Here are 8 areas you should focus on when editing for conciseness:
| Term and Definition | Example | Revision |
|---|---|---|
| Wordiness: Putting several words where one could go | In my own personal opinion, I think that baseball is a very boring sport. | I think baseball is boring. |
| Redundancy: Saying the same thing twice |
Mr. Smith is far from perfect and has many faults. |
Mr. Smith has many faults. |
|
Pretentious Language: Using overly complicated language. |
The dog was more exuberant in emitting threatening sounds than in attempting to engage in physical assault. | The dog’s bark was worse than its bite. |
| Repetition: Repeating words unnecessarily |
If people look at the flowers, they’ll see that the color of the flowers is quite bright. |
The flowers are brightly coloured. |
|
Weak verbs: Look for and remove “to be” verbs: is, was, has been, will be, are, become. |
The president was supportive of the council’s plans. |
The president supported the council’s plans. |
| Needless adverbs: cut out any intensifying adverbs: “very,” “definitely,” “quite,” “completely.” |
She really is trying very hard to quit smoking completely. |
She is trying hard to quit smoking. |
|
Long lead ins: Remove unnecessary introductory words and phrases. |
I am writing you this email to let you know that I will not be coming into work on Friday, September 23. |
I will not be coming into work on Friday, September 23. |
|
Weak expletives: Remove words like “there is”, “there are” & “it is” from your sentences. |
It is because Bob likes bananas that he eats them every day. |
Bob eats bananas every day because he likes them |