How to Say Nothing in 500 Words!

Paul Roberts’ How to Say Nothing in 500 Words is an article I wish a teacher had approached me with on my first day of ninth grade English class. His distinction between what is viewed as useless padding as opposed to essential and informative content to a reader is very revealing. Under the topic “Avoid the Obvious Content” Roberts suggests eliminating every thought that comes to your mind first when brainstorming on how to argue a claim. While this is an unappealing and uncomfortable thought at first, because after you cross out the obvious one is left with nothing to write, it is a good way to dig deeper into your own opinions rather than repeating what everyone else is going to say. Roberts expands this thought by showing more unconventional ways to explore a topic that would be less mundane to a reader. This method seemed daring to me at first but it made me realize how much I failed to eliminate stale content in previous papers. Another thing that the piece drew to my attention is how obvious some of the padding is that I commonly incorporated into my papers, sometimes without realizing it. One part of the essay that will be useful to me in the future is the section entitled “Call a Fool a Fool.” Previously I would be one to dart around the truth if I had wanted to call my high school principal a fool but Roberts says to just do it. Reading this section of the article brought to my attention how much more powerful it is to blatantly speak your opinion instead of beating around the bush in an attempt to be modest.  

The section on how to use colorful and colored words will also be very helpful in my future writing. I didn’t realize previously that there was a difference between the two, but now I can utilize this type of language to enhance a basic sentence into one full of words that stimulate the senses and trigger emotions. Roberts’ two simple examples, the transformation of “Her heart beat” and “It was hot”, were enough to influence my writing style. Never again will I leave a sentence emotionless and bland. The section really emphasized how much potential there can be in any bare statement. Roberts also extended the topic by showing the opposite side of the argument and revealing how distasteful “colorless” words can be to a reader.

I enjoyed reading Roberts’ How to Say Nothing in 500 words and appreciate his approach on the subject. Rather than monotonously covering the topic he wrote an interesting but effective piece.  The essay brought to my attention many of my writing flaws but it also gave me confidence in knowing that I am not alone in making these mistakes and that there are many solutions to make my writing more appealing. I plan on referring back to Roberts’ essay before composing many future papers.

Until next time, Amira