Minutes a day n e w y o r k

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E D I T I N G
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Word Choices for Concise Writing
www.IELTS4U.blogfa.com

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WORDY
REPLACE WITH
as a whole
Delete
as the case may be
Delete
at the present time
currently or now
both of these
both
by and large
Delete
by definition
Delete
due to the fact that
because
for all intents and purposes
Delete
has a tendency to
often or Delete
has the ability to
can
in order to
to
in the event that
if
in the near future
soon
is able to
can
it is clear that
Delete
last but not least
finally
on a daily basis
daily
on account of the fact that
because
particular
Delete
somewhere in the neighborhood of
about, around
take action
act
the fact that
that, or Delete
the majority of
most
the reason why
the reason or why
through the use of
through
with regard to
about or regarding
with the exception of
except for
1 2 3
Word Choices for Concise Writing
(continued)
www.IELTS4U.blogfa.com

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Wordy and Concise Sentences
Wordy:
The students were given detention on account of the fact that they didn’t show up for class.
Concise:
The students were given detention because they didn’t show up for class.
Wordy:
Everyone who has the ability to donate time to a charity should do so.
Concise:
Everyone who can donate time to a charity should.
Wordy:
In a situation in which a replacement for the guidance counselor who is retiring is found, it is 
important that our student committee be notified.
Concise:
When a replacement for the retiring guidance counselor is found, our student committee must 
be notified.
Avoid Unnecessary Repetition
Unnecessary repetition is a sign of sloppy writing. It’s easy to repeat the same thing, varying it slightly each time.
It’s harder to say something well once, and then write about your next idea or example. Repetition also wastes valu-
able time and space. If you are writing while the clock is ticking, or are limited to a number of words or pages,
say it right the first time and move on.
For example:
Repetitive: They met at 4 
P
.
M
. in the afternoon.
Concise:
They met at 4 
P
.
M
.
P
.
M
. means in the afternoon, so there’s no reason to say in the afternoon. It’s a waste of words and the
reader’s time.
Repetition can be found even in short phrases. The list that follows contains dozens of such phrases that can
clutter your essay. Most of them contain a specific word and its more general category. Why state both? The word
memories can only refer to the past, so you don’t need to say past memories. We know that blue is a color, so describ-
ing something as blue in color is repetitive and therefore unnecessary. In most cases, you can correct the redun-
dant phrase by dropping the category and retaining the specific word.
Some of the phrases use a modifier that is unneeded, because the specific is implied in the general. For
instance, the word consensus means general agreement. Therefore, modifying it with the word general is repeti-
tive. Similarly, mathematics is a field of study, so it does not need to be modified with the word field. You can tighten
up your writing, saying it well one time, by eliminating wordiness.