11 Writing Tips for Sounding Smart

If You Think Using Big Words Makes You Seem Smarter, Then There Is Something You Should Know…

According to a study published in Applied Cognitive Psychology, using big words doesn’t makes you seem smarter. In fact, complex writing makes you sound small-minded. To sound smart, you must stop trying to sound smart. Brilliant writing is writing relevant ideas in a simpler way.

Here Are 11 Ways You Can Start Sounding Brilliant:

1. Have something to say – When you have something to share with others then you must start with reading the matter, making notes and choosing your subjects wisely.
2. Be specific – Your writing must be specific. You must write specific sentences as this will makes your writing more interesting.
3. Choose simple words – It is always preferable to use simple words instead of using big words. Write use instead of utilize, near instead of close proximity, help instead of facilitate.
4. Write short sentences – You should write short sentences. You must keep your paragraphs short as it is more easier to read and understand them. Each of your sentence should have one simple thought. More than that creates complexity and confusion.
5. Use the active voice – Always use active voice in your writing. In English, readers prefer the active voice. You must try to use SVO sentence sequence: Subject, Verb, Object.
6. Keep paragraphs short – It is easier to read and understand short paragraphs because our brains take in information better when it’s broken into small chunks.
7. Eliminate fluff words – Eliminate using fluff words such as very,little, rather as they doesn’t add anything to our writing.
8. Don’t ramble – Rambling is a big problem for many writers. You must pay attention to this problem.
9. Don’t be redundant or repeat yourself – Don’t keep writing the same thing over and over because readers may get irritated and bored. In other words, say something once and not several times.
10. Don’t over write – For brilliant writing you must keep your reader at first place, then the message which you are sharing.
11. Edit ruthlessly – It doesn’t make any sense to shorten, cut, or rewrite anything that does not add to the meaning. There is no need to inject extra words without good reason.

Follow These Three Steps To Make Your Writing Simpler:

• Write the entire text.
• Set your text aside for a few hours or days.
• Return to your text fresh and edit.
• None of us can ever be perfect writers. However, these tips will help improve our style and sound smarter.