Agricultural Communications and Journalism

1. Keep sentences short.
   Sentences must vary in length to avoid boring the reader. But they should mostly vary between short and very short. The average length of your sentences should fall somewhere between 7 and 17 words. A good rule is to look carefully at any sentence that comes close to being three typewritten lines long. It should probably be changed.
    
2. Prefer the simple to the complex.
   If the right word is a big word, go ahead and use it. But, if a shorter word does the job, use it. For example: use "Change" instead of "Modification" and "Use" instead of "Utilization."
    
3. Prefer the familiar word.
   The most familiar words are ten short ones: the, of, and, a, in, to, I, is, it, and that. When writing, choose the word that will be known by most people.
    
4. Avoid unnecessary words.
   Slash words mercilessly. Only put words back in if they are necessary to make the sentence clear.
    
5. Put action in your verbs.
   When active verbs are used the noun acts. Passive verbs have the noun acted upon. For example: "The fullback hits the line." (Active) "The line is hit by the fullback" (Passive).
    
6. Write like you talk, except when writing technical/scientific reports.
   Some grammarians would insist that "write like you talk" is poor grammar. However, you should be yourself while you write.
    
7. Use terms your reader can picture.
   Avoid fuzzy words such as: conditions, situations, facilities, inadequacies. Use words that can be visualized.
    
8. Tie in with your reader's experience.
   Much communication fails because writers ignore readers' beliefs. Words vary in meaning. Meaning is determined entirely by the readers' past experience and purposes. It is not enough to write so that you will be understood. You must write so you can't be misunderstood.
    
9. Make full use of variety.
   Introduce enough variety of sentence length, structure, and vocabulary. Variety is a chief ingredient in the art of writing. A thesaurus or Webster's Dictionary will help.
    
10. Write to express, not to impress.
    No writing is easy. But we make it more difficult by seeking out long, unfamiliar words.