(1)  Use concrete words. Concrete words are easy to understand because they relate to the five senses. For example, the term M16A2 is meaningful to a military audience because it represents an object that you can see, feel, and use. Abstract words, on the other hand, are hard to understand because they fail to recall experiences of the five senses. Some language experts describe words in terms of an abstraction ladder.

(2)  Use common words. You will find that it is harder to write "gobbledygook" than simple language because you must translate common words into uncommon, impressive sounding words. Many writers use "gobbledygook" because they believe it adds dignity to their writing.

(3)  Use familiar words. Some words cover such a broad field that the reader is unable to decide what you mean. Avoid vague, ambiguous words or ideas that obscure your topic. Consider the following example where unrelated and distant words and ideas hide the real meaning.

(4)  Avoid wordiness. Use words that have meaning to your audience. Often our writing is cluttered with words that add nothing. We use words that could be omitted; we use phrases when a word would do. Learn to recognize this "excess baggage" and delete it from your writing. Following are three wordy sentences with examples showing how you can improve them.

(5)  Avoid stilted words and phrases. Some words or phrases are used so exclusively in writing that they have an artificial, stilted flavor; while you may need to use such words occasionally, try to find plain common terms instead. Compare the following examples:

(6)  Avoid overworked words and phrases. Some words and phrases have become trite and tiresome. Ordinary and simple words attract by their simplicity and naturalness. Look for fresh but common words that clearly communicate. Notice the difference between the following expressions.

(7)  Don't bury your verbs. Verbs are relation showing words. They show action (we go), state (he became), feeling (she likes), or existence (you are). A buried verb is one that has been hidden in other words. Buried verbs decrease the forcefulness of your writing while increasing the potential for misunderstanding. If you free these verbs, they will add force to your writing. We bury verbs by adding the ending ance, ent, al, ing, ed, tion, sion, and age. Consider the following example:

The need for investigation of the sounds became apparent to them.

The need to investigate the sounds appeared to them.

(1)  Avoid misused modifiers. Modifiers, whether they are words or phrases, should be near the words they modify. If you use modifiers carelessly, you will confuse your reader. There are three general types of misused modifiers: dangling modifiers, misplaced modifiers, and ambiguous modifiers. Any of the three will lead to confusion, as shown in the following examples.

(2)  Watch for faulty pronoun references. A pronoun should be placed as near as possible to its antecedent so that no intervening word is mistaken for the antecedent. If necessary repeat the antecedent to prevent misunderstanding. Further, pronouns should agree in number with the nouns to which they refer.

(3)  Use parallel construction to tie parallel thoughts together. Use the same grammatical structure to express parallel ideas.

(1)  Don't omit words in sentences which compare or contrast ideas.

(2)  Don't omit parts of compound verbs of more than one tense. Two different verb forms may be required if your sentence uses more than one tense.

(3)  Don't omit necessary prepositions. Some prepositions are commonly used with certain other words to form idiomatic phrases; for example, bring to pass, addicted to, come by, and situated on. In writing, you must respect the relationships of these expressions if you are to avoid awkwardness and misunderstanding. When you have two or more such phrases in a sentence, use the correct preposition with each.

(1)  Avoid mixed construction in sentences. Mixed construction often comes from using the wrong subject-verb relationship and from repeating an object or a conjunction.

(2)  Use short sentences. Short sentences are easy to read because our eyes can pick them up with little effort. Such sentences are easy to understand and remember because they form clear thought patterns.

(1)  The topic of active or passive voice in writing seems to create a lot of confusion. The problem is that many writers confuse voice with tense and conclude that passive voice always refers to the past while active voice refers to the present or future. Voice only shows whether the subject is performing the action (active voice) or receiving the action (passive voice). Active and passive voice never refers to tense but to action.

(2)  You form the passive voice by using a form of the verb "to be" with the past participle of the main verb. First, the past participle’s endings are -ed or -en. Second, some form of the auxiliary verb "to be (am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been) will always precede the past participle.

(1)  When you place the emphasis on the action rather than the actor.

(2)  To describe a condition where the actor is unknown or unimportant.

• Time.
• Space.
• General to particular or particular to general.
• Climax.
• Compare and contrast.
• Analysis and classification.
• Definition.
• Cause and effect.

(1)  Time. A narrative paragraph records events in the order that they occurred.

