No Lazy Words

Every word counts in an ad headline.

There's no room for lazy words.

The message must be memorable and communicated quickly or the reader will never get to the advertising text (ad copy) that follows.

Whether you want to grab a recruiter's attention with your CV or build a persuasive, coherent argument, you need to make your point clearly and concisely – just like a copyeditor does.

It's worth taking hints from ad headlines because they:

Grab attention and get straight to the point
Demonstrate clarity of messaging
Use memorable phrases
Appeal to your audience’s interest in your writing

Select the arrow below to explore the 'No Lazy Words' concept.

Enter, the 'No Lazy Words' concept.

No one likes being called “lazy” because it is a term of great scorn and disapproval.

It implies that a person isn’t working to full capacity; that they are dawdling, procrastinating, lagging behind, and dilly-dallying.

Choosing a vague or overused word is also being lazy.

Consider the use of the verb “worked” in a CV.

This choice is lazy because it’s an unclear and overused word. It’s not doing its job: it’s lazy. How did you “work” at a company listed in the “experience” section of your CV? Did you analyse, manage, train, write, speak, teach, or organise?

You need to be specific and action-oriented so your reader understands what you did and senses your enthusiasm for the job.

The key is choosing the right words for the right context.

Improving your word choice

Writing is an iterative process, but you can see it as five interlinked stages if that helps. Improving your word choice should be a part of each stage.

1. Prewriting

Finding your idea(s)
Planning
Reflecting on your idea(s)

2. Drafting

Writing the first version of your text which captures your main thoughts and order of ideas, without concern for spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

3. Revising

Adjusting the order of ideas
Correcting errors in grammar, punctuation and spelling

4. Editing

Reviewing word choice
Double-checking spelling, punctuation and grammar

5. Publishing

Confirming that the format of the document is as you want it to appear to the reader: check consistency of tabs, indents, fonts, line spacing, pagination, etc.

'No Lazy Words' in action

Perhaps you’re thinking, ‘This sounds interesting – but what does the ‘No Lazy Words’ concept look like in practice?’

Find out by taking a look at these three examples.

No Lazy Words: example CV

No Lazy Words: example dissertation abstract

No Lazy Words: example essay conclusion

Ready to apply the ‘No Lazy Words’ concept to your work? Select the tabs below to get started.

Note that while the following steps can be used at any point in the writing process, they are especially helpful during certain stages.

Think of the idea you want to express and the context in which you are writing – essay, CV, dissertation abstract. Each has its own format to follow. Then determine what word best expresses your idea. Any word won’t do.

Verbs tell your reader how an activity was accomplished. Be sure they express a specific action. This is especially important when writing a CV because verbs showcase your skills, attributes and achievements. Exceptions occur such as in specialised, technical writing.

Eliminate words that aren’t necessary for the context of your writing. For example, in a CV you might write that one of your experiences involved training you trained staff for a retail outlet.

The long version would be: ‘Trained highly qualified employees for management positions in the electronics department of Best Buy, which were conducted during afternoon sessions.’

A succinct version would read: ‘Trained staff for management positions at Best Buy.’

Use the “Find” function (Ctrl-F) to locate often repeated words such as summary, conclusion, worked at, argument, facts, joined and recommend, and replace them. Overused words are usually lazy words.

Be mindful of exceptions: technical writing, for example, often intentionally repeats specialised terms. Consider the context of your writing: abstracts, essays, CVs and cover letters each call for different terms and wording to reach your audience.

There is a time and place for a thesaurus. When you are struggling for a new word, consult a thesaurus. Although it may not suggest a word you like, it will stimulate your imagination to pick another suitable one.