41 redundancies you should ditch
As corporate communicators and PR professionals, we’ve all experienced writer’s block. But how about editor’s block?
I‘ve always believed that editing someone else’s work is easier than writing your own. Lately, though, I’ve been asked to “work my magic” on so many bad writing projects—blog posts, emails, articles—that I am not so sure anymore. Sometimes I just stare at the screen wondering, “What can I possibly do with this?”
Because I am not paid to stare at the screen, I have to start somewhere. A good place to start is to cut the clutter and eliminate redundant expressions. Below is a list of extra words that add nothing to your content. Eliminate such phrases to tighten the writing. (Redundant words are italicized.)
• absolutely essential
• actual facts
• added bonus
• ATM machine
• brief moment
• brief summary
• classify into groups
• close proximity
• consensus of opinion
• emergency situation
• empty space
• filled to capacity
• general public
• heat up
• introduced a new
• introduced for the first time
• joint collaboration
• look ahead to the future
• major breakthrough
• mix together
• mutual cooperation
• natural instinct
• new beginning
• new recruit
• overused cliché
• period of time
• personal friend
• PIN number
• plan ahead
• reason why
• reflect back
• reply back
• safe haven
• still remains
• sudden impulse
• temper tantrum
• ultimate goal
• unexpected surprise
• unintentional mistake
• very unique
• visible to the eye
PR Daily readers, which of these redundancies do you find most annoying? Have you any to add?
This article was first published on Ragan Communication’s PR Daily.
