Day 143: If it “goes without saying,” don’t say it.

Writers insult their readers when they tell their reader that some idea is obvious. It might not be obvious to the reader. You have just told the reader that everyone ELSE knows the idea, so if you don’t know it, you’re stupid. Also, if the idea is obvious, then the reader will be insulted that you want him to waste time reading something he already knows. In either case, you create a confrontational situation.

And if something is obvious, why write it at all?

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Sample phrases stating that some idea is obvious:

“It goes without saying that . . . .”

“It is obvious that . . . .”

“Clearly . . . .”

“As everyone knows . . . .”

“It is common knowledge that . . . .”

Our advice: First decide whether you need to write the idea. If the answer is “Yes,” then the second advice is to remove the insulting phrase. For example, instead of writing,

“As everyone knows, you can reduce disease risk by washing your hands,”

you can write,

“Hand washing reduces the risk of disease.”