ABSTRACT

Common Core Language Standard 7.3 calls for students to “Choose language that expresses ideas precisely and concisely, recognizing and eliminating wordiness and redundancy” (Common Core State Standards, 2010). This is certainly an important issue in teaching writing: while we frequently want our students to write descriptively, we do not want them to use a number of words that mean the same thing or use several words when one more specific one could achieve the same result. Instead, we want them to use language that conveys what they are trying to say as clearly as possible. For example, we might suggest our students use the word “jet” instead of “really fast plane” or that they write that a character “whispered” something rather than saying he or she “said it very quietly.” Two especially important grammatical concepts related to this standard are specific nouns and strong verbs, as each of these can help writers express their ideas clearly while eliminating wordiness and redundancy. Let us explore each of these concepts in more depth.