In our desperation to write better we often ignore silly mistakes. We use unnecessary words. Have you ever thought that words like Just and Really are misused quite frequently. One of the best ways to make your writing stronger is to cut unnecessary words. Words creep in that add no meaning and can make a piece of writing sound vague and woolly rather than confidence and precise.

Just

This is one of the worst offenders.

• "I just thought I'd drop you a note"
• "Just writing to ask"
• "If you could just give me a call"

In almost every case, striking out the word "just" will make a sentence stronger. It tends to make you sound either desperate when applied to yourself ("I just wondered if you could") or demanding when applied to the other person ("If you would just").

Really

Like "just", this is another word which can frequently be cut. It's often found partnering "just", in which case you might want to rewrite the whole sentence.

• "You can really improve by"
• "You don't really want to"
• "I'm really just trying to "

Using the word "really" about yourself makes it sounds as though you believe the other person is unsure of your intentions; "I'm really writing the report" can sound defensive. And using it about someone else can sound patronising - phrases like "that's really good!" are best kept for the kindergarten.

Quite

This insidious word tends to water down the meaning of a sentence or, worse, make it unclear. It usually means "a bit" as in "I quite liked it", but can also mean "completely" as in "Quite right." Most people have little difficulty understanding those, but sentences like "I was quite outraged" can be taken either way.

• "I'd quite like you to "
• "I'm feeling quite upset about it."
• "I don't think you quite understand"

There are some circumstances where you may well want to keep the word "quiet", particularly when trying to justify something over-running. "Quite" is useful in suggesting both "almost there" and "soon", and saying "The files aren't quite ready yet " implies it won't be much longer, whereas "The files aren't ready yet" can sound like stone-walling.

Perhaps

Like  the words above, "perhaps" makes your writing sound uncertain. It can obscure meaning, or weaken an otherwise powerful statement, and often causes confusion.

• "Perhaps we could meet at twelve for lunch."
• "And then perhaps you'd like to "
• "Perhaps if I "

The main problem in all these cases is that the word "perhaps" means your intention is unclear.  The "perhaps" also makes it unclear what part of the suggestion is in doubt; do you think twelve might not be the best time, or do you suspect the other person won't want to get lunch?

That

This is another word which creeps into  writing where it's not needed. It's fine when necessary, but can often be cut without any loss of meaning - usually when it's preceded by a noun.

• "This is the house that Jack built."
• "Can you remember the time that we asked people to arrive?"
• "I liked the design that you came up with."

Make sure you don't cut valid instances of the word, usually where "that" comes before the noun. "I need that document by five" makes sense, "I need document by five" is only safe in a very informal context and if you're sure the other person knows which document you mean.

Putting it all together

If you write -

"I really just wondered if perhaps you could send those documents that I mentioned quite soon."

- you come across as diffident, uncertain and sound like you're babbling. It's also unclear whether you do need those documents straight away, or whether you're simply enquiring whether they could be sent soon.

But if you delete the five unnecessary words, you'll get -

"I really just wondered if perhaps you could send those documents that I mentioned quite soon."

"I wondered if you could send those documents I mentioned soon."

This sentence is much clearer, more concise, and likely to elicit a quick response.

So when you've written an email, article, report or even a piece of fiction, check through for the words just, really, quite, perhaps and that - and see if you can improve the piece by cutting them out.

Lets do some Vidhansabha reporting

Fourth issue of thenewsletter was devoted to the reporting of Assemblies and the Parliament. Now, the budget session is over. And there is nothing from the Assembly or the Parliament. As I pointed out there is so much information in the documents in the Assembly and the Parliament that we can churn out good copies for several days.

Here I am giving two cases from the booklet of the question hour of the Vidhansabha. Many more can be found out.

In the last two year, atleast 27 questions have been asked about various aspects of the Forensic Science Laboratory. Questions range from the number of important cases handled by the Laboratory to the states which have sought the services of Gujarat FSL.

This can give at least half a dozen good copies if followed up with right querries to the FSL director. Since this speaks good of the Laboratory, Director will be too happy to answer questions.

Plenty of crime serials only confirms the view that sex and crime make good stories. So the readability of the stories about FSL will be very high.Besides these routine ideas, one should try to find out why there are so many questions about a government organisation with questions aimed at developing positive image. Has this brand building something to do with the international NGO demanding that forensic examination of evidence of Godhra riots should be shifted outside Gujarat?

The second case is of certain MLAs asking pointed questions about the performance of Gujarat in a particular sector and then asking additional questions about the performance of Gujarat in national perspective. Pradipsinh Jadjea, MLA from Asarwa in Ahmedabad and some others have specialised in the art of such questions. This is certainly an innovative way of brand building through Assembly proceedings. This also proves that Assembly proceedings are not used only for asserting pressure on administration or for extraction of money from private parties. There are people who are using it for brand building also.