Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Concrete words that link to specific abstract (resource, aspect, item, facility)
objects. Not We installed a new facility in
the office BUT We installed a new printer
in the office.
Current words, not old-fashioned ones archaic (we deem it advisable, we hereby
that very few people use these days. acknowledge, amongst, whilst, perusal, the said
document)
Formal words, not casual, spoken abbreviations (e.g., etc., i.e., viz)
expressions.
colloquialisms (a stint with, in the throes of)
contractions (Id, its, wed, youll, dont)
Words that are already in the dictionary. coined words (crowdsourcing, criticality,
biosimilar, relatable)
Simple words. Dont use big words to pompous (Sedulously eschew all polysyllabic
sound smart. profundity.)
esoteric (quotidian)
Appropriate jargon that you know your unnecessary/unfamiliar jargon (to the
readers will be familiar with. arboreal primates)
Measured, not exaggerated: Those hyperbolic (Those statistics have been around
statistics are well established. for decades.)
Positive tone This shop stays open till 8 negative (bar, fail, decline, reject, exclude)
pm rather than This shop closes at 8 pm.
Familiar, not foreign foreign (modus operandi, quid pro quo, fait
accompli, chutzpah)
Avoid the weasel words in the opposite weasel (crutch) words (absolutely, actually,
column. apparently, as it were, basically, certainly,
clearly, definitely, essentially, frankly,
fundamentally, generally, highly, literally,
merely, naturally, obviously, quite, really,
simply, to be honest, very, virtually, with all due
respect)