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5 Weak Words that Contribute Nothing to Your Content

  • May 11 2015
  • Comments Off on 5 Weak Words that Contribute Nothing to Your Content
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It can be all too easy to put meaningless words and fillers into your writing without even realizing it, however this can have a negative impact on your content. Weak words can creep into your writing at any point, and when they’re present they can do a lot to sabotage the power of your writing. Here are five of the worst words to put into your content, as they contribute nothing to it.

 

 

Really

For example, “The athlete really preformed well.” The reason as to why you should avoid this word is because ‘really’ is only used as a crutch, as it is meant to emphasize something, however completely fails to do so. ‘Really’ doesn’t demonstrate anything important to your readers, and is an extremely inadequate description. It is an example of writing in the same way that you speak, and so it doesn’t translate well into the written word. You should also take into consideration the fact that ‘real’ means that it is a fact instead of imagined and so it is genuine. This means that using ‘really’ as an intensifier doesn’t actually convey what you want to.

 

 

Stuff and Things

For example, “the study found a lot of stuff/things out about the disease.” Although you may have a clear understanding of what stuff or things are referring to, your readers may have no idea. Using these two words leaves too much unsaid, and it is best that you don’t make your readers work unnecessarily. Although you are likely using ‘stuff’ and ‘things’ in order to save time, it will only end up hurting your writing’s quality and so it’s best that you explain what you’re referring to so that there is no burden placed on your readers to figure out what exactly you’re talking about.

 

 

I Think or I Feel

“I feel that the author made a good point.” The reason as to why you don’t need to use this in your writing is because of the fact that you’re writing it, and so there shouldn’t be any confusion that you believe what you’re writing. When creating content, it should already be gleaned that you are an advocate for what you’re writing. ‘I think’ and ‘I feel’ do not gain any confidence from your reader, and in fact may do the exact opposite. Using them can cause your readers to question your honesty and authenticity, which is not something you want to do as a content writer. It can make you sound unsure of what you’re saying, as well as the topic that you’re discussing. It will also force you to use too many pronouns, which is not something you want to do in your writing, as often times you want content to be impersonal.

 

 

Was, Am and Is

Using and not using these words is the difference between having a passive and an active voice. For example, writing “the email was sent by John” is using a passive voice, while writing, “John sent the email” is using an active voice. Your readers tend to be much less engaged with passive writing, as it will force the reader to do more work in order to get to the conclusion of your writing. On the other hand, active voices will allow you to keep your sentences short and too the point, which is generally what you want.

 

 

Very

For example saying, “this is a very interesting point.” Using the word ‘very’ does not communicate any needed information. It is deemed the most useless word used in the English language, and is simply one of those words that writers tend to throw around in order to attempt to magnify another word. Instead, try using more descriptive adjectives from the start in order to make your writing much more interesting. Remember that you shouldn’t waste your reader’s time in anyway, and using ‘very’ does just that.

 

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Cameron Mackey

Cameron is the Content Manager for the Vorongo Blog. He has spent three years in various content marketing roles. When he is not working with Vorongo he enjoys photography and hiking.

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