How To Suck The Wordiness Out Of Your Paper
You’ve read your paper and it reads like a pile of clutter. Deadline is coming up this afternoon. What can you do apart from using your document editing software?
Chances are, you can remedy the problem by fixing your wordiness. Anytime a piece of writing sounds a little too much, it’s usually the excessive use of words that is the culprit. Here’s a few things you can do to fix it just in time to make this afternoon’s submission.
Take those adverbs out. Adverbs are always a good place to start when it comes to editing for wordiness. Many adverbs found in most common pieces of writing are either lazy or inaccurate. In its place, try to find a stronger verb instead.
Take those adjectives out. Adjectives are immensely useful for facilitating descriptive writing. With that said, it remains as one of the most abused figures of speech and is an easy suspect when finding culprits for wordy papers. Reread your adjectives and see if what they are describing can already be inferred from other areas of the text.
Take those infinitives out. Do you use infinitives in your phrases, such as “I’m going to study hard” or “I have closed the door.” Instead, replace them with “I’m studying hard” and “I closed the door.” They use less words, flow smoother and make your writing tighter.
Check “that” out. The word “that” can usually be removed from your writing with no negative consequences. Every time you see it appear, try removing it and see if the sentence still makes sense. Usually, it will.