Revising Jargon and Slang

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Difference Between Jargon and Slang

October 21, 2015

by admin

3 min read

Main Difference – Jargon vs. Slang

Both jargon and slang are two special types of language varieties. The main difference between Jargon and Slang is, Jargon is terminology that is used in relation to a specific activity, profession, group, or event whereas slang is the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker’s dialect or language. 

Review: Diction

Decide whether the highlighted word or phrase in each of the following examples is appropriate in formal writing.

Connotation and Denotation

The relationship between words and meanings is extremely complicated and belongs to the field of semantics. What you need to remember is that most words do not have single, simple meanings. 

Revising Catchphrases: overused phrases and sentences

Catchphrases

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Against a tight deadline or under pressure, a writer will naturally use familiar verbal patterns rather than thinking up new ones. Inexperienced writers, however, will sometimes go further and string together overused phrases or even sentences. 

Revising Diction...word choice in your writing

Revising Diction:

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Diction

Diction is simply your choice of words.

Revising Paragraphs: Review Your Comprehension of the Lessons

Developing Unified and Coherent Paragraphs

Have you finished revising your body-paragraphs?  Do you want to check to make sure that you fully understand how to revise paragraphs for unity and conciseness?  Click the Review Paragraph Development link below and then complete the exercises.  After that, return here to learn about revising the DICTION in your writing.

Review: Paragraph Development

Approaching Revision--The 1st Time Through

The 1^st Revision

If you are at the Revision stage of the Writing Process, then you have already taken the time to gather your ideas, organize those ideas into an outline, drafted a rough draft of the essay, and now you are ready for your first Revision—yes, the first revision.  The Writing Process can—and should—be a reoccurring cycle.  You may have to go through some of these stages numerous times before the structure, content, and support are correctly organized into a version worthy of publishing. 

Revision is a Cyclical Process

See these revision lessons…

Revising at the Sentence-level
Revising at the Paragraph-level
Revising at the Essay-level

Revising at the Essay-level

Revision at the Essay-Level

Revising at the essay-level involves reading the THESIS, TOPIC-SENTENCES, and CLOSING SENTENCE of the CONCLUSION PARAGRAPH to determine whether all areas are focused on one overarching point.  The whole essay must flow in a way that there is no extraneous information, personal anecdotes, or wayward background and details.  When you revise at the essay-level, you need to make sure that the whole essay is focused on one point and that one point is clearly and logically asserted throughout the writing.

Revising at the Paragraph-level

Revising at the Paragraph-level

Revising at the paragraph-level involves reading the paragraphs of your essay for unity and coherence of thought.  This means that each paragraph needs to be a ‘little nugget’ of information, focused on one concept, idea, or topic. 

Revising at the Sentence-level

The first thing you want to do when revising is to look at your content at three levels: sentence-level, paragraph-level, and at the essay-level. 

Revising at the Sentence-level

Revising at the sentence-level involves reading the sentences of your writing for completeness, clarity, and purpose.  Do not read the sentences one after another.  If you read them as blocks of content, you will miss revision issues to correct.  You want to read a sentence—by itself—without connecting it to the sentence prior or after.  

Revision is a Necessary Stage in the Writing Process

Revising: The 4^th Stage in the Writing Process

Revising is an important part of the Writing Process.  Each stage of the Writing Process provides your writing with more polish and professionalism that cannot be met if stages are skipped.  

Eliminate these Words

Taboo words in academic writing

Date published February 6, 2016, by Sarah Vinz. Date updated: August 21, 2018

When you are writing [an academic essay], many words and phrases that are acceptable in conversations or informal writing are considered inappropriate.

You should try to avoid expressions that are too informal, unsophisticated, vague, exaggerated, or subjective, as well as those that are generally unnecessary or incorrect.

Use Qualifiers Wisely

Qualifiers

What this handout is about

This handout will explain what qualifiers are and how you can use them wisely.

Introduction

Qualifiers and intensifiers are words or phrases that are added to another word to modify its meaning, either by limiting it (He was somewhat busy) or by enhancing it (The dog was very cute). Qualifiers can play an important role in your writing, giving your reader clues about how confident you feel about the information you’re presenting. In fact, “hedging” (as it is sometimes called) is an important feature of academic writing because academic writers need to clearly indicate whether they think claims are certain, likely, unlikely, or just false. But excessive use of qualifiers can make you sound unsure of your facts; it can also make your writing too informal.

