On Writing Well ch.10-1

Summary

Ch.10 Bites & Pieces Part 1

本章的内容非常杂，有很多是写文章的基础知识，不限于nonfiction writing。

1. Verb: the active verb is strong than the passive verb. It could visualize the sentences and sounds more powerful.

2. Adverb & adjective: most adverbs and adjectives are unnecessary. 要找到更恰当的动词或形容词来表达，会让你的文章更有力量更准确。

3. Little qualifiers: be bold. 但我觉得总要使用量词，不是所有的事物都是绝对的。

4. Punctuation: use punctuation correctly.

5. Mood changer: but, yet, however, nevertheless, still, instead, thus, therefore, meanwhile, now, later, today, subsequently, etc.

6. 不要使用会产生歧义的缩写，不要使用过长的名词短语，不要自己造词，不要过分夸张。

7. Writing is not a contest. Be yourself.

8. 注意分段。

Vocabulary

scrap, morsel

This is a chapter of scraps and morsels.
scrap: a small piece of something or a small amount of information
morsel: a small piece of food; a small quantity
可以概括为fragment.

diminish, bold

Don’t diminish that belief. Don’t be kind of bold. Be bold.
diminish: to reduce or be reduced in size or importance
[造句] The house value diminished sharply in the past year.
bold: fearless of danger

inflate

Don’t inflate an incident to make it more outlandish than it actually was.
抬高，夸大；inflate也表示（使）充气，（使）膨胀。

outweight, hazard

The gains far outweigh the hazards.
outweigh: to exceed in weight, value, or importance
[造句] A study suggested that the benefits of cycling and walking outweigh the harms of the air pollution.
hazard:
n. something that is dangerous and likely to cause damage
[造句] Cycling on the footpath is a hazard to pedestrians.
v. to offer or present at a risk