8 types of stop words to get rid of

The manager in the office, the clerk in the bank, the teacher in the school - everyone is writing something. With their text, these people influence the world no less than writers and journalists. Maxim Ilyakhov and Lyudmila Sarycheva in their book "Write, Reduce" share the recipe for creating a strong text with everyone who writes for work.

Lyudmila Sarycheva Editor-in-chief of Modulbank, co-author of Glavred Mailing List.

The text should be simple, that is, expressed as simply as possible, not to the detriment of the meaning.

Badly	Good
The main problem for owners is trying to give all the vital needs of the dog in one recipe without any variation. Monotony creates a strong and potentially dangerous imbalance: the formation of a shortage of some vital substances and an excess of some others is possible.	A dog should not be fed the same food - even if all the nutrients needed are taken into account. An imbalance begins from monotony: some substances become too much, others - few. Therefore, the food should be varied.

The second text is much easier to read, isn't it? At the same time, not a single important thought was lost during editing.

Simple doesn't mean primitive. There can be a complex thought in the text, you can use terms and introduce complex concepts. But there is not a single situation when one and the same thought is more difficult to express, and not easier.

Simplification is not blindly cutting out parts of the text. First, we need to learn how to find and remove stop words from the text. Stop words are words and phrases that are removed without losing meaning. If you remove them, the text will not become more interesting or richer. It just gets cleaner.

For convenience, the authors divide stop words into eight stable groups.

1. Introductory constructions

Introductory constructions are the simplest group of stop words. They are easy to find in the text, and getting rid of them is also quite simple.

Phrases from the category "everyone knows" and "not a secret" are a trap. If something is already known, then there is no need to write about it.

Badly	Good
As you know, proper nutrition consists of the first, second and dessert. But new research has shown that this is not the case …	As a child, my parents fed me a three-course meal. They said that this is the right food. But new research …

It's great if you give examples in the text. But the word "for example" itself is almost always worth getting rid of.

Badly	Good
Here you come to the store. For example, for bread.	You came to the store for bread.

The word "by the way" can also be attributed to the category of trash. If something really came in handy, then there is no need to highlight it.

Badly	Good
It is better not to eat anything fatty and high-calorie at night. By the way, our yogurt contains only one and a half kilocalories.	Our yogurt contains one and a half kilocalories so that you can eat it at night.

2. Estimates

The strongest assessment is one that you give yourself based on your own experience. Let's say a person unfamiliar to us says: "My friend is a successful entrepreneur and a wealthy person." How would you imagine this friend? Can you compare it to yourself or make a business proposal? Hardly. The assessments of a stranger are an empty phrase for you.

Own conclusions are the strongest.

"Write and cut"

The graded text becomes weak because the author has a false sense of the work done. For an assessment to be convincing, it must be replaced or supplemented with facts. To do this, the author will have to understand the topic, study technical documents and statistics, and talk to the manufacturer.

Badly	Good
Instant computer boot	Solid state hard drive boots up your computer in three seconds
Healthy delicacy	Chocolate flakes with fruit filling, vitamins and calcium
High percentage, convenient service	22.3% per annum in rubles; we will deliver the card home

3. Stamps

A stamp is a popular stable phrase, the meaning of which is either unclear or can be expressed in one word.

Stamp	Not stamp
Life abounds.	Life rumbles with all the valves. Life blooms like a wild hawthorn.

There is a special type of stamps in advertising texts - corporate stamps. We need to get rid of them in the same way as from evaluations - replacing them with facts and useful information.

Stamp	Not stamp
Works of any complexity	We love difficult tasks, but we can help you with simple ones too. We are interested in equipping a plant, hangar or oil storage, but we will take on an office, an apartment, and a private school.
Have won the trust of the largest companies in the market	Our systems protect the oil refineries of Gazprom Neft and the central office of Sberbank.
Team of professionals	On projects, we assemble a team of industrial engineers who have passed ISO certification and regularly …

Conquer with truth, not with words.

"Write and cut"

Advertisers use clerical stamps to maintain a respectful tone.

