{"id":98279,"date":"2022-03-15T06:04:09","date_gmt":"2022-03-15T06:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sawriterscollege.co.za\/?p=98279"},"modified":"2026-05-20T23:15:03","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T23:15:03","slug":"how-to-avoid-repetition-and-wordiness-in-your-writing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sawriterscollege.co.za\/how-to-avoid-repetition-and-wordiness-in-your-writing\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Avoid Repetition and Wordiness in Your Writing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Strengthen your writing by tackling wordiness and repetition with the following guidelines<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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By<\/strong> Veselina Yaneva<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Words are essential tools for every writer. And yet, sometimes we are so focused on the information we want to deliver that we forget to write clearly and stylishly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The following tips will help you make your piece more readable by eliminating wordiness and repetition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Choose vigorous verbs over adverbs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

In his essential book On Writing<\/em>, Stephen King states that \u2018the road to hell is paved with adverbs\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With this in mind, juxtapose the following sentences:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. The leopard ran quickly<\/em> through the tall grass.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. The leopard dashed <\/em>through the tall grass.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    In the first sentence, the weak verb \u2018run\u2019 relies on the adverb \u2018quickly\u2019 to modify it. As a result, wordiness and vagueness burden the sentence. In contrast, the strong, visual verb \u2018dash\u2019 does not require an adverb and gives the second sentence more precision and vitality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Moreover, as the sentence below shows, some adverbs are redundant:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Jennifer quietly <\/em>whispered the secret to her best friend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Whispering is already a quiet activity. Consequently, declutter this sentence by removing the adverb \u2018quietly\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Similarly, introductory adverbs like \u2018basically\u2019 and \u2018truly\u2019, as well as intensifiers such as \u2018very\u2019 and \u2018really\u2019 that do not add meaning to the sentence, should be avoided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    As the writing teacher Peter Roy Clark advises in his popular guidebook 50 Writing Tools<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u2018Beware of adverbs. They can dilute the meaning of the verb or repeat it.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/div>\n\n\n\n

    Cut superfluous adjectives to prevent an excess of words<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    <\/div>\n\n\n\n

    Mark Twain once instructed, \u2018When you catch an adjective, kill it.\u2019 Considering this famous writer\u2019s advice, analyse the following sentence:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The brave hero overpowered the scary, evil witch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Bravery is an essential characteristic of a hero, and we usually perceive witches as being \u2018scary\u2019 and \u2018evil\u2019. Therefore, without these adjectives, the sentence will convey the same message without being long-winded:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The hero overpowered the witch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    As the example above shows, removing unnecessary adjectives reduces wordiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/div>\n\n\n\n

    Replace repetitive words with synonyms<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    <\/div>\n\n\n\n

    If you look over your text and notice that you have used a word too many times, you can replace some of the mentions with synonyms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    For instance, instead of repeating the adjective \u2018beautiful\u2019, you can add variety to your writing by substituting it with synonyms such as \u2018magnificent\u2019, \u2018picturesque\u2019, \u2018stunning\u2019, \u2018spectacular\u2019, \u2018lovely\u2019 and \u2018scenic\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Using a thesaurus and websites, such as Thesaurus.com<\/a>, Synonyms.net<\/a> and Reverso Dictionary<\/a>, can come in handy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    However, remember to use not only a thesaurus but also a dictionary because synonyms often have slightly different meanings and connotations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/div>\n\n\n\n

    Use pronouns to avoid repetition<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    <\/div>\n\n\n\n

    Instead of using the same noun more than once, you can put a pronoun in its place. For example, the following two sentences sound monotonous:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Charles Dickens wrote the novel David Copperfield<\/em>. David Copperfield<\/em> was Charles Dickens\u2019s favourite \u2018child\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In contrast, their edited version below reduces the clumsiness by replacing the nouns \u2018Charles Dickens\u2019 and \u2018David Copperfield\u2019 with the pronouns \u2018he\u2019 and \u2018it\u2019 respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Charles Dickens wrote the novel David Copperfield<\/em>. It was his favourite \u2018child\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    However, beware of misunderstandings like in the following sentences:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Harry Potter<\/em> and A Wrinkle in Time<\/em> are both children\u2019s books, but they tell different stories. It is much more interesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It is not clear which book the pronoun \u2018it\u2019 substitutes. Make sure that the readers know for which nouns the pronouns stand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    E.g.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Harry Potter<\/em> and A Wrinkle in Time<\/em> are both children\u2019s books, but they tell different stories. The former is much more interesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/div>\n\n\n\n

    Omit redundant words and phrases<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    <\/div>\n\n\n\n

    Study the following sentence:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Many bright students applied for this scholarship, but few managed to win it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The noun phrase \u2018bright students\u2019 is not repeated after \u2018few\u2019, but the readers can infer what the author refers to. When the meaning is clear, you can avoid repetition by leaving out the nouns after words such as \u2018few\u2019, \u2018both\u2019, \u2018many\u2019, and \u2018some\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Similarly, to pick up the pace, you can eliminate some prepositions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The rephrasing of the first sentence below demonstrates this technique:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    1. The principal of the school enrolled a student from Japan.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. The school principal enrolled a Japanese student.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
      <\/div>\n\n\n\n

      In the same way, \u2018in order to\u2019 can be shortened to \u2018to\u2019 and \u2018considered to be\u2019 to \u2018considered\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      <\/div>\n\n\n\n

      Implementing these strategies can help you improve the rhythm and style of your writing by reducing word reiteration and redundancy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      <\/div>\n\n\n\n

      <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Read more on how to improve your word usage: <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      6  Effective Ways to Improve Word Choice in Writing<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      How to Place Words Strategically in a Sentence<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      <\/div>\n\n\n\n

      About the Author<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
      \"Veselina<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

      Veselina Yaneva<\/strong> is a freelance journalist with a Master\u2019s degree in English literature from Canterbury Christ Church University, UK. Her interest in writing inspired her to embark on the Freelance Journalism for Magazines and Webzines Course at the UK Writers’ College. After completing this course with distinction, she\u2019s been relishing the opportunity to immerse herself in the inspiring world of website publication as a journalism intern at the Writers College Times. Veselina\u2019s education, voracious appetite for travel and genuine love for reading, bring a range of perspectives and ideas to her work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      You can connect with Veselina via: www.linkedin.com\/in\/veselina-yaneva-83213b210<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      <\/div>\n\n\n\n
      \"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
      <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Strengthen your writing by tackling wordiness and repetition with the following guidelines By Veselina Yaneva Words are essential tools for every writer. And yet, sometimes we are so focused on the information we want to deliver that we forget to write clearly and stylishly.  The following tips will help you make your piece more readable […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":98281,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"wds_primary_category":565,"footnotes":""},"categories":[565],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-98279","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-journalism"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sawriterscollege.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98279","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sawriterscollege.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sawriterscollege.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sawriterscollege.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sawriterscollege.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98279"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.sawriterscollege.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98279\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":110153,"href":"https:\/\/www.sawriterscollege.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98279\/revisions\/110153"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sawriterscollege.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/98281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sawriterscollege.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98279"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sawriterscollege.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98279"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sawriterscollege.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}