Eliminating wordiness pdf files

Wordiness read over your compositions, and, when you meet a passage which you think is particularly fine, strike it out. After descending down to the edge of the river, we boarded a small raft, which was floating there on the surface of the water. In 6 easy ways to cut word count, we discussed editing out weasel words. The paper is obviously yours, so you dont need to use phrases such as i think, i believe, or it seems to me. If you had a hard time getting your ideas down on paper.

This can make sentences confusing, obscuring meaning, slowing down the reader, and distracting from the overall message. Eliminate words that explain the obvious or provide excessive detail. Despite some limitations in the free edition of this app, including a maximum file size of 2. I created the following exercises to complement the 14 techniques of concise writing that i present in chapter 1, economy, of my book, keys to great writing. Students read a wide range of fiction, nonfiction, classic, and contemporary works, to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the. Revise these sentences to state their meaning in fewer words. Eliminate unnecessary determiners and modifiers writers sometimes clog up their prose with one or more extra words or phrases that seem to determine narrowly or to modify the meaning of. Sometimes, some business writers clutter their sentences and. This product contains the powerpoint, lesson and activities with worksheets. Strategies for eliminating wordiness use action verbs rather than forms of to be e. Edit your writing to eliminate unnecessary words by following these guidelines. Get to the heart of your argument so that your readers will not get lost.

Establish and maintain a style appropriate to the purpose and audience. It is vital, when you have chosen to study mathematics. Wordiness occurs when a writer uses more words than necessary to express a thought. Eliminating wordiness exercise 1 purdue writing lab. After descending to the edge of the river, we boarded a small raft. There are several reasons that wordiness impacts clarity. Writing fitness iii contents part iintroduction 1 part iisome basics of style 5 exercises for better spelling 7 the apostrophe common comma faults 15 when to capitalize 17 more on. Editing exercise worksheet is suitable for 6th 7th grade.

Wordiness worksheet edit the following sentences for wordiness. Eliminating wordiness or how to avoid ten ways to put your reader into a coma without really trying redundant pairs rather than using pairs of adjectives or modifiers unless this adds to the rhythm of. Many local farmers plan to attend next fridays meeting. By eliminating wordiness, you can clarify your meaning.

Try to eliminate vague or unnecessary words and phrases from your writing all together. Burning words succinct writing effectively engraves are good. As you can see, constructing effective sentences is one sure way of improving your writing immediately. This post covers additional strategies for selfediting. Wordiness, wordiness, wordiness list therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit, and tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes, i will be brief. The following links will download pdf files to skip to content.

Verbosity excess word use is often a result of idea generation, and wordy sentences and paragraphs, especially in early drafts. Although following these seven rules will not guarantee that you are concise, breaking them will ensure that you are wordy. The reason that general lee invaded pennsylvania in june 1863was to draw the army of the. I received your inquiry that you wrote about tennis rackets yesterday, and read it thoroughly. Now that you know why its important to eliminate wordiness, and now that you know how to do so, its time to write some words of your ownor as the case may be, delete some of those unnecessary. Click the go to answers link to see the answers for this exercise.

Keeping your paper concise strengthens its clarity and gives it. Techniques for reducing wordinessnew macalester college. Wordiness is the tendency to use more words than necessary. The three exercises in this exercise ask you to revise sentences to make them more concise. Wordiness is taking more words than necessary to make your point. Using excessive prepositions consecutively within a sentence is known as a preposition pileup or preposition choochoo train. Please use the navigation bar on the left or the links below to access the individual exercises. In addition to the common wordy phrases, gerunds also tend to signal wordiness errors on the sat. Eliminate wordiness worksheet answer key directions. Why eliminating wordiness is so important for your essay. Eliminating wordiness 1 sentence linguistics justice scribd. Using citation generators responsibly using paper checkers responsibly style manual glossary.

Active voice creates tighter writing than passive voice. Eliminating superfluous words and unnecessary repetition the following example of wordiness was the opening paragraph of. This oftenupdated app combines a large number of pdf files from your android device, as well as many other useful features. Company name document style guide 12009 tips for use, terms of use, and editing services thank you for purchasing wordsworth writing, editing, and document formatting servicess. Jill was impressed by travis due to the fact that he won the difficult competition.

Gerunds are verbs that function as nouns and end in ing. Avoiding redundancy and eliminating wordiness will create clear, concise writing. Eliminating wordiness from your writing at the present time in the present circumstances at this point in time use now or today at this moment in this day and age at that point in time in those days use then. The goal of this handout is to help you to find and eliminate unnecessary words or phrases in your writing during the editing stage of the writing process. Avoid overusing it is, there is, and there are weak expletives at the beginning of sentences.

Eliminating wordiness lewis university writing center. Repetitive sentences, colorless word choices, and deadweight, filler phrases can bore your readers so much. Although adding words helps fill pages, information that doesn. In an effective sentence, every word serves a purpose and occupies the right. Conciseness and eliminating wordiness ku writing center. For example, you may write, a highfat diet is bad for your. We all want to communicate clearly, but wordy sentence constructions can mask the best of ideas. It may take the form of redundant expressions or phrases.

Basic functionality is available without a fee, while an adfree experience can be had with inapp purchases. Strengthen your prose, making it sound more authoritative and confident. Howto guides writing center university of colorado denver. Eliminating wordiness adapted from rosenwasser and stephens writing analytically and williams style 1 in his book, style. Avoid passive voice, needless repetition, and wordy phrases and clauses. Avoid wordiness by eliminating superfluous words and the unnecessary repetition of ideas. Eliminating wordiness although adding words helps fill pages, information that doesn. Editing for wordiness words are like acid the more theyre condensed, the more they burn. Getting rid of so called wordiness and redundancy may work a dream and drop your. A lesswordy way to describe wordiness is using too many words. Editing for wordiness school of liberal arts iupui. Eliminating wordiness from your writing at the present time in the present circumstances at this point in time use now or today or nowadays. Some steps toward concise writing eliminating wordiness is a crucial part of revising prose.

Combine each sentence group into one concise sentence. You can download these exercises and answers in one file from the field below the article. Techniques for reducing wordiness try not to use i and we in a formal paper. This can make sentences confusing, obscuring meaning, slowing down the reader, and distracting. Eliminating excessive, confusing, or redundant words from sentences can oftentimes make meanings much clearer. Our rough drafts are full of extra words, because thats the way most of us speak and think. Wordiness means stating ideas, concepts, andor thoughts in an excessively lengthy, redundant, and verbose manner. Unless you are providing definitions on purpose, stating one idea in two ways within a single sentence is redundant and not necessary. The function of this department is the collection of accounts. For this editing and proofreading worksheet, learners read a sentence that is too wordy.

Writing resources eliminating wordiness hamilton college. The beautiful, majestic, breathtaking city of rome was. More exercises for eliminating wordiness directions. My friend and i had sort of drifted apart, and one day, after a sleepover, she just ended it. This is a perfect opportunity for us to prove that we are not just another.