Practice makes writing clear, concise, perfect

By Molly Davis

When Sarah Nolen of Leechburg, Pa. saw the blue ink of her instructor’s pen scribbled all over her first article, she knew she needed to make her writing more concise.

“On every one of  my papers Mary Lou wrote ‘clean up your copy’ and suggested not making my sentences so long and drawn out,” said Nolen, whose early sentences were 20 to 30 words long.

John Kupetz shortens verbose sentences.

One of the major goals for students at the cherub program is learning to write clearly and concisely.

Instructor Jacqueline Chmielnicki, who taught this year’s concise writing lab, said brevity is crucial for captivating an audience.

“Journalists always have to keep in mind their readers,” Chmielnicki said.  “You want to be as clear and direct as possible. Equally as important, you need to be concise about the news.”

For Robert Pino, a cherub from Naperville, Ill., switching from writing for English class papers to writing for journalism was a challenge.   Pino said he was a bit reluctant about giving up his favored writing style.

“I had the most trouble with that,” said Pino.  “It’s hard to change to short concise sentences.”

Once cherubs adopted a more concise writing style, many saw vast improvements in their articles’ quality.

“Before I came here my sentences were filled with things that I now realize aren’t necessary,” said Micah Farver, a cherub from Portland, Ore.  “Now I’ve learned to try to make every sentence important.  I feel more confident when I write that I’m actually producing a quality piece.”

With her improvements, Nolen has noticed that the ink on her papers rarely pertains to conciseness.

“She told me I was doing a better job with being concise,” Nolen said.  “The criticism is more oriented to the content now.”