Don't Sabotage Yourself by Using Weak Language!!

While the article below is about verbal sabotage, consider this advice as GOLD for academic writing as well.  Eliminate words that undermine the strength or your argument, and by extension, undermine YOU!

Do You Sabotage Yourself by Using Weak Language?

Bonnie Marcus                                                                                                                                 Dec 9, 2011, 10:29am

The ability to communicate effectively and confidently has a dramatic effect on our ability to advance our careers. Yet many of us fall into the trap of using weak language that sabotages our efforts to present ourselves with authority and confidence.

I would just like to say that I may not know as much as some of the communication experts out there, but I feel that women undermine their credibility time and time again by using minimizing language.

This one sentence says it all! By using the words “just”, “I feel”, and stating that I may not have as much expertise as perhaps others do, I have reduced my credibility to almost zero! How many times have you heard women communicate this way? How many times have you yourself used this type of minimizing language?

Eliminate Weak Terms

When writing an argument paper, you need to assert your views clearly and logically.  However, it is also necessary to make the argument imperative by using words such as must and require.

Connect Ideas through Transitional Terms

Transitional terms that serve as academic connectors within sentences, between sentences, between paragraphs, and to unify an essay.  

Contrast
In spite of / Despite	Link two contrasting ideas. Followed by a noun phrase
Although / (Even) though	Link two contrasting ideas. Followed by a sentence.
However Nevertheless Still / Yet Even so On the contrary In contrast	Introduce a new idea which marks a contrast with previously stated ideas. Used after a strong pause and separated from the sentence they introduce by a comma.
On the one hand ... on the other hand	Links two contrasting ideas/paragraphs.
In contrast to Contrary to	Link two contrasting ideas. Followed by a noun phrase.
whereas	Link two contrasting ideas. Not separated by commas.

Computer-Assisted Lessons to Assist with Revision

Lessons available at http://www.xtec.cat/~ogodoy/sac/index.htm

Punctuation, Word Choice, & Arrangement

Grammar incorporates many elements, including diction, syntax, punctuation, abbreviation, etc.

Diction & Syntax (Word Choice & Arrangement)

• Voice:  Active voice is highly preferred.
• Economy of Expression: Short words and short sentences are preferred. Also, avoid jargon,wordiness, and redundancy in writing.

Revising Numbers

Numbers, Mathematics, and Statistics

• Numbers: Use numerals
  
  • for numbers 10 and higher (Exceptions: see sections 4.33-4.34)
  • for numbers before a unit of measurement (Example: 9 kilometers)
  • for numbers representing statistical or mathematical functions, fractions, decimals, percentages, etc.
  • for times, dates, ages, scores, points, sums of money, etc.
• Numbers: Spell out the word
  • for numbers that begin a sentence, title, or text heading (Writers can start a sentence with a year expressed in numerals.)

Strategies for Reducing Wordiness

Strategies

You can eliminate wordiness in your writing if . . .

• you mark sections of your writing that you struggled to produce.
  You likely included "false starts" or filler phrases in your writing when trying to put some ideas or arguments into words; this is natural. Don't worry about it as you write, but, after you're done with your draft, pass through your paper at least once, focusing only on eliminating unnecessary language. Pay particular attention to sections you struggled to get out.
• you give yourself a breather before editing.
  Getting away from your paper will help give you the distance you'll need to see with "fresh eyes" what language is needed and what's not.
• you learn what wordiness patterns are typical of your writing.
  Most people tend to fall into two or three patterns of wordiness when they write. Learn what your patterns are, and edit with those patterns in mind.

Revise Essay's Transitional Connections

Transitional Connections: THESISàTopic Sentences

Check the transitional connections between the THESIS (last sentence of Introduction paragraph) and the Topic Sentences of all body-paragraphs (first sentence of each body-paragraph).

Explanation:

Proofreading Guide

A Guide to Proofreading

Posted by The Ginger Team | October 25th 2011

Proofreading is an essential part of the writing process, no matter what type of document you are writing. Mistakes can include anything from misunderstanding English grammar, to spelling errors, usage of wrong words, and simply typos – but either way such mistakes reflect on the writer, and can be easily avoided by proofreading.

Once you are writing a text, you become very familiar with it. So familiar that your eye might easily skip over m1stak3s that you would otherwise recognize immediately. The most important tip for successful proofreading is to make yourself, or someone else, be able to read the text from a fresh point of view.

