Whack Extraneous Phrases in Your Writing

In their classic book The Elements of Style, Strunk and White called word clutter “the leeches that infest the pond of prose, sucking the blood out of words.”

You can start by eliminating extraneous phrases that clutter your writing. But which phrases can be “whacked”?

Consider taking out these extra phrases whenever you can:

• “is intended to”; “meant to”; “designed to” e.g., He gives a workshop that is designed to teach writing skills. Better: He gives a workshop that teaches writing skills.
• “it is all about”; “the fact of the matter is”; “the fact that”; “it’s important to remember that” e.g., The fact of the matter is that it’s unwise to go out carousing. Better: It’s unwise to go out carousing.
• “in regard to” e.g., Seek additional websites in regard to your industry. Better: Seek additional websites in your industry.
• “is going to” e.g., He is going to be a key contributor. Better: He will be a key contributor.
• “in order to” e.g., Add key words in order to describe the new position. Better: Add key words to describe the new position.
• “there is” and “there will be” e.g., There will be many managers attending the meeting. Better: Many managers will attend the meeting.
• “the reason why is that” e.g., A simple “because” will suffice.
• “at this time” e.g., Now!

To reinforce this exercise, take something you wrote and circle any of these extraneous phrases. Challenge yourself to rework or remove them altogether. You may choose to keep some in, but at least you’ve asked the question: “Do I really need this phrase?” (In this sentence, “really” is an extra word.)

Keep this list handy. What would you add to it?

 

Barbara McNichol is a nonfiction editor, who works with authors, speakers, and business professionals to add power to their pen through the written word. Barbara wrote Word Trippers: The Ultimate Source for Choosing the Perfect Word When It Really Matters. She offers helpful writing tips weekly and a course to take your writing and editing to the next level: “WordShops: Strengthen Everything You Write.”