Use simple words, concise sentences

Make every word count. Concise, clear sentences save space, are easy to understand, and facilitate scanning. Use simple words with precise meanings, and remove words that don’t add substance. Use your judgment to avoid sounding abrupt or unfriendly.

• Choose simple verbs without modifiers. Whenever you can, avoid weak or vague verbs, such as be, have, make, and do.
  Examples

  Use this	Not this
  use	utilize, make use of
  remove	extract, take away, eliminate
  tell	inform, let know

• Don’t use two or three words when one will do.
  Examples

  Use this	Not this
  to	in order to, as a means to
  also	in addition
  connect	establish connectivity

• Whenever possible, choose words that have one clear meaning.
  Examples

  Use this	Not this
  Because you created the table, you can change it.	Since you created the table, you can change it.

• Omit unnecessary adverbs—words that describe how, when, or where. Unless they're important to the meaning of a statement, leave them out.
  Examples
  quite
  very
  quickly
  easily
  effectively

• Use one term consistently to represent one concept.

• Use words that can be both nouns and verbs carefully—file, post, mark, screen, record, and report, for example. Use the sentence structure and context to eliminate ambiguity.