Within an hour of departing the battalion base camp Bravo Company began receiving enemy fire. Captain Jones, monitoring the Bravo Company report alerted his Alpha Company platoons and directed them to move on order to a rendezvous point north of the perimeter. He instructed his weapons platoon to orient its 81-millimeter orders in Bravo Company’s direction and be ready to provide support as directed. Finally, Captain Jones directed the two platoons with him to move north toward the same rendezvous point.

(2)  Space. A paragraph that describes something often uses space as the organizing principle. When you describe the layout of the Alpha Company office you would organize it in some spatial order, from east to west, from bottom to top, from near to far, and the like.

Using available maps Lieutenant Chandler constructed a sand model outlining the most prominent terrain features and the patrol objective. The model showed the routes of advance on Noname Ridge and withdrawal along with the known characteristics of the objective area.

(3)  General to particular or particular to general. A general to particular pattern describes the paragraph that begins with a general statement topic sentence, followed by sentences supporting the general statement with details, examples, and evidence. A paragraph may reverse this order by beginning with a particular statement followed by general statements.

(4)  Climax. You can often make your paragraph more effective by arranging details and examples in order of increasing importance.

York was charged by six German soldiers who came at him with fixed bayonets. He drew a bead on the sixth man, fired, and then on the fifth. He worked his way down the line, and before he knew it, the first man was all by himself. York killed him with a single shot.

(5)  Comparison and contrast. Some ideas naturally lend organization by comparison and contrast. Consider the following topic sentences:

(6)  Analysis and classification. Analysis takes things apart. Classification groups things together.

(7)  Definition. Definition sets limits within which a topic or term is used, especially in dealing with abstract issues.

Providing purpose gives soldiers a reason why they should do difficult things under dangerous, stressful circumstances. You must establish priorities, explain the importance of missions, and focus soldiers on the task so that they will function in an efficient and a disciplined manner.

(8)  Cause and effect. Whenever you discuss the causes of a problem and the effects that result you employ cause and effect organization.

Stress is the body’s response to a demand placed on it. The demands may be physical (cold, injury, disease) or mental (fear, conflict, pressure). Stress also occurs when soldiers think they cannot meet the demands they expect to face.

(1)  Limit each paragraph to a single topic. Don't break up your writing into an endless series of paragraphs treating minor ideas. Build each paragraph around a central idea and limit the information to what your reader needs. Three or four fully developed key ideas are more easily remembered than six or eight half-expressed ideas.

(2)  Begin the paragraph by telling what it is about. One way to do this is to use a name (topical heading) for the paragraph. Whether you use a topic heading or a full sentence will normally depend on the style you have selected for your paper. The text should begin with a topic sentence that states your main idea or that gives introductory information about the subject.

(3)  Add supporting thoughts and data. Following the introductory portion of the paragraph, add the supporting thoughts and data that you have on the topic. Say all you have to say about the topic in one paragraph; while you may later refer to or draw conclusions about the topic, you should not scatter the discussion throughout a series of paragraphs.

(4)  Progress from one part of your paragraph to the next. Help your reader to follow you by shifting or rephrasing sentences until each thought leads easily to the next. Use pronouns that refer to antecedents in the previous sentences. Show connection by introducing sentences with such words as however, therefore, or now. Below are other transitional words and phrases for unifying your paper.

(5)  Use the final sentence in a paragraph for emphasis. The concluding sentence in a paragraph of several sentences will often summarize the paragraph. In a paragraph the first and last portions are the most emphatic. If the paragraph is complex, the last sentence should mirror the key information which you set forth in your topic sentence. Figure 3-2 illustrates the techniques discussed in the preceding paragraphs.

(1)  The text of military writing, regardless of its detailed format, is usually made up of three elements--the introductory portion, the body, and the closing or action portion. Think of these three elements as a working breakdown to show the general relationship of your paragraphs to one another.

(2)  As you develop each paragraph, make sure it is consistent with the intended organization of your paper. Be slow to make changes in the tentative outline; think each change through to make sure that its adoption does not upset the overall pattern or omit vital information. If a better presentation will result, change your outline even though you must rewrite other portions. If your outline is well organized, the relationship of each paragraph to the whole paper will be easy to understand.

(3)  Briefly review each paragraph as you write. Is the meaning clear? Do the thoughts flow naturally from one paragraph to the next? If not, rework your paragraphs until they satisfy you. However, don't try to give the paper a final review until you have finished it.