Cut The Clutter
Replace “a large number of” with this short, clear word.
many
The goal of concise writing is to use these types of words
strong and purposeful
Instead of “in the near future,” use this concise phrase.
soon
This famous three-word slogan by Nike is one of the most concise marketing messages ever written.
Just Do It
The phrase “with the exception of” can be shortened to this preposition.
except
Sentences that contain too many clauses, commas, and ideas at once suffer from this clarity problem.
run-on sentences
“For the reason that” can be replaced with this simple word.
Because
This Apple co-founder was known for simple, clear slogans like “Think Different.”
Steve Jobs
“Prior to” is the wordy version of this simpler preposition.
before
Sentences that repeat the same idea twice demonstrate this writing issue.
redundancy or repetition
“With regard to” can be simplified to this preposition.
about
This president gave the short but powerful Gettysburg Address — only about two minutes long.
Abraham Lincoln
The phrase “a sufficient number of” can be replaced with this word.
enough
Concise writing favors the active voice over this weaker alternative.
passive voice
“In the event that” can be shortened to this simple word.
If
This modern social media platform originally limited posts to 140 characters, teaching people to write briefly.
Twitter (X)
You can swap “at this point in time” for this shorter word.
now
Redundancies are sometimes called this
"pleonasms"
In the future
This short three-word saying, “I came, I saw, I conquered,” is credited to this Roman leader.
Julius Caesar