Artificial intelligence may be fast, but its first drafts are not usually ready for prime time.
Users complain an AI first draft is wordy and repetitive. It meanders and takes a long time to get to the point. And it can be filled with transitional words like “accordingly” and “additionally,” and adjectives like “ever-evolving” and “vital.” No wonder experts suggest you keep asking AI to rewrite to be more concise.
That type of writing is what I call “flabby.” It cries out to be trimmed and toned.
Of course, it’s not just AI that could use a workout. Clients often ask me to take a look at material that needs tightening or a more friendly tone. This includes reviewing the document for wordiness, jargon, wayward punctuation, typos, grammatical errors, the passive voice and other writing that stops readers in their tracks.
The August issue of my newsletter, Wordnerdery, shares seven steps to to trim and tone flabby writing. (All examples are taken from actual documents from clients who shall be nameless.) Steps include “Reduce wordiness” and “Trade long words for short ones.”
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This content updates a blog post that first ran in 2014. Some things never change…