The following sentences provides examples ofpoor writing, why they may not meet landownerneeds, and alternative ways to present thesame information.Good writing is unambiguous, concise, andtargeted to the primary audience.
Poor example: “There are no significant soil and waterprotection problems present on the property.”
Poor example: “There are no significant soil and waterprotection problems present on the property.” The Problem: Passive voiceAn Alternative:Soil protection and water quality issues donot exist, or only minimally exist, on your property.
Poor Example:“Maintain boundaries.”
Poor Example:“Maintain boundaries.”The Problem: Incomplete logic and guidanceAn Alternative:Maintain property boundaries by painting,blazing, or posting. Marked boundaries reduce the risk oftimber theft.
Poor Example: “The woodlands of the property are acombination of hardwood deciduous, and hardwood deciduousmixed with hemlock forests in varying stages of development.”
Poor Example: “The woodlands of the property are acombination of hardwood deciduous, and hardwood deciduousmixed with hemlock forests in varying stages of development.”The Problem: Long, unclear, jargonAn Alternative: Your forest has areas dominated by hardwoodspecies and other areas dominated by mixtures of hardwoodsand hemlock. Within these areas, some patches of forest aremore mature than other patches.
Poor Example: “There is considerable white ash stocking in manyareas of the property and much of this material is suffering fromthe ash yellows viral disease.”
Poor Example: “There is considerable white ash stocking in manyareas of the property and much of this material is suffering fromthe ash yellows viral disease.”The Problems: Jargon, wordyAn Alternative: White ash dominant many areas of your forest,yet many of the ash trees appear infected by the ash yellowsvirus.
Poor Example: “This [stand #2] is a well stocked site II standwith a basal area of 96 with 81 trees (5”+DBH) per acre.
Poor Example: “This [stand #2] is a well stocked site II standwith a basal area of 96 with 81 trees (5”+DBH) per acre.The Problem: JargonAn Alternative: …the rewrite should define “well stocked”, “siteII”, “basal area”, and “DBH”. No units were provided with “basalarea”, presumably sq. ft. Perhaps include a glossary in themanagement plan.
Poor Example: “This can be accomplished by pruning selectedplants and removing any plant competition around them.”
Poor Example: “This can be accomplished by pruning selectedplants and removing any plant competition around them.”The Problem: Vague reference and unstated criteria forselection.An Alternative Pruning the healthiest wildlife plants andremoving adjacent trees will increase production of fruits, nutsand berries.
Poor Example: “Thinning and cull removal is recommended toimprove growth and species composition in area 4.”
Poor Example: “Thinning and cull removal is recommended toimprove growth and species composition in area 4.”The Problem: Jargon, passive voiceAn Alternative: In area 4, the growth and health of the treespecies desired by the landowner will improve by cutting the lowvalue, diseased, and poor formed stems.
Poor Example: “Density is typically measured as basal area insquare fee per acre.”
Poor Example: “Density is typically measured as basal area insquare fee per acre.”The Problem: Inaccurate and jargonAn Alternative: Density is a numeric index that describes theabundance of trees. The density index is often reported assquare feet of basal area per acre. Basal area is the cross-sectional area of trees.