Reduce Redundancy to Enhance Understanding
In your writing, every word should do important work. It should add content, meaning, or coherence. Yet many documents have words that lack purpose. They are empty, redundant, and simply unnecessary.
In scientific writing, I see quite a few redundancies, or instances where a term or phrase unnecessarily repeats words or meanings. These redundancies can be condensed to boost clarity and reduce text length—a win-win for both your reader and you.
Below is a list of 40 common redundancies that can be condensed. Redundant words are italicized, and alternative versions are [in brackets].
1. adequate enough
2. aggregate together
3. combine [fuse] together
4. advance planning
5. near to
6. distinguish the difference
7. each individual person
8. eliminate altogether
9. period of time, time period, point in time, interval of time
10. fewer in number
11. brief in duration
12. large [small, bulky] in size
13. lift [raise] up
14. completely full [empty]
15. major breakthrough
16. consensus of opinion
17. count [divide] up
18. outside of
19. oval [square, round] in shape
20. past history
21. empty out
22. enter into (exception: enter into a contract)
23. precedes in time
24. predict in advance
25. estimated at about
26. red in color
27. filled to capacity
28. rough [smooth] in texture
29. first initiated
30. future plans
31. skin rash
32. 2 out of 12
33. uniformly consistent
34. split up
35. whether or not (unless you want to equally emphasize the alternative)
36. still continues
37. sum total
38. tender to the touch
39. younger [older] than 50 years of age
40. true fact
