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Episode Transcript - "The Conciseness of Concision," 10 Jan. 2022

Welcome to the Grammar Minute, where we’re saving the English language sixty seconds at a time! I’m Lauren Smyth, and my grammar lessons are renowned for their concision. Hold on, you say. Is that even a word? Isn’t the proper term “conciseness?” Interestingly, both words are correct, but they have slightly different connotations. “Concision” is a more technical term for a writing style that’s clippy and to the point. “Conciseness” is a more casual term to describe the same thing. Since “conciseness” is actually less concise than “concision,” I prefer “concision.”

This word pair is a good example of the importance of connotations. The dictionary has “conciseness” and “concision” as exactly the same and makes no distinction between the level of formality. Every writer should pay attention to these subtle differences because they can make or break the tone of a piece.

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