商务写作：揭秘文体简洁的七大法宝

I took many writing classes in college but perhaps the most useful was one focused on business writing. My classmates and I spent a semester editing example after example of rambling or confusing letters, memos, and other professional materials. Here are seven bits of simple advice for clear and concise writing.

大学时我上了不少写作课，但是最有用的还是商务写作课。我和同学用了一学期的时间不断地修改那些杂乱无章的信件，备忘录和其他专业材料。下面是7条简单的建议，让大家学会清楚简洁的写作。

1. Limit prepositions when possible.

1.尽量少用介词。

If you don't remember what they are, here's a list and primer. When overused, prepositions can weaken writing and contribute to wordiness. For example: "The meeting on December 1 about the budget" is sharper when written "The December 1 budget meeting." Also watch out for prepositions following a verb, such as "come up with" or "find out." Instead, you could use "generate" or "determine," respectively.

如果你不记得了，下面是一些简单的例子。如果过度使用介词，会降低写作质量，造成冗余。比如：“关于预算的会议在12月1日召开”就没有“12月1日开预算会议”来的简洁有力。动词后面的介词也需要特别留意。比如“come up with”（想出）或“find out”（找出），你就可以分别用“generate”和“determine”代替。

2. Avoid "very."

2.避免使用“very”。

It smacks of laziness and indicates your sentence needs editing to pack a stronger punch. For example, consider: "The very tall man strode to the front of the line." The phrase "very tall" doesn't help a reader understand if the man is six feet tall or having to duck seven-foot doorways. How about: "Standing a head taller than everyone in the room the man strode to the front of the line." The second version paints a better picture, right?

用“very”会显得你懒惰，表明你的语句还需要修改以达到更加有力的程度。比如：“这个很高的男人跨步上前。”“很高”并没有帮助读者理解这个男人是否有6英尺高或者进7英尺高的门都需要低头。再比如：“比房间里所有人都高一个头的男人跨步上前了。”第二句是不是比上一句更能给人一种画面感？

3. Watch out for forms of the verb "to be" such as am, are, is, was, were, being, and been.

3.注意不定式当中be动词的形式，如am, are, is, was, were, being, 和been。

Usually you should aim for an active, not passive voice. "There are three things you can do to improve your golf game" is tighter when written "three things can improve your golf game."

通常你应该写主动句而不是被动句。“有三种方法可以提高你的高尔夫技术。”就没有“这三种方法可以提高你的高尔夫技术”这句话来的紧凑。

4. Don't try to impress with jargon or big words.

4.不要以为专业术语和大词就能让人印象深刻。

Readers don't appreciate grandstanding but do value an unclouded message.

读者不喜欢哗众取宠，只需要清楚的信息。

5. Use exclamation points sparingly.

5.少用感叹号。

Overusing them reduces their impact. And never use more than one at the end of a sentence.

过分使用只会削弱感叹号的感染力。并且千万不要在一个句子后使用超过一个感叹号。

"Elmore Leonard wrote of exclamation marks: 'You are allowed no more than two or three per 100,000 words of prose.' Which means, on average, an exclamation mark every book and a half," points out Stuart Jeffries of The Guardian. "In the ninth book of Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, Eric, one of the characters insists that 'Multiple exclamation marks are a sure sign of a diseased mind.'"

埃尔莫·伦纳德曾经写道：“10万字的文章中感叹号的出现的次数应少于2-3次。”《卫报》编辑斯图亚特·杰弗里斯指出：“也就是说，平均一本半书里才有一个感叹号。”“在特里·普拉切特的《碟形世界》系列小说第九本中，其中一位主角艾瑞克坚持认为‘过多使用感叹号是心理不正常的表现。’”

6. Limit emails to five or fewer sentences.

6.邮件最好不要超过5句话。

"Seriously. I know it's painful. You have so many important things to say. However, getting it read is more important than getting all that explanation in there. Preferably, it's three sentences. Your goal is to make it easy for [a recipient] to respond immediately from his smartphone," advises 42Floors founder Jason Freedman.

42Floors创始人贾森·弗里德曼建议：“我知道这很难。你有那么多重要的东西要说。但是，让收件人读邮件比把所有的解释都放在那儿更重要。3句话是最好的。你的目的是让收件人能够轻易地通过智能手机马上回复。”

7. Read it out loud.

7.大声地读出来。

Before delivering your writing to a recipient, read it out loud. Doing so will likely oust any typos, missing words, or other errors you may not have spotted.

将写的东西在发给别人之前，大声朗读。这样可以排除打印错误，漏字或者其他你没有发现的错误。