Trim the Fat - Flabby Writing is Letting Us Down

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4K followers

Done a pinch test on your writing skills? Even after writing blogs now for 18 months, I know that my writing needs trimming. It carries a fair bit of flab.

How do I know? Yoast SEO tells me. Here are two screenshots of the readability score of a recent post on my technology website.

Screenshot #1

The Red arrow gives you the readability score details. Line #1 (black arrow) shows that there is 18% of the post in a passive voice (green circle)

Screenshot #2

Do you see the purple eye next to the red arrow? Clicking highlights where in the post (yellow arrow) the passive voice is evident. You now have the opportunity to tweak what you have written, reduce the fat and write with more active speech.

This is one way to trim the fat from flabby speech. Another way is to analyze the phrases we use to see what flabby habits we have gotten into. For example, what is wrong with the following phrases, common in today's English?

  • Brief moment
  • Close proximity
  • Dwindle down
  • Enter in
  • Lift up

I will leave those for you to think about. If you know what is flabby about those phrases, leave a comment for us to digest.

Till next time,

Duncan


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Recent Comments

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Hello Duncan, in my brief understanding of the English language, main language since birth. All of the above are I guess what is called redundant. Close and proximity are the same thing. You cannot dwindle up. If you enter then you are in and lift up has the same affect as dwindling down. I am still learning the language so I may be way off, but I think I am in close proximity (smile).

Hey, Harvey! You nailed it. Couldn't have put it better myself.

Very Insightful and true.

Thank you.

Ooowww.....this is good stuff! I find that I'm guilty of this when I speak, more than when I write. I will definitely make a mental note in my mind (Gottcha!)

Trim away that excess.

Yoast rocks!

Absolutely does.

Hi Duncan, very interestng.Irv.

Glad you found it so.

Both words really mean the same thing. Cheers, Clive

You got it. Watch this space for more on this topic.

OK Duncan thanks.

One of my favorites is "10 a.m. in the morning". Thanks for the reminder.

That is a good one. Or what about accurate facts.

Thank's for sharing!!

You're welcome.

how do i find yoast seo?

It is a plug-in that you can use for SEO instead of All-in One!

All of them duplicate each other - one word would suffice out of each of them :)

Correct, Jude.

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