Economy is one
hallmark of good writing, so writers must learn how to cut the clutter. In
order to eliminate wordy phrases and expressions from your writing, first you
should add the terms redundancy,
circumlocution, and tautology to
your vocabulary.
A redundant expression says the same thing twice, as in raise up (rise up), swallow down,
and follow behind. Other common
redundancies:
(actual) facts
(advance) warning
(all-time) record
(armed) gunman
attach (together)
(basic) fundamentals
blend (together)
(brief) moment
cancel (out)
circle (around)
combine (together)
(completely) destroyed
drop (down)
enter (in)
few (in number)
green (in color)
grow (in size)
join (together)
kneel (down)
lift (up)
meet (together)
mix (together)
outside (of)
(past) experience
(past) history
penetrate (into)
(personal) friend
reason is (because)
retreat (back)
round (in shape)
(serious) danger
share (together)
shiny (in appearance)
surrounded (on all sides)
(total) destruction
(true) facts
(ultimate) goal
(unexpected) surprise
(very) pregnant
(very) unique
warn (in advance)
write (down)
A circumlocution includes a string of
words that go all around the block to express one simple idea. Examples: in the event that instead of if; at
the present time instead of now;
and on a regular basis instead of regularly. I have seen this last
circumlocution so often in all kinds of writing that I have become allergic to
it. Such expressions are not ungrammatical or repetitious, but they should be
avoided because they’re wordy. More examples: a large proportion of (many); am
in possession of (have); caused
injuries to (injured); destroyed by fire (burned); draw the attention of/to
(show, point out); during the time
that (while); give rise to
(cause); had occasion to be (was); in this day and age (today).
A tautology is “repetition of the same
words or use of synonymous words in close succession.” Examples:
A major nuclear disaster could have been sparked by . . .
. . . who died of a fatal dose of heroin
pair of twins
weather conditions
Another
example is Yogi Berra’s famous “It was déjà vu all over again.”
Other
tautologies are of this type: each and every, one and the same, any and
all, when and if, and separate and
distinct.
It’s easy to
use superfluous words inadvertently and tough to detect them in your own prose.
That’s why a good copy editor can be of great help to writers.
Paul Thayer
Your book editor
Paul Thayer
Your book editor