See article online:
36 reduntant phrases to eliminate from your writing, by Laura Hale Brockway, via www.prdaily
As writers, editors, and PR professionals, we are keenly aware of having to fight for readers’ attention. My daily sanity check is to ask, “Is someone actually going to read this?”
One way I’ve found to help readers is to use concise language and eliminate redundancies. As Strunk and White advise, “Make every word tell.”
Below is a list of phrases in which every word
does not tell. These phrases are redundant, repetitive, wordy, and verbose. Paring phrases such as these is an easy way to tighten your writing. (Redundant words are italicized.)
•
added bonus
•
advance planning
•
armed gunman
• circulate
around
• close
proximity
•
completely full
• consensus
of opinion
• each
individual person
• fewer
in number
•
final outcome
•
free gift
•
future plans
•
general public
• in
the month of September
•
invited guests
• join
together
• large
in size
•
major breakthrough
• my
personal opinion
•
on a daily
basis
•
past experience
•
past history
• period
of time
• predict
in advance
• red
in color
• revert
back
• round
in shape
• firm
in consistency
•
still continues
• sum
total
•
true fact
•
unexpected surprise
•
unsolved mystery
• visible
to the eye
•
12 noon (or midnight)
• 7 a.m.
in the morning