In my personal opinion, it is necessary that we should not ignore the opportunity to think over each and every suggestion offered.
Does your writing look like this? Is your first draft filled with unnecessary words? Are you trying too hard to sound academic and scholarly? If yes, you may be forcing your reader to plow through convoluted sentences such as the above. Deleting unnecessary words and replacing wordy phrases with more powerful words make your writing clearer and more engaging. Your reader should appreciate the revised sentence below:
We should consider each suggestion.
Delete meaningless /fluff words
kind of, great, really, basically, very, extremely, probably, various, generally, actually, quite, mostly, particular, etc.
The basic reason for the strike was essentially a disagreement between management and staff.
Delete redundant words
unexpected surprise, terrible disaster, free gift, completely finished, past memories, definite decision, close scrutiny, full and complete, any and all, hopes and desires, first and foremost, each and every, unnecessary and useless
The sad tragedy was painful to read.
Delete unnecessary sentence starters (They often start with It is, There is, There are, etc.)
It is important to note that . . .
There are some circumstances that . . .
It is necessary . . .
There is a need . . .
It is obvious that the jury was misled by the defense attorney.
It was the president who started the turmoil.
Replace wordy phrases with more concise choices
regardless of the fact that --> although
due to the fact that --> because
for the reason that --> because
under circumstances in which --> when
concerning the matter of --> about/regarding
at all times --> always
Wordy: Despite the fact that Lisa turned in all her assignments, she failed the class.
Concise: Even though Lisa turned in all her assignments, she failed the class.
Wordy: In the situation in which a class is full, you may be added to the waiting list.
Concise: If a class is full, you may be added to the waiting list.
Change negatives to affirmatives
not often --> rarely
not notice --> overlook
not uncommon --> common
not honest --> dishonest
did not remember --> forgot
not stop --> continue
Source:
Williams, Joseph M. Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace. 7th ed. New York: Longman, 2003. Print.
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