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Expand Your Vocabulary

Words are the writer's principal tool. When you hear or see a word you are unsure of, jot it down, look up the definition, and put it in a vocabulary notebook or in a file in your PC. You also can go a step further and check a thesaurus for synonyms for that word. The deeper and richer your vocabulary, the more precise you can be when writing and the less time you will spend scrambling to find the right word while you are on a deadline. Suggestion: Do crossword puzzles and write down the words that are new to you.

When you run Saturday morning errands, you often make a list before you leave to ensure that you have not forgotten anything and to guide you as you go. Similarly with writing, it is wise to “plan your trip” by writing down the topics you want to cover in a memo, letter, story, or speech.

It is easy to spray information on the screen, but only a skillful writer can develop a carefully constructed message that will prompt a reader to do something. Brainstorming helps to ensure that everything you want to cover is included in the message and is in the most effective order. Such effort is not necessary for a two-sentence e-mail note, but it is appropriate for many other writing assignments, including e-mail messages when they contain significant information and are several paragraphs long.

Here is a simple way to organize your thoughts:
• Write down all the major topics you want to cover.
• Include subtopics if you think of them.
• Remove topics that are not relevant.
• Determine what order you want to go in, usually based on importance.

Organizing enables you to make sense of the complicated web of ideas swirling in your mind as you consider the writing task that lies before you. The ideas are vague because you cannot see them, and you often will forget to include information you had planned to cover.

Here is what can happen when you do not organize:
• The message is unfocused because information appears on the page in random order.
• The reader has to do too much work to grasp the message.
• The reader loses interest in the document and sets it aside.

Use that when you are differentiating one thing from others like it. Use which, preceded by a comma, when you are talking about one specific item.

I will send you the books that I don't need.
(I'm differentiating those books from the ones that I do need.)

The books, which are on my desk, are ready to be picked up.
(I'm referring to a specific set of books.)

The word that begins an essential clause, which means it is essential to the meaning of the sentence. You cannot remove the clause that you don't need, without changing the meaning of the sentence because the reader doesn't know what books you are referring to. You use that to differentiate those you are discussing.

In the second sentence, the clause which are on my desk is a nonessential piece because you could remove it without changing the meaning of the sentence. You would only use this sentence when it clear to the reader which books you are referring to. The first time you discuss the books, you would use that to distinguish the books you are talking about. Then, from that point on, you would use which, preceded by a comma, because the reader understands which books you are referring to.

It is optional in a "simple" series, that is, when each element only has a few words. In the sentence below, the series has three short elements, and no comma is necessary.

We need bread, milk and juice.

But use a comma when each element contains several words because the reader might be confused without it, as in this sentence:

There's plenty of field-action photography, close-up photos of tractor features and detailed drawings to explain the internal components.

The sentence appears to say that there are photos of the features and the detailed drawings, but the last portion of the sentence (detailed drawings … components.) is a separate thought. A comma should go before and.

Some people prefer to always insert the comma, to be consistent, and it is never incorrect to do that. If you want to use it only when necessary, that is fine too. But be sure to look closely to see whether confusion could result. Don't assume that and is never preceded by a comma.