Writing Concisely
Concise writing says exactly what needs to be said — nothing more. It respects the reader’s time and makes your meaning clearer. Wordiness does not signal expertise; it usually signals unclear thinking.
Common Wordy Patterns
| Wordy | Concise |
|---|---|
| due to the fact that | because |
| in order to | to |
| at this point in time | now |
| in the event that | if |
| it is important to note that | note that (or omit) |
| on a daily basis | daily |
| a large number of | many |
| with the exception of | except |
| prior to | before |
| subsequent to | after |
Redundant Pairs
English is full of pairs where both words mean the same thing. Use only one:
| Redundant pair | Use instead |
|---|---|
| each and every | each / every |
| true and accurate | accurate |
| first and foremost | first |
| various and sundry | various |
| basic and fundamental | fundamental |
| end result | result |
| future plans | plans |
| past history | history |
The sentence “The end result of her past history of planning future plans was success” contains four redundancies. Cut it to: “Her planning led to success.”
Cutting Empty Phrases
Some phrases add words without adding meaning:
- It should be noted that… → just state the point
- As a matter of fact… → delete it
- I am writing to let you know that… → state the content directly
- The reason why is because… → because alone is sufficient
- What I mean to say is… → say it
Passive vs. Active Voice
Active voice is usually more concise than passive:
| Passive (wordy) | Active (concise) |
|---|---|
| The report was written by the team. | The team wrote the report. |
| Mistakes were made. | We made mistakes. |
| The proposal was approved by the board. | The board approved the proposal. |
Passive is appropriate when the agent is unknown or irrelevant — but default to active.
The One-Cut Rule
After writing a first draft, read each sentence and ask: Can I cut this word without losing meaning? If yes, cut it.
The meeting was absolutely completely unnecessary and totally pointless.The meeting was unnecessary.
Conciseness does not mean brevity at the cost of clarity. Do not cut words that carry essential information or nuance. The goal is precision, not minimalism.