Small changes make a big difference in your writing’s clarity and brevity. One of the best professional writing tips is to simplify. Simpler is better for sentence structure, word choice, and document length.
The “8 Secrets” were developed by WordRake founder Gary Kinder, who has taught these secrets in over 1,000 writing programs for AMLAW 50 law firms, government agencies, and corporations. We’re excited to reveal these “8 Secrets” for better writing.
You should know these eight critical tricks for spotting verbose and unclear writing. Here’s what to watch for.
1. it-that
When it is followed later in a sentence with that (or who) you can often eliminate the lead-in phrase, replace it with a noun or remove both the it and that (or who).
Some common phrases to eliminate include:
- It should be noted that
- It is essential that
- It can be seen that
You’ll also find this verbose writing style in the following sentence:
“It was McCann himself who initiated his dual membership status.”
Simplify the sentence by removing the it-that combo so the sentence reads:
“McCann himself initiated his dual membership status.”
2. there-that
Much like the it-that pairing, the there-that pairing often includes unnecessary words. The best way to make these sentences more concise is to remove there, the "to be" verb, and that (or who).
Let’s review an example:
“There are many technologies that allow us to improve healthcare outcomes.”
You can eliminate the there-that combo to make this sentence more concise:
“Many technologies allow us to improve healthcare outcomes.”
3. that
The word that isn’t all that bad. (See what we did there?) But if we removed it from the previous sentence, you’d still understand the meaning, so it's unnecessary.
When you see that in your writing, remove it mentally and see if the sentence still makes sense. If the meaning changes or is unclear, leave it.
Here's an example using the word twice—once usefully and once unnecessarily:
“That morning he said that the economy was fundamentally strong.”
The second that is removable without changing the sentence’s meaning or leaving the reader guessing.
4. in
The English language has over 100 prepositions. They can add information to a sentence or they can clutter it. Most often, in invites unnecessary phrases into a sentence. Whenever possible, delete in phrases. Some samples of common pointless in phrases include:
- In terms of
- In my opinion
- In order to
- In spite of the fact that
- In the event of
- In the event that
- In the process of
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5. of
When you see the word of, look to either side of it for unnecessary words. Unnecessary words can come before or after of. The preposition of often follows nominalizations and adds extra words. Let’s look at an example:
“The division conducted an audit of Nicor and issued a notice of assessment.”
Once you’ve removed the nominalization and the preposition of you have a clearer, cleaner sentence:
“The division audited Nicor and issued a notice of assessment.”
More samples of common pointless of phrases include:
- amount of time – delete amount of because it’s understood
- amount of them – delete of them when it’s understood
- all of – delete it because it’s always unnecessary
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6. Cluttered Conclusions
Clutter often comes near the end of a sentence just before the period. These final words may not offer additional information to the reader or help them understand, and they are usually introduced by prepositional phrases. If the final words or phrases add nothing to the sentence, remove them.
For example, the prepositional phrase at the end of this sentence adds nothing to the content:
“Lundgren never held that the absent party was indispensable to the subject action.”
7. as
As is a less-common offender than "to be" verbs or of, that, or in.
However, when it appears, you can often eliminate it and what follows. Here are some unnecessary as phrase examples:
- As a matter of fact
- As being
- As far as I’m concerned
- As to whether
- As yet
8. or
Or can introduce repetition into your writing when or does not represent a choice between two things. When there is no choice, you could eliminate the phrase that follows.
Two common phrases where or is used to introduce a redundant word or phrase:
- whether or not – change this phrase to if to remove unnecessary words
- if you have questions or need further clarification – delete everything that comes after questions
Detecting Unclear, Wordy Phrases in Your Writing
Even the best writers will find these common missteps in their writing after a first draft. You’ll often hear these wordy phrases spoken, and their familiarity makes them more likely to show up in your writing.
WordRake helps identify these eight wordiness culprits in Microsoft Word and Outlook. Get a 7-day free trial now to experience the only automated inline editing software for professionals.
