VISUAL COMMUNICATION

Page 132 Use a long word if it is the only word that expresses your meaning exactly.

Use a long word—or phrase—if it is more familiar than a short word: a word in another language for a geographic place or area is better than exonym . Use a long word if its connotations are more appropriate. Exfoliate is better than scrape off dead skin cells . Use a long word if your audience prefers it. 2. Use technical jargon sparingly; eliminate business jargon. There are two kinds of jargon. The first is the specialized terminology of a technical field. Many public figures enjoy mocking this kind of jargon. Even the Wall Street Journal does its share, mocking quotes like this one from a computer industry press release announcing a new “market offering”: [The] offerings are leading-edge service configuration assurance capabilities that will help us to rapidly deploy high-demand IP services, such as level 3 virtual private networks, multi-cast and quality of service over our IP/MPLS network. 28 DUTA [Don’t Use That Acronym] Used properly, acronyms can be convenient. But acronyms can fail when the intended audience doesn’t understand what an acronym stands for or when a single acronym has multiple meanings, sometimes even within the same organization. To look up the definition of an acronym, go to www.AcronymFinder.com , an online acronym dictionary used by businesses, lawyers, students, and savvy writers seeking acronym definitions. The site has over 1 million visitors and 4 million page views a month. In May 2013 the site listed more than 1 million acronyms, including 93 SAFEs, 152 FASTs, and 218 CATs. No wonder acronyms can be confusing.

Adapted from Thomas Catan, “To Understand Washington Ads, You’ve Got to Be a Code Breaker,” Wall Street Journal , March 7, 2011, A1; and http://www.AcronymFinder.com , accessed May 11, 2013. A job application letter is one of the few occasions when it’s desirable to use technical jargon: using the technical terminology of the reader’s field helps suggest that you’re a peer who also is competent in that field. In other kinds of messages, use technical jargon only when the term is essential and known to the reader. If a technical term has a “plain English” equivalent, use the simpler term. The second kind of jargon is the businessese that some writers still use: as per your request, enclosed please find, please do not hesitate . None of the words in this second category of jargon are necessary. Indeed, some writers call these terms deadwood , since they are no longer living words. If any of the terms in the first column of Figure 5.3 appear in your writing, replace them with more modern language. PRINTED BY: SHERIFAT EGBERONGBE . Printing is for personal, private use only. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted without publisher's prior permission. Violators will be prosecuted. Page 133 At the sentence level, you can do many things to make your writing easy to read.

3. Use active voice most of the time. “Who does what” sentences with active voice make your writing more forceful. A verb is in active voice if the grammatical subject of the sentence does the action the verb describes. A verb is in passive voice if the subject is acted upon. Passive voice is usually made up of a form of the verb to be plus a past participle. Passive has nothing to do with past . Passive voice can be past, present, or future: Figure 5.3 Getting Rid of Business Jargon were received (in the past) is recommended (in the present) will be implemented (in the future) To spot a passive voice, find the verb. If the verb describes something that the grammatical subject is doing, the verb is in active voice. If the verb describes something that is being done to the grammatical subject, the verb is in passive voice. Active Voice Passive Voice The customer received 500 widgets. Five hundred widgets were received by the customer. I recommend this method. This method is recommended by me. The state agencies will implement the program. The program will be implemented by the state agencies. PRINTED BY: SHERIFAT EGBERONGBE . Printing is for personal, private use only. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted without publisher's prior permission. Violators will be prosecuted. The request was approved by the plant manager. The plant manager approved the request. A decision will be made next month. No agent in sentence. The committee will decide next month. A letter will be sent informing the customer of the change. No agent in sentence. [You] Send the customer a letter informing her about the change. PRINTED BY: SHERIFAT EGBERONGBE . Printing is for personal, private use only. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted without publisher's prior permission. Violators will be prosecuted.