A little learning is a dangerous thing..

5 min readSep 13, 2020

The whole nine yards:

“A little learning is a dangerous thing”.. is likely to serve a half cooked meal. How many of you would like to eat that half cook meal? If you are following this article in next 10 minutes; you will change your perspective on writing standards. “It is always darkest before the dawn” and this lets you to improve writing mechanics.. stay tuned!

Note: This content is based on my writing experience on how to improve writing skills; and this article will direct you to find the “most important fundamentals” (nice to have) to structure the narration:

1. Be concise:

Be a ruthless editor. For every write-up/narrative, ask yourself what your reader cares and how it clarifies your reasoning.

Build a strong outline or pick-up idioms (refer to the Title) to kickstart the intent and therefore translate your clear thoughts into indivisible sentences to state the objective. But this doesn’t mean precise way of writing is wrong. Writing precisely is also important unless you are being reflective to talk about exact or accurate..

“Use words like you are paying for each one.” — Patrick E. McLean

2. Use the Active Voice:

Do you believe communication is the key driver to describe your subject/object? Do you echo? Let the cat out of the bag..

Go back to the drawing board; the subject acts on the object of the sentence (“John Planted a tree”) and there is always both a subject and an object. However, the passive construction also state the same but subject is acted up by verb (A tree was planted by John).

A good thumb rule is to try to build majority of your sentences in active voice, unless you truly believe the context being out of the focus (passive).

“The active voice is more direct, more authoritative, and more concise.” — Strunk and White

3. Remove Weasel Words:

Words or claims that turn out to be empty upon analysis are known as “weasel words”. Weasel words likely to weaken the statements; replace the following words with data or a statement of intent or judgment.

should, might, could, often, generally, usually, probably, significant, better, worse, soon, some, most, fewer, faster, slower, higher, lower, many, few, and more.

“The skill of writing is creating a context in which other people can think.” — Edwin Schlossberg

4. Write for the Reader

Do not write for yourself. Consider who will read the narrative; and what do they know? what matters to them? Structure the content to use Positive Statements in Place of Negative Ones; positive statements are more powerful and less hesitant.

Your opening sentence has to be perfect and make your reasoning clear, Break your story/narratives into sections (like your agile user stories). Make sure each section can stand on its own and is complete. As you review each section ask yourself: Do I believe this?

Understand the reader’s pulse before you draft your narration.

“No matter what you are talking about, the less specific you are the more it will sound like bullshit.” — Patrick E. McLean

5. Wording: choose wisely

Use simple, clean, clear language. Choosing the wrong word from a million words can lead the conversation away from your point. Avoid superlatives..

Ask yourself, if this word is the right word?

Keep the reader interested and avoid using jargon and also set aside your domain knowledge.

“Imagination is everything. It is the preview if life’s coming attractions.” — Albert Einstein

6. Anecdotes:

Anecdotes are empathetic and influencing to readers; in this article, If you scroll up and down you will notice anecdotes/quotes on each section; this creates memorable moments to reader. Also a participation to read further.

Story always stimulates the curiosity and imagination.

“Tell the readers a story! Because without a story, you merely using words to prove you can string them together in logical sentences.” — Michelle Homme

7. Details matter (Quality):

Phrasing, spelling, and grammar matter. A chef could cook a great meal, but if it looks terrible on the plate, people won’t eat it.

Read your content several times “two” and “too” are both words, after all ( don’t rely on spell check) and consistency on formatting across the narrative creates the aesthetics on writing standards.

So leave enough time to edit, edit, edit. Continue to re-write, review, and enjoy the process of discovering, clarifying, and refining your ideas.

Do you care some tips?

Keep it short
Font
Spell check
Line spacing
Capitals (capital or capitol)
Comma
Parentheses
Quotes
Use Third Person
Usage of hyphen
Space after a full stop
Define Abbreviations
Avoid Duplicates

“Half my life is an act of revision.” — John Irving

8. 1 page means 1 page (Quantity):

Define your narratives structured to the content limitation (1 page/1000 words/10 paragraphs, etc.,). A reader always love to see content indivisible and clear topic. Start each paragraph with a topic sentence; followed by sentences that explain, support, or build on the topic; and close with a sentence that emphasizes the topic or explains the consequences.

“If I had more time I’d have written a shorter letter.” — T.S Eliot

9. The pot calling the kettle black:

Take Criticism as an Opportunity to Learn. Admit Mistakes; do this freely, what matters is that you learn from it and make a systemic change so that you do not make the same mistake again and “Never Stop Learning”