Editor's Notes on How to Reduce Document Word Count Without Dis-articulation: How to Edit Your Articles

When editing an article, reducing document word count without causing dis-articulation can be problematic, but there are relatively easy ways to do it. Understanding the word dis-articulation may prove helpful.

What is dis-articulation as it refers to editing articles? 

According to dictionary.com, dis-articulate means “to make or become disjointed.”

According to the freedictionary.com, articulation refers to “the act or manner of producing a speech sound” or “a speech sound”, as well as “a jointing together” or “the method or manner of jointing.”    

Readability:

The readability of an article depends upon its articulation. Editing for word count can alter articulation and lead to dis-articulation in terms of article readability. This should not happen, as an article should never appear disjointed because of a reduced word count.  

Clarification of word count:

Word count for an article varies depending upon the kind of article or genre in which you are writing. Clarification of the word count for an article prior to writing can prevent unnecessary editing later. Organization of the SEO key words and phrases when drafting an original Internet article may prove beneficial.

Editing: 

Articles edited prior to publication often need excessive verbiage eliminated.  Poor sentence structure or paragraphing may necessitate restructuring and reformatting of paragraphs. Spelling and grammar may require corrections. Revising an article may reduce its word count sufficiently enough to allow publication.

Redundancy and repetition:

Recurrent thoughts and ideas often prove to be redundant or repetitious. In any article, the thoughts or ideas that you express should be readable, but not redundant or repetitious in nature. Your article should not read like a thesaurus. Thoughts and ideas expressed in a manner conducive to immediate comprehension may still need further development, but sometimes, a second article may be more appropriate than attempting to put too much content into one article with a restricted word count.  

Re-read your article:

One of the important factors with respect to articulation or dis-articulation when editing an article is its readability. Is the article easy to read or does it raise immediate concerns? Do the sentences flow easily or are they tending towards being awkward and disjointed?

Language barriers:

There are times when the translation of an article from one language to another can result in awkwardness and disjointedness. Appropriate translation can eliminate many word count problems.

Proof reading:

Do not underestimate the importance of proof reading when it comes to articulation versus dis-articulation. Editing should increase, rather than decrease the readability of your written work. If you find that reading your article is difficult, remember that your potential readers may find it doubly so.

Enjoy writing as you play with your words, sentences and paragraphs in such a way that your article becomes exciting, motivation and challenging to you and your reader. It should prove to be a positive writing and reading experience. Reducing your word count by editing should improve articulation rather than result in dis-articulation.