1. English Essentials ©2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. English Essentials John Langan Beth Johnson Chapter Twenty-One Word Choice

2. English Essentials ©2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 2 Word Choice Wordiness Using more words than necessary in your writing often results in wordiness. In general, it is better to be brief and to the point when writing. Wordy : To my mind, athletes are given far too much money. Simple : I think athletes make too much money.

3. English Essentials ©2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 3 Word Choice Slang Slang is usually out of place in formal writing. Some drawbacks to using slang expressions: – They go out-of-date quickly. – They become tiresome if used excessively. – They may communicate clearly to some readers but not to others.

4. English Essentials ©2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 4 Word Choice Slang Someone ripped off Ken’s new Adidas. After the game, we stuffed our faces at the dinner. After the game, we stuffed our faces at the dinner. I finally told my parents to get off my case. I finally told my parents to get off my case.

5. English Essentials ©2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 5 Word Choice At a loss for words Word to the wise Clichés cliché A cliché is an expression that has been worn out through constant use. Short but sweet Sigh of relief Saw the light Work like a dog