30 Obnoxious, Overused Phrases to Expunge from Your Writing
“Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell.” ~William Strunk Jr. in Elements of Style
Whether it's a three-word quip, a 300-word review or a 3000-word essay, it’s easy to fall into the temptation and write the way ‘everyone else’ writes—not considering if there’s a simpler way to say something.
However, one of the best ways to stand out from the crowd and improve your writing is to cut the clutter by eliminating unnecessary words and phrases in your text.
Writers know they should not conflate their work with obnoxious words that don't really mean anything. The problem, however, lies in recognizing the source of wordiness in the articles, blog posts, e-mails, sales copy, and even fiction we write.
Not recognizing wordiness hinders us from achieving what Robert Hartwell Fiske, editor of the online journal Vocabula Review, calls "The Perfectibility of Words."
If you wish to write precisely and professionally without trading in puffery, it’s vital that you expunge any important-sounding words and overused phrases that add nothing to the meaning of a sentence.
Here are common wordy phrases and overused words you should expunge from your writing to achieve "The Perfectibility of Words" that Fiske talks about in "The Dictionary of Concise Writing":
1. mutual agreement
Just say agreement
2. future prospects
Just say prospects
3. whether or not
Just say whether
4. consensus of opinion
Just say consensus
5. reconsider again
Just say reconsider
6. return back
Just say return
7. inadvertent error
Just say error
8. at this point in time
Just say now/then
9. for the purpose of
Just say to
10. due to the fact that
Just say because
11. in the near future
Just say soon
12. in view of the fact that
Just say because
13. there is no doubt that
Just say doubtless
14. despite the fact that
Just say although
15. concerning the matter of
Just say about
16. in the event that
Just say if
17. owing to the fact that/due to the fact that
Just say since/because
18. for the purpose of
Just say to
19. the question as to whether
Just say whether
20. bring the matter to a conclusion
Just say conclude
21. aware of the fact that
Just say know
22. at this present time
Just say now/today
23. it is clear that
Just say clearly
24. is able to
Just say can
25. in spite of the fact that
Just say even though
26. seem to be
Just say seem
27. on a personal basis
Just say personally
28. until such a time as
Just say until
29. the reason why is that
Just say because
30. in this day and age
Just say today
