Notes on Eliminating Unnecessary Words and Phrases

Overview

• Purpose: Eliminate unnecessary words and phrases to improve sentence clarity and conciseness.
• Core idea: Empty words, meaningless phrases, and redundant pairs do not add information; removing them preserves meaning while making writing tighter.
• Structure of material covered: lists of empty words, meaningless phrases, redundant pairs; expletive sentence structures starting with here/there/it; rewriting guidelines; example rewrites; practical implications for writing.

Empty Words

• Definition: Words that do not add meaning to a sentence and simply take up space.
• Effect: Increase wordiness without changing the point a writer is trying to make.
• Examples of empty words (frequently removable):
  • actually, really, various, virtually, basically, practically, specific, particular, truly, clearly, obviously, as previously stated, undoubtedly
• Guidance: These words can typically be deleted without altering overall meaning; their removal often strengthens the sentence.

Meaningless Phrases

• Definition: Phrases that convey opinion, emphasis, or necessity but do not add substantive meaning beyond what the sentence already communicates.
• Common meaningless phrases:
  • in my opinion, I feel, I believe
  • it is important that, it is necessary
  • kind of, sort of, type of
  • a lot of
• Rationale: The meaning these phrases hold should be apparent without explicit signaling words; reliance on these phrases often weakens writing.
• Specific guidance on opinion-based phrases:
  • in my opinion / I feel / I believe – The writer’s opinion is already implied by the authorial voice; these phrases state what the reader already infers.
• Specific guidance on emphasis phrases:
  • it is important that – What follows should already stress importance; the opening phrase is unnecessary.
• Guiding principle: Let ideas stand on their own merit without these introductory hedges.

Redundant Pairs

• Definition: Pairs of words that convey the same meaning, making one of them superfluous.
• Examples of redundant pairs:
  • final outcome, past history, free gift, sudden crisis, each individual, future plans, end result, true facts, actual truth, first and foremost, future plan, negatively frustrate, or completely overhaul
• Why they’re redundant:
  • When two words share the same meaning, one suffices. Keeping both adds needless weight.
• Specific observations:
  • final outcome – by definition, an outcome is final.
  • completely overhaul – overhaul already implies complete change.
• Practical rule: Delete one member of a redundant pair to tighten sentences.

Expletive Sentence Constructions (Here/There/It + to be)

• Definition: Sentences that begin with here, there, or it and use a form of the to be verb as the main verb, making the sentence vaguer.
• Common construction patterns:
  • There is a lot to get done today.
  • It is important to clean the gutters before the first rain of the season.
• Effect: These constructions are often vague and postpone the main action or point.
• Reformulation strategy:
  • Move the real subject and action to the front; remove expletives; replace with a concrete, specific sentence.
• Stressing necessity with modals:
  • The phrase after a leading “it” can be replaced by a modal verb to stress necessity (e.g., must).
  • Example: The gutters must be cleaned before the first rain of the season.

Example Analyses and Rewrites (Guiding Principles)

• Example 1:
  • Original: In my opinion, it is important that all college students vote.
  • Revised: College students should/must vote.
  • Lesson: Replace opinion signals and emphasis phrases with a direct, stronger directive using should or must.
• Example 2:
  • Original: The future plan Congress will propose to completely overhaul the healthcare system could negatively frustrate constituents.
  • Revised: The plan Congress will propose to overhaul the healthcare system could frustrate constituents.
  • Lessons:
  • Delete redundant temporal adjective (future).
  • Delete redundant adverb (completely) because overhaul already conveys thorough change.
  • Delete redundant adverb with negative connotation (negatively) because frustrate already carries negativity.
• Example 3:
  • Original: Is it necessary for us to agree upon what the decided solution is and how we should implement it?
  • Revised: We must agree upon a solution and its implementation.
  • Lesson: Replace “Is it necessary” with a direct obligation using must; simplify “agree upon” and “decided” (both redundant) and compress structure.

Additional Redundancies Highlighted (From Page 3 Examples)

• Example A:
  • Original: Obviously, something clearly needs to be done about the lack of office space.
  • Revised: We need to solve the issue of lack of office space.
  • Lesson: Remove both obviously and clearly; rely on direct statement of need.
• Example B:
  • Original: The sudden crisis that has affected each and every individual within this business establishment needs to be completely solved before we can move on to our future plans of positive success.
  • Revised: The crisis affecting the business must be solved before we can be successful.
  • Lesson: Remove redundancies like sudden, each and every, establishment, completely, future plans of positive success; replace with concise wording.
• Example C:
  • Original: There are several and numerous true facts that basically prove your claim to be wrongly stated.
  • Revised: Many of these facts prove that your claim is wrong.
  • Lesson: Remove qualifiers (several and numerous, true, basically) that do not alter substantive meaning.
• Example D:
  • Original: At this point in time, it is clear that the launch of the rocket will take place today.
  • Revised: The rocket launch is today.
  • Lesson: Remove time/tense fillers and state the action directly.

Practical Implications for Writing and Editing

• Benefits of removing unnecessary language:
  • Improves readability and comprehension.
  • Makes arguments more persuasive by presenting a clear point with minimal distractions.
  • Reduces wordiness without sacrificing meaning.
• Cautions and caveats:
  • Avoid removing language that conveys nuance, tone, or emphasis that is genuinely meaningful for the context.
  • Ensure that deleting hedges or emphasis does not obscure authorial stance or nuance required by the genre (e.g., cautious scientific writing vs. assertive opinion pieces).
• General strategy for applying these rules:
  • Identify and categorize: empty words, meaningless phrases, redundant pairs, expletive constructions.
  • Replace or remove with direct, active constructions.
  • Use modals (e.g., should, must) to convey obligation or importance when appropriate.
  • Favor concrete subjects and strong verbs; place the main verb and object early where possible.

Quick Reference: Lists to Memorize

• Empty words to watch for: actually, really, various, virtually, basically, practically, specific, particular, truly, clearly, obviously, as previously stated, undoubtedly
• Meaningless phrases to avoid: in my opinion, I feel, I believe, it is important that, it is necessary, kind of, sort of, type of, a lot of
• Redundant pairs to trim: final outcome, past history, free gift, sudden crisis, each individual, future plans, end result, true facts, actual truth, first and foremost, future plan, negatively frustrate, or completely overhaul
• Expletive starters to challenge: There is …, There are …, It is …

Practice Prompts (Quizzes for Exam Preparation)

• Rewrite the following to be more concise:
  • There is a lot to get done today.
  • In my opinion, it is important that all college students vote.
  • The future plan Congress will propose to completely overhaul the healthcare system could negatively frustrate constituents.
  • Is it necessary for us to agree upon what the decided solution is and how we should implement it?
  • Obviously, something clearly needs to be done about the lack of office space.
• Identify which words or phrases are examples of empty words, meaningless phrases, or redundant pairs in these sentences and explain why they should be removed.

Summary Takeaways

• Eliminate words and phrases that do not add information.
• Prefer concise, active constructions that present the main point upfront.
• Use modals to stress necessity rather than hedging language.
• Watch for expletive constructions starting with here/there/it and rewrite to reveal the action or subject clearly.
• Practice rewriting several sentences to build a habit of concise writing that preserves meaning and tone.