Sunday, May 04, 2008

Turn Those Questions into Statements

The next time you create a bulleted or numbered list of questions, consider whether turning those questions into statements improve the purposefulness, clarity, and conciseness.

In the first draft below, the writer poses a list of questions; in the second draft, the writer opts for statements, reducing the word count by 35 percent.

Draft 1 (32 words)

The project committee should answer three questions:
• Is the project aligned with our mission?
• What will the project cost?
• Do we have a sufficient workforce to complete the project?


Draft 2 (21 words)

The project committee should address three issues:
• project alignment with our mission
• project cost
• workforce for project completion

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