Concise writing conveys ideas clearly and efficiently, using only the necessary words. It is particularly important in academic writing, where complex topics are common.
Two main obstacles to concise writing are:
- Inflated phrases
- Redundancies
While it may seem that complicated phrases make your writing more academic, they often just reduce clarity.
Implementing the following techniques will streamline your writing and enhance its impact.
Avoid inflated phrases
Many wordy phrases have shorter alternatives that are just as clear. To tighten your writing, replace inflated phrases with concise substitutes.
Examples
| Inflated Phrase | Example | More Concise Alternative | Example |
| at the present time | At the present time, the project is on hold. | now | The project is on hold now. |
| in order to | In order to complete the task, we need more resources. | to | To complete the task, we need more resources. |
| in spite of the fact that | He succeeded in spite of the fact that he had little experience. | although | He succeeded although he had little experience. |
| until such time as | We will wait until such time as the contract is signed. | until | We will wait until the contract is signed. |
| due to the fact that | The event was canceled due to the fact that the venue was unavailable. | because | The event was canceled because the venue was unavailable. |
| in the event that | In the event that it rains, the picnic will be postponed. | if | If it rains, the picnic will be postponed. |
| for the purpose of | The meeting was called for the purpose of discussing the budget. | to | The meeting was called to discuss the budget. |
| in light of the fact that | In light of the fact that sales have decreased, we must cut costs. | since | Since sales have decreased, we must cut costs. |
| in the near future | We plan to expand our operations in the near future. | soon | We plan to expand our operations soon. |
| it is clear that | It is clear that more research is needed on this topic. | clearly | More research is clearly needed on this topic. |
| has the ability to | This software has the ability to streamline our workflow. | can | This software can streamline our workflow. |
| a large number of | A large number of participants attended the conference. | many | Many participants attended the conference. |
| is able to | She is able to speak five languages fluently. | can | She can speak five languages fluently. |
| prior to | Please submit your application prior to the deadline. | before | Please submit your application before the deadline. |
| in close proximity to | The hotel is located in close proximity to the airport. | near | The hotel is located near the airport. |
Replacing a prepositional phrase with an adverb may require moving the adverb to a different position in the sentence.
Here’s an example:
- Original sentence with a prepositional phrase: In a careful manner, she removed the old photograph from the album.
- Revised sentence with an adverb: She carefully removed the old photograph from the album.
In the revised sentence, the prepositional phrase “in a careful manner” is replaced by the adverb “carefully”. The adverb is then shifted to a position immediately before the verb “removed” to maintain the proper sentence structure and clarity.
Avoid redundancies
Redundancies occur when a word or phrase is unnecessarily repeated, often using different words that convey the same meaning. Eliminating redundancies makes your writing more concise and easier to understand.
Examples
| Redundant Phrase | Improvement |
| absolutely essential | essential |
| actual fact | fact |
| add an additional | add |
| all-time record | record |
| alternative choice | alternative |
| briefly summarize | summarize |
| cancel out | cancel |
| close proximity | proximity |
| collaborate together | collaborate |
| completely filled | filled |
| component part | component |
| consensus of opinion | consensus |
| continue on | continue |
| current trend | trend |
| disappear from sight | disappear |
| empty space | space |
| exact same | same |
| false pretense | pretense |
| final conclusion | conclusion |
| foreign imports | imports |
| free of charge | free |
| gather together | gather |
| general public | public |
| honest truth | truth |
| important essentials | essentials |
| knowledgeable experts | experts |
| major breakthrough | breakthrough |
| merge together | merge |
| mutual cooperation | cooperation |
| new beginning | beginning |
| overused cliché | cliché |