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| Home > Editing > Eliminating Redundancies |
  | Eliminating Redundancies Repeating words or ideas unnecessarily risks boring or confusing the reader. Include only words that have a real purpose. Of course, repetition is natural early in the writing process. You might use more words than needed in rough drafts just to make sure you have covered the topic . When revising and editing, however, remove words that serve no purpose or that say the same thing as others you have used. LEARN THREE WAYS TO AVOID UNNECESSARY REPETITION
1. REMOVE REPEATED WORDS Repeating a word in the same or in a nearby sentence can cause wordiness. Not: She is the best swimmer of the three Romanian swimmers. 2. REMOVE UNNECESSARY SYNONYMS Synonyms are words that mean the same as other words you have used. Don't use synonyms unless they add new information. Not: She threw away the broken stereo that didn't work. 3. REMOVE REDUNDANCIES Redundancies are groups of words that say the same thing twice. Redundancies contain unnecessary words. Not: They had never seen a dead corpse. LEARN FOUR WAYS TO BE DIRECT
1. REMOVE LABELS Labels tell us what other words are Not: Jason is the kind of person who enjoys music. 2. REMOVE FILLERS Fillers do little but distract readers. Fillers can be eliminated without changing a sentence's meaning. Not:The plant that makes Ford trucks needs mechanics who are
skilled. 3. REPLACE WORDY PHRASES WITH SINGLE WORDS Groups of words that act as verbs, adjectives, and adverbs can often be replaced by single words. Not: Considering the fact that the bridge was under water, Rita
had to turn back. 4. REMOVE CONSTRUCTIONS SUCH AS IT IS AND THERE WAS Constructions such as it is was, there is/are, and there was were are often unnecessary, especially when they come before the sentence's subject and verb.
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