For most people, writing "short" is more difficult than writing something lengthy. If you haven't completely assembled your thoughts or you don't have the precise words, it's easy to pile too many words together. You might wind up with a sentence like this one:
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In the event that an investigation is necessary in order to determine whether or not he stole your lunch, we will notify you. |
This sentence is an example of wordiness. It uses unnecessary words or phrases where a single word would do.
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How Editor helps you trim wordiness
Let’s look at Editor's suggestions to reduce wordiness.
When you accept all of Editor's suggestions for the example sentence above, you get a sentence that's much easier to read:
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If an investigation is necessary to determine whether he stole your lunch, we will notify you. |
More examples of wordiness
Here are some more examples where getting rid of clutter lets your message come through more clearly.
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Instead of this |
Editor recommends this |
Why? |
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Establishing a quality assurance process from the beginning is pretty crucial. |
Establishing a quality assurance process from the beginning is crucial. |
The word pretty isn’t essential to the meaning of this sentence. It weakens the force of the statement. |
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In spite of the fact that my report was sitting on his desk, three months passed before he read it. |
Although my report was sitting on his desk, three months passed before he read it. |
The phrase in spite of the fact that is a wordier way of saying although. |
Tip: Unnecessary words can always be cut, but sometimes extra words convey important emphasis or nuance. For example, in the following sentence, Editor flags actually see, but the adverb actually serves to emphasize see:In a VR experience, you can actually see what it’s like to soar above the clouds like an eagle.
If all your words are necessary, feel free to ignore Editor’s suggestion to use concise language.
How to tell Editor to stop checking for wordiness
If you don’t want wordiness issues to be flagged at all, turn off the Wordiness setting (pro tip: it’s under Conciseness).
