There seems to be a great misconception that passive voiceundefined acronyms and abbreviations, and loads of jargon make for good business writing.
We say it in the streets, hear it on television, and post it in Tweets and Facebook messages.
We tend to use slang with our friends because it is fun, easy and can come across as very casual. Slang often flows naturally out of our mouths because it is part of our personalities and culture.
A few places we do not want to use slang, however, is in business correspondences, academic papers, and presidential speeches. Slang is any words or phrases that society might consider informal or too casual.
In most forms of English writing, slang is considered unprofessional. We tend to hear slang "out in the streets" more often than we see inside a newspaper or book. Slang is often localized to particular areas of the world.
It spreads commonly via the spoken word, so cultural dialects and phrases often get mixed in with slang. Slang can consist of words that have more than one meaning and can be easily confused with other words.
Examples include words such as dude, ain't, kid nounbail the non-jail verbcram studyawesome, fire verb and how come why. Examples include you nailed it, at the end of the day and ripped off stolen from.
Contractions such as can't and don't are often considered slang as well in the business world. Unless you have a purpose to use slang, apply the rules of plain English writing and remove slang from your document, especially if your readers are business or academic professionals. Here are a few reasons why you need to avoid slang: Slang can be localized to a specific area and cause confusion to readers who live elsewhere.
Slang evolves quickly and may not have the same impact five or 10 years later. Slang is largely considered unprofessional, especially when it is written.
Slang can have multiple meanings, causing confusion or offending your readers.
When writing professional documents, your document must be clear and concise and not muddled with poor wording. Tips for Avoiding Slang The best way to avoid slang is to keep your audience in mind. You've probably heard this age-old rule: Keep your language simple and concise yet explain everything without resorting to language or phrasing that might confuse and alienate your readers.
Usually reading your drafted correspondence out loud helps. Any word or phrase that sounds too casual or informal may clue you in on instances of slang. Proofreading your document more than once also helps.
Proofread as though you are a complete stranger to your correspondence.Jargon examples are found in literary and non-literary pieces of writing.
The use of jargon becomes essential in prose or verse or some technical pieces of writing, when the writer intends to convey something only to the readers who are aware of these terms.
Help Me Write a Better Speech. Help Me Write a Better Technical Document. Eliminate Racist Language in Your Writing. Avoid Slang in Your English Writing *** StyleWriter Software [ shorten navigation ] How to Identify and Avoid Slang in Your English Writing. In most forms of English writing, slang is considered unprofessional.
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AP Language Terms. PPT Answers and Terms. STUDY. PLAY. Abstract Diction. Ordinary, everyday speech and language Colloquial expressions are non-standard, often regional, ways of using language appropriate to informal or conversational speech and writing.
General example: "He is two bricks shy of a full load," meaning his reasoning powers. Slang, contractions, and jargon are avoided, except when they are described, because it is a scholarly piece of writing. A slang word in one area may have no meaning in another area. The following examples of jargon can help you understand exactly what jargon means.
Examples of Jargon Jargon is like a type of shorthand between members of a particular group of people, often words that are meaningless outside of a certain context.