One of the major guidelines for producing more effective technical writing promotes clarity with conciseness. That means eliminating words which do not add substantially to the intended message.
One such instance involves the word consensus. Some writers like to write consensus of opinion, but this construction provides a redundancy that produces less effective technical writing. Of opinion is implied with the word consensus, which means general agreement. A group with consensus by definition shares the same general opinion, so writing of opinion produces a redundancy of meaning.
Consider the example sentence in the cropped graphic above. Removing the extra words of opinion makes a difference.
One such instance involves the word consensus. Some writers like to write consensus of opinion, but this construction provides a redundancy that produces less effective technical writing. Of opinion is implied with the word consensus, which means general agreement. A group with consensus by definition shares the same general opinion, so writing of opinion produces a redundancy of meaning.
Consider the example sentence in the cropped graphic above. Removing the extra words of opinion makes a difference.
The consensus among the analysts was that the corrosion preceded the cracking.
Compare this rewritten sentence with the original, and you should be able to discern how the essential message communicated with the sentence remains unchanged with the removal of the extra words. That means removing the extra words promotes conciseness without sacrificing clarity. And clarity with conciseness hallmarks more effective technical writing.
The consensus among more effective technical writers is to remove of opinion when using the word consensus. Removing extra words which do not contribute substantially to the essential meaning a sentence communicates yields more effective technical writing. And more effective technical writing will promote you and your brands more effectively to your audience.
The consensus among more effective technical writers is to remove of opinion when using the word consensus. Removing extra words which do not contribute substantially to the essential meaning a sentence communicates yields more effective technical writing. And more effective technical writing will promote you and your brands more effectively to your audience.
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