Stamp	Not stamp
Dear residents !!! We would like to inform you that on September 29, from 8:00 to 16:00, hot water will be launched into the heating system. Please be at home at this time and provide plumbers with access to the apartments.	Open to Plumbers on September 29th from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. Mosgorteplo prepares the pipes for the start of heating. If they are not checked, pipes may burst during heating start-up in your home.

4. Abstruse words

The simpler the words, the easier it is for the reader to perceive the text. If you can write easier, write easier.

Abstruse	Just
The department's human resources have shown a positive trend in productivity.	The employees of the department began to work better.

Don't confuse abstruse words with terms. If you are sure that the use of a compound word is appropriate, and also confident in its meaning, then it should be left.

Cleverly just like that	Term on the case
The dominant theme of the conference is human rights.	Freckles and dimples are dominant human genetic traits.

5. Euphemisms

Euphemisms are harmless synonyms used by incompetent writers to criticize the work or behavior of others. The use of euphemisms not only incorrectly conveys the original information, but also shows disrespect for the interlocutor, cowardice and narcissism at the same time.

Euphemism	What was meant
This is not exactly the result we were expecting.	This is poor quality work.

The authors advise talking about issues honestly, openly and directly. But there is a line beyond which straightforwardness and honesty turn into rudeness. This border is the person's personality.

You can criticize a work, but you cannot criticize a person.

"Write and cut"

Badly	Tolerant	Good
He's dumb.	He did a stupid thing.	Because of his action, I found myself in a stupid position.

6. Verbal words

When the reader gets acquainted with the text, he draws a picture in his head. If there is a lot of action in the text, then this is a dynamic picture that is interesting to observe. For the text to be interesting, there must be action in it.

Most often, the action is expressed by a verb. But sometimes they hide the action, as if they are embarrassed. For example, they hide it behind a noun.

Noun	Verb
We sell films and music.	We sell films and music.

The participles hide the verb, add commas to the sentence and make it harder to read. If there is a verb behind the participle, use the verb.

Participle	Verb
He made a gesture of permission.	He allowed.

Adverbial expressions also make the text harder to read.

Gerunds	Verb
While still young scientists, they opened their first joint venture.	They started their first joint venture when they were both under 30.

7. Vague words

We found that it is more interesting for the reader to read the text that he can imagine, as if he was watching a movie. Indefinite words give inaccurate information, so it is impossible to imagine them.

Badly	Good
More than eight oil rigs were towed to the shores of Scotland.	Nine oil rigs were towed to the shores of Scotland.

This example was pretty obvious. But we are so used to some indefinite stop words that we do not notice them.

Badly	Good
More than 20,000 clients use our system.	We have 20 thousand clients.

The reader does not need to know the exact number of customers. He needs an approximate value to get an overall impression.

Advertisers love to lure buyers with low price promises, marking a lower price limit. Agree, we treat such messages with suspicion.

Badly	Good
Refrigerators from 15,000 rubles.	Refrigerators for a summer residence or a rented apartment for 15,000 rubles.

8. Nonsense

Nonsense in the understanding of the authors is vague formulations that are formally not a lie, but also not true. Lies are used to reinforce a weak and unproven idea.

Lie	Bullshit
We know best how to care for Sharpei.	Who, if not us, knows how to care for Shar-Pei.

Such vague wording does not sound convincing. Often they are found not when the author wants to lie, but with the most common laziness. Abstract generalizations can replace facts that the journalist simply did not bother to find.

Unconvincing

Earnestly

Geneticists take bread from the police

More and more people nowadays turn to the services of geneticists to solve problems that are beyond the power of doctors and the police. We can say that genetics is becoming the main way to find people and diagnose rare diseases.

Versailles thief found by DNA

After five months of searching, the police identified the "Versailles Thief". It turned out to be the brother of the head of the museum's security. The thief was found using genetic analysis of skin particles that the thief left on the glass from which he drank during the crime.

The book by Maxim Ilyakhov and Lyudmila Sarycheva "Write, Reduce" not only teaches you how to get rid of verbal rubbish, but also tells how to correctly build the structure of the text and win the reader's favor. Special attention in the book is paid to advertising texts, so for copywriters and sales managers this publication can become a kind of professional bible and reference book, which can be periodically consulted.