Do not use first-person pronouns

Do not use first-person pronouns ("I," "me," "my," "we," "us," etc.).

Using these expressions in analytical and persuasive essays can make the writing wordy, can make the writer seem less confident of his or her ideas, and can give the essay an informal tone. Use of first-person pronouns is unnecessary in the kinds of essays you are writing for the course. Readers will know that they are reading your thoughts, beliefs, or opinions, so you do not need to state, "I think that," "I believe that," or "in my opinion."

Simply delete these expressions from sentences, and you will be left with stronger sentences.

Revise the INFORMAL Speech OUT of Your Academic Essay

English Rhetoric & Composition:

Formal Writing Voice

Formal Writing Voice

Have you ever attended an event in which "formal" attire is expected? You probably did not wear old jeans with holes in the knees, a stained tee shirt promoting your favorite beverage, and a pair of sandals. You probably chose more formal attire.

If you were giving an important speech to a group of people you do not know, would you use the same kind of language you use when talking with friends? Probably not. Recognizing your lack of familiarity with the audience, the importance of the occasion, your desire to demonstrate your knowledge of the subject, and the impression you would like to make, you would probably use a more formal voice for your speech than what you would use when talking with close friends.

For all of the essays you write for this course, you should use a formal writing voice. You should use the kind of language you would use when giving an important speech, not the kind of language you might use when talking with close friends. A formal tone helps establish the writer's respect for the audience and suggests that the writer is serious about his or her topic. It is the kind of tone that educated people use when communicating with other educated people. Most academic writing uses a formal tone.

Idioms Become Monsters

When Idioms Become Monsters

Close but no cigar, fly off the handle, he is pulling your leg, I was beside myself—we see idioms like these all the time, even though the closer we look, the less sense many of them make.

Sometimes two familiar expressions get jumbled. When that happens, the result is what you might call a “Frankenstein formation,” a nod to the mad scientist who created a monster by conjoining parts that didn’t belong together.

Plague Words
and Phrases

  Select from the followingGUIDE Home PageINDEXPrinciples of CompositionQUIZZES Sentence Parts and Functions . . . . adjectives . . . . adverbs . . . . conjunctions . . . . determiners . . . . interjections . . . . nouns . . . . objects . . . . prepositions . . . . pronouns . . . . subjects . . . . verbs AbbreviationsArticles and DeterminersAuxiliary VerbsBw 2 Independent ClausesCapitalizationCases -- of pronounsClauses -- Essential Bldg BlocksCompositionCompound Nouns and ModifiersConcise SentencesConfusable WordsConfusion -- Sources, RemediesDiagramming SentencesEssay TypesFragmentsFrequently Asked QuestionsGrammarlogs -- answersGrammarPollItalics and UnderliningModifier PlacementObjects -- dir., indirectParagraph DevelopmentParallel StructuresPassive vs Active VoicePhrasesPlague Words & PhrasesPluralsPossessivesPrimer LanguagePronouns, Antcdnt Agrmnt  PUNCTUATION . . . . apostrophes . . . . brackets . . . . colons . . . . commas . . . . dashes . . . . ellipses . . . . exclamation marks . . . . hyphens . . . . parentheses . . . . periods . . . . question marks . . . . quotation marks . . . . semicolons . . . . slashes Powerpoint PresentationsRun-on SentencesSearch EngineSentence CombiningSentence Variety and TypesSpelling Rules and QuizzesSubjectsSubject-Verb AgreementTense SequenceTransitions, CoherenceUnbiased LanguageUsing Numbers, Making ListsVerbs and VerbalsVocabulary Builders  

Revision of redundant terms in your essay will improve its readability.

Avoid problems created by these words or phrases:

1.      And also This is often redundant.

2.      And/or Outside of the legal world, most of the time this construction is used, it is neither necessary nor logical. Try using one word or the other. 

3.      As to whether The single word whether will suffice.

4.      Basically, essentially, totally These words seldom add anything useful to a sentence. Try the sentence without them and, almost always, you will see the sentence improve.

5.      Being that or being as These words are a non-standard substitute for because. Being that Because I was the youngest child, I always wore hand-me-downs.

6.      Considered to be Eliminate the to be and, unless it's important who's doing the considering, try to eliminate the entire phrase.