Precise Wording

5. Use accurate wording.

Sometimes this requires more words instead of fewer, so do not sacrifice clarity for concision. Make sure your words convey the meaning you intend. Avoid using words that have several possible meanings; do not leave room for ambiguity or alternate interpretations of your ideas. Keep in mind that readers of technical writing tend to choose literal meanings, so avoid figurative language that might be confusing (for example, using the word "decent" to describe something you like or think is good). Separate facts from opinions by using phrases like "we recommend," "we believe," or "in our opinion". Use consistent terminology rather than looking for synonyms that may be less precise.

Qualify statements that need qualifying, especially if there is possibility for misinterpretation. Do not overstate through the use of absolutes and intensifiers. Avoid overusing intensifiers like "extremely," and avoid absolutes like "never, always, all, none" as these are almost never accurate. Remember Obiwan Kenobi's warning:

"Only a Sith deals in absolutes".

We tend to overuse qualifiers and intensifiers, so below are some that you should be aware of and consider whether you are using them effectively.

Overused Intensifiers
absolutely actually assuredly certainly clearly completely
considerably definitely effectively extremely fundamentally drastically
highly in fact incredibly inevitably indeed interestingly
markedly naturally of course particularly significantly surely
totally utterly very really remarkably tremendously

Overused Qualifiers
apparently arguably basically essentially generally hopefully
in effect in general kind of overall perhaps quite
rather relatively seemingly somewhat sort of virtually

For a comprehensive list of words and phrases that should be used with caution, see Kim Blank's "Wordiness, Wordiness, Wordiness List".