Avoiding Verbosity

Dont Be Chatty
Unless youve written fction or a journal entry, get to the point. Comments about your dog or your niece add
character, but inject too many of them and youll distract your readers to annoyance.
Dont Try to Sound Authoritative
Most people trying to sound authoritative sound stif; they say too much and they load what they say with
big words.
Eliminate Common Verbosity
There may be hundreds of popular turns-of-phrase that employ unnecessary words. You probably use them
in conversation and in your writing. For example:
Allows you tonever say this. Replace it with Lets you.
Now and Currentlyvery overused words. In the opening of the movie Its a Wonderful Life, you can see the
folly of the word now on a sign that reads You are now in Bedford Falls. A sign reading, You are in Bedford Falls
would be just as clear, and would cost less to make. A meteorologist who announces that the temperature is
currently 72 degrees, wastes three syllables. Youd understand perfectly the announcement, The temperature is
72 degrees.
Absolutely certainunnecessary overstatement. If youre certain, then your knowledge is absolute; you cant
be more certain than certain.
At this time or At this point or the nauseating At this point in timestop using these phrases! Instead, use
the word now. Its a good word.
Here are several verbose phrases that I lifted from various blogs. Rewrite them using fewer words. My
rewrites follow the list:
1.Take into consideration that
2.If you think that having bluebirds in your yard is a near-impossible idea
3.If you want to save on time
4.This is over and above other ideas you might consider
5.You may want to put a gasket
6.As it stands right now
7.Overall, the ultimate goal of Jack Plunkets art is to show the world from the point of view that
Plunkets dog saw it.
My rewrites:
1.Consider that
2.If you think you cant have bluebirds in your yard
3.To save time (Also: Save time by)
4.Also consider
Avoiding Verbosity
5.Put a gasket
6.As it stands
7.Jack Plunkets art shows the world from his dogs point of view.