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[NT] NTs: Are you a concise or verbose writer?

Coriolis

Si vis pacem, para bellum
Staff member
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Apr 18, 2010
Messages
27,230
MBTI Type
INTJ
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5w6
Instinctual Variant
sp/sx
I tend to be concise, but my rule of thumb is to write as much as the topic or question requires. If you have an artifical word/page limit, as others have mentioned, the key is to choose a topic whose scope matches this limit. As an exercise, try to write an abstract for your paper. That is, if you must write a 20 page paper, write a < 1 page summary hitting the key points. Then go back and focus on these in the longer manuscript. This should identify what is essential and what is, if not fluff, then at least expendable.

I tend to be able to write most things, even very long papers, in almost final form in a first draft, but that's just me. I can't even start until I know the end. Then I edit, but usually nothing major, unless I get significant new information that needs to be included. I will try to pare out unnecessary words. I think of it not so much in terms of overall length, but rather as minimizing the word to content ratio.
 

freeeekyyy

Cheeseburgers
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Feb 13, 2010
Messages
1,384
MBTI Type
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5w4
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sx/sp
Question for NTs:

Are you a more 'concise' or 'verbose' writer?

This is affecting me at the moment as I am writing up stuff for university and constantly being over the word limits they set. Like at least 50% over!

The usual advice I guess is to write up everything and then prune ruthlessly (but I usually can't prune more than say 25% without feeling like I am getting rid of content that's actually relevant!)

Could it just be that I/we have a 'broader' sense of what is relevant to include in a piece of writing than (dare I say it..) S types?

I do ramble a bit in speech as well but it's mostly writing where I have this issue.

You would think after 10 years of academia that it's an academic 'skill' that can be learnt like note taking, Harvard referencing etc, but obviously still lacking here.

Is it possible to learn to be a more concise writer?

Do you write concisely from the beginning or rewrite?

I wonder if this is a P thing, as the various _N_J co-workers and friends I have known have tended to be more concise, with the exception of one guy (who I always thought of as strongly P, but came out as a INTJ on the official test and feels that this 'fits') who rambles on in emails etc in a similar way to me.

I feel a bit silly asking this as I should know after all this time, but I don't! :smile:
I think the best way to describe my own communication style is this: I use "big" words, but I use them efficiently. I am not unnecessarily verbose. I prefer to communicate in a way so that I can say as much as possible, using as few words as possible. Sometimes this means a larger vocabulary is required.

I think you're correct in thinking this is more of a J-P difference than something that all NTs share.
 

Blown Ghost

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Aug 16, 2010
Messages
279
MBTI Type
ESFP
Me? Concise? Nope. :D

Here is a writing trick I learned in college that will help you reduce your word count: write your content backwards. Instead of recording an entire train of thought from A to Z, start each paragraph with the ending, the important point you are trying to make in one sentence. Then, provide the minimum amount of information/sentences needed to reinforce your point. Finally, finish with a transitional set-up for the next paragraph or a final idea that concludes the entire article if it's the last paragraph.

In fact, this is how you are supposed to write (thesis, supporting facts or concepts, transition or conclusion). Although it's a somewhat counter-intuitive way to write it makes your writing easier for another person to understand and helps cut down on superfluous content.
 
R

ReflecTcelfeR

Guest
I try to be concise. I suppose different subjects have different needs and measure of explanation. This should suffice for now.
 

TheMonocle

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Jan 29, 2010
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Once upon a time, in land far far away there was a princess who read through all the threads the NT's wrote, taking notes as she went along in her pretty pink notebook. With unicorns on it. Yeah! Glittery and unicorns! She cackled with glee! Oh, dear lord... I would drive you guys batty. I don't really write like that. Well, sometimes I do. It's called a false start. I free write and whatever comes out is what's on the paper.
 

BlueGray

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Oct 7, 2009
Messages
474
MBTI Type
INTP
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5
Concise. I could be verbose but then I wouldn't actually be answering what was asked anymore. People have told me I have a problem in taking writing assignments too literally.
 

ZPowers

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Feb 11, 2010
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INTP
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Verbosity comes with A) knowledge and B) passion. Otherwise, usually concise.
 

shmrie

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Feb 11, 2010
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depends on the situation, but I prefer to be concise, otherwise I just ramble on and feel like an idiot
 

coconut

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Joined
Jul 11, 2010
Messages
136
MBTI Type
INTJ
Once upon a time, in land far far away there was a princess who read through all the threads the NT's wrote, taking notes as she went along in her pretty pink notebook. With unicorns on it. Yeah! Glittery and unicorns! She cackled with glee! Oh, dear lord... I would drive you guys batty. I don't really write like that. Well, sometimes I do. It's called a false start. I free write and whatever comes out is what's on the paper.

I think the X in your (INFX) type is a P. Just a hunch.
 

The_Liquid_Laser

Glowy Goopy Goodness
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Jul 11, 2007
Messages
3,376
MBTI Type
ENTP
Concise.

If people want to know more details then they can ask. Usually they don't.
 

J62V5NO

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Joined
Sep 8, 2010
Messages
4
MBTI Type
ENTP
Question for NTs:

Are you a more 'concise' or 'verbose' writer? ...

I am an ENTP (with a few years of experience doing graduate and research work and academia) and I have almost the exact same "problem" as you do, my responses are always way over in terms of word-count and people tell me to prune, but the loss of sentences starts to feel like I am giving up too much content.

In my professional career prior to school, there was no doubt that many people found my e-mails and other documents incredibly long ... and I would often spend far more time trying to prune them than actually writing them.

This is still a challenge for me because in many cases, there would be a subset of people who would write to me and provide the highest praise about how what I wrote was "incredibly inspiring" or "the best I had ever read" or told me that I provided details they could not get elsewhere. I would get encouraged to continue on.

On the other hand, particularly with people who don't know me yet (e.g. new co-workers or bosses on the job) and with strong J types (seemingly), my writings would sometimes raise frustration or people simply would not read them.

Moral of the story (for me, so far): Write longest to people who know and respect what you are going to say ... and if you write something very long, make sure it is DAMN GOOD and no one will care.

When this can't happen, I end up just forcing myself to arbitrarily delete huge chunks of text and then try to reconstruct parts with self-imposed limits ... it works, but I hate it.
 

J62V5NO

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Sep 8, 2010
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ENTP
Can write a paragraph of 15-20 lines which (it turns out) is a single sentence with various nested brackets - I have been known to reach 3 or even 4 'deep' of nested brackets before now.

Also FYI: I'm an ENTP and do the same thing, except with lots of time and discipline I think I am down to 7-8 lines per sentence. I definitely feel that there are cases where there is some threshold (maybe 4-5 lines) below which it is impossible to actually convey the true feeling and meaning that I am going for in a sentence.

On the other hand, only some people seem to actually be able to pull all of the meaning from those long sentences that is actually there anyway ... so it ends up being more about my placating myself and feeling like I actually conveyed what I meant in a way that can't be misconstrued.
 
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