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
analysis.
Strategy 2: Use one-word modifiers to replace prepositional phrases.
Wordy: The assistant to the director is on maternity leave.
Revised: The director’s assistant is on maternity leave.
Strategy 3: Combine related sentences by omitting repetitive phrasing.
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)
8. The data about the economy did not indicate any improvements in the housing
sector. (Strategy __)
9. Our software provides users with additional capabilities. Some of the capabilities
our software now provides are checking the weather, watching videos, and
playing games.
(Strategy __)
13. Although there are two people conducting interviews, only one will make the final
decision. (Strategy __)
Suggested Revisions
1. Internships are difficult to land, but they offer a good way to break into a field.
(Strategy 1)
5. Silicon Valley is home to some of the word’s biggest venture capitalist firms,
many of which are looking to invest in green industries. (Strategy 3)
6. A Montreal team won the contract. (Strategy 2)
7. Good reasons for not sending personal messages from a work computer include
wasting time and disobeying company policy. (Strategy 1)
11. The winning proposal blended ideas from teams in Austria, Canada, and
Greenland. (Strategy 3)
12. The HR director’s message clearly stated that no employee could take a vacation
during the holiday season. (Strategy 2)