Читать книгу Write Better and Get Ahead At Work - Michael Dolan - Страница 12

To help you write faster and more clearly, I suggest two reference tools, a dictionary and a spell checker. A reference book is a book you can reach from your writing place without having to move. If the dictionary is across the room and shared by others, it’s not your reference book. Get you own so you can look up words quickly and get back to real writing. Besides, if you get up to use the common dictionary you are probably just using it as an excuse not to write.

You may have noticed that I am not recommending a thesaurus. These books, with the lists of synonyms, are fine in their own right. But they contribute to problems because people use them incorrectly. I usually see people use a thesaurus by plucking out a word they don’t like and substituting a longer word. As we work through this book, we will see that better writing is not about word selection. It is about underlying structure. Changing a word does not change structure. You already know most of the words you need at work. Putting thoughts in order, not selecting fancier words is the key to your improvement. The dictionary and spell checker will serve you just fine.