Concision facts for kids

In common usage and linguistics, concision (also called conciseness, succinctness, brevity, or laconicism) is a communication principle of eliminating redundancy, such as using as few words as possible at the same time preserving the same meaning in a sentence.

For example, a sentence of "It is a fact that most arguments must try to convince readers, that is the audience, that the arguments are true." may be expressed more concisely as "Most arguments must demonstrate their truth to readers." – the observations that the statement is a fact and that readers are its audience are redundant, and it is unnecessary to repeat the word "arguments" in the sentence.

Statements of the principle

Polymath Blaise Pascal wrote in a 1657 letter:

William Strunk and E. B. White's The Elements of Style, an American English style guide, says of concision that:

A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell.

Joseph M. Williams's Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace suggests six principles for concision:

1. Delete words that mean little or nothing.
2. Delete words that repeat the meaning of other words.
3. Delete words implied by other words.
4. Replace a phrase with a word.
5. Change negatives to affirmatives.
6. Delete useless adjectives and adverbs.

Concision is taught to students at all levels. It is valued highly in expository English writing, but less by some other cultures.

Succinctness is a related concept. "Laconic" speech or writing refers to the pithy bluntness that the Laconian people of ancient Greece were reputedly known for. In computing, succinct data structures balance minimal storage use against efficiency of access. In algorithmic game theory, a succinct game is one that may be accurately described in a simpler form than its normal representation.

Importance in pedagogy

In an influential study by educational psychologist Richard E. Mayer and others, succinctness of textbook and lecture content was linked to better understanding of the material.

See also

In Spanish: Concisión para niños

• Brevitas
• Chekhov's gun
• Circumstantial speech
• Evidence-based education
• Information structure
• Lexical density
• Memorization
• Minimalism
• Pleonasm
• Show, don't tell