conciseness
Everyone prefers messages that express

thoughts in the fewest words possible. Concise messages are only long enough to present all of the necessary information. The key to writing concise messages, ones that are brief yet effective, is to make every word count. Limit repetition, eliminate excess words, emphasize verbs, and use active verbs.

Conciseness Limit repetition

You can reduce repetition by:
1. Using a shortened form of a noun. 2. Using a pronoun in place of a noun. The next slide shows these two

techniques.

Conciseness Limit repetition

ORIGINAL: Johan Erickson was office manager for Ador and Smith from June 11, 1995, until February 27, 1998. Johan Erickson was efficient and effective. Johan Erickson worked well with the employees he supervised and scheduled the work of the employees he supervised to assure prompt, correct completion of the tasks assigned to the employees.

REVISION: Johan Erickson was office manager for Ador and Smith from June 11, 1995, until February 27, 1998. Johan was efficient and effective. He worked well with the employees he supervised and scheduled their work to assure prompt, correct completion of the tasks assigned to them.

Conciseness Eliminate excess words

A word is excess if it is not needed for

correct grammar or clear meaning. Shorten sentences beginning with It is, There is, or There are. Minimize use of that. Delete up, down, over, and under unless referring to relative position or location.

Conciseness Eliminate excess words

WORDY:
There are three people who can at the time we were meeting move up to Canada combine together in the vicinity of send back at the present time due to the fact that the meeting on May 10

CONCISE:
Three people can while we met move to Canada combine near return now because the May 10 meeting

Conciseness Emphasize verbs

Verbs are the most Stressing verbs makes

powerful words in the English language. WEAK VERBS: - find a solution - conduct an investigation - make a contribution - be a participant - completed the reorganization - made a selection

writing concise, clear, and powerful. POWERFUL VERBS: - solve - investigate - contribute - participate - reorganized
- selected

Conciseness Use active verbs

By using active verbs, writers create messages that are concise, direct, and forceful. Active verbs perform an action (i.e., think, choose, planted, indicated). EXAMPLE Active verb: The members elected Carlos Esteban. Passive verb: Carlos Esteban was elected by the members. Avoid passive or inactive verbs, such as is, was, were, has, have, be, been.

Completeness
A message is complete when all

information necessary for a receiver to understand is included. What information is necessary depends on the writing situation. Be sure you have asked and answered who? what? when? where? why? and how? questions.

Correctness
Writing is correct when content and mechanics are accurate.
Grammar and

Check grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

Seek someones help

punctuation errors can affect meaning and create a poor impression of writers.

to make sure your writing is correct.

Correctness
You must follow three steps after you

complete a draft of your writing: 1. Revise the draft by checking the content for completeness. 2. Edit the draft to correct grammar, punctuation, or spelling problems. 3. Proofread the draft aloud to yourself to catch errors such as missing words or unclear sentences.

What you write says A LOT!

What you write and how you write are very

important. Take the necessary time to revise, edit, and proofread your writing. Students often prepare a draft and then submit it. You MUST take the time to revise, edit, and proofread your writing!