Try reading through paragraphs from the end of the piece back to the beginning. For all intents and purposes, the semester will end on June 18 becomes The semester will effectively end on June 18. Once you notice them, you’ll be able to eliminate them before you use them, or recognize them during the editing process. “Figure it out.”. In some ways it’s human nature to avoid conflict. Adding really before sad isn’t much of a descriptor, and would not likely change the reader’s impression much. Why use multiple words when one will do? Is it just a way to make things sound more polite? “Haven’t you been here before?” asked Derek. Always have second readers, whether you’re writing a novel or blog post. 12. Consider the difference between these three sentences: When I found out the wedding was off, I was really sad. A sentence ends with punctuation (a period, a question mark, or an exclamation point). The haunted house is really scary this year. Heavy machines are unnecessary for the purpose of putting a pattern on sheet rubber. Then Bob pointed and laughed, and then my cheeks flushed.” sounds better as, “I shut the car door and tripped over the sidewalk. These are a few of mine — in my first drafts, I have characters shrug, nod, and reach for things way too often — and I know a lot of other writers include these, too. With regards to your order, it will be shipped today can be rephrased as Regarding your order, it will be shipped today and it comes out cleaner and more concise. This doesn’t mean there’s not a line to be drawn. “I don’t know where I’m going.”, “You have a map.” Ramona took a drag from her cigarette. Check out some of your recent emails. You can keep these tags for the first couple sentences of dialogue, but once you established who says the first couple lines, readers can follow the conversation back-and-forth for themselves. How am I supposed to remember?”, Down, up. Take a look, If You Want to Be a Writer, Stop Blogging and Start Copywriting, How I Quickly Landed My First Upwork Client in 2 Days, 5 Lucrative Writing Side Hustles (And How to Land Them), Outlining vs. Creative Reasoning: 4 Powerful Writing Techniques for Beginners, The Beginner Writer’s Guide to Info-Dumping: Don’t Commit This Literary Crime, Extreme Writing — How to Ride Your Keyboard at 4,000 Words per Hour. Start, begin, began, begun. You’ll be the first to know about new books, short stories, exclusive content, and more. While this might not be the ultimate list of all words you should remove, these are the ones I look for when I’m doing revisions, so I thought other writers out there would find this helpful! Also known as a pause filler or hesitation form. You’ll notice you can say the same using 500 words that you did using 800 words. I have a hard time removing “just,” especially in dialogue. These are useless modifiers. Extra words: Incorrect: The secretary was annoyed when the copier broke on down. These words don’t add information to a sentence. Substitute damn every time you’re inclined to write very; your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be. [14 words] As shown in the examples above, eliminating filler words can significantly reduce your word count! 3. 102. In order to move to the next phase of the project, I need an answer. But for the most part, you can remove these words. Click Replace All. 20 examples: For these patients, quality of life could be expected to decrease, given the… When you add any of these terms, you’re removing readers from the introspection and adding useless words. “I shut the car door, then tripped over the sidewalk. “Figure it out.”, “It’s been twenty years. So is also used often as a qualifier, along with such. Eliminating Unnecessary Words in Your Text - A Research Guide He obtained his degree. Redundancy is when we use two or more words together that mean the same thing, for example, ‘adequate enough’. Intensifiers that Don't Intensify In my example "my answer" uses "my" with a noun and describes whose answer it is. I don't want to encumber myself with unnecessary luggage. Unnecessary in a sentence 1. “How am I supposed to remember?”, Derek frowned at the street sign overhead. As word nerds, we agree to an extent. Phrases, too, can sometimes be trimmed, sometimes to a single word. A sentence contains a subject that is only given once. See if you can spot fillers and unnecessary words in these examples: Nothing is grammatically wrong with these sentences, but they can all be made more concise and interesting. Examples of unnecessary delay in a sentence, how to use it. Try reading through paragraphs from the end of the piece back to the beginning. Click Replace and the little down arrow. Unnecessary Words – Miscellaneous Examples. Searching for filler words can also be a great way to determine if your piece is ready for publication. Instead of deleting, you’ll have to find an alternative way to describe how a character is reacting to whatever has made them breathe quickly, exhale sharply, or “Let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding.” Ick! It’s tempting to use these phrases to begin a final paragraph, but it’s unoriginal and un-necessary. Don’t miss a thing! Unnecessary definition: If you describe something as unnecessary , you mean that it is not needed or does not... | Meaning, pronunciation, translations and examples View my, 43 Words You Should Cut From Your Writing Immediately, How to Have a Good Work/Life (or