Three Simple Techniques
to Eliminate Wordiness Name ________________
Good writing gets to the point quickly and uses concise, well-worded sentences to
communicate ideas. By integrating the following three simple strategies into your
writing, your prose will be tighter and easier to read.
Strategy 1: Use the true subject and verb at the beginning of a sentence instead of filler
phrases such as “it is” “there is” and “there are.”
Wordy: There are several important documents that will require your
Strategy 2: Use one-word modifiers to replace prepositional phrases.
Strategy 3: Combine related sentences by omitting repetitive phrasing.
Wordy: The committee oversees accounting procedures and audits. The
Improve the following sentences by eliminating unnecessary words. We identify the
strategies for the first five sentences. For the remaining sentences, please identify the
strategy you used.
1. It is difficult to land internships, but they offer a good way to break into a field.
(Strategy 1)
4. By developing new applications, there is an opportunity to reach new markets.
(Strategy 1)
5. Silicon Valley is home to some of the word’s biggest venture capitalist firms.
Many Silicon Valley venture capitalists are looking to invest in green industries.
(Strategy 3)
10. There are going to be many opportunities to secure new business contacts at the
convention. (Strategy __)
11. The winning proposal blended ideas from teams around the world. The teams
were from Austria, Canada, and Greenland. (Strategy __)
Suggested Revisions
1. Internships are difficult to land, but they offer a good way to break into a field.
(Strategy 1)
2. The real estate appraiser found a 25 percent net loss in home values. (Strategy
2)
8. The economic data did not indicate any housing sector improvements. (Strategy
2)
9. Our software now provides users with additional capabilities such as checking
the weather, watching videos, and playing games. (Strategy 3)
10. The convention will provide many opportunities to secure new business contacts.
(Strategy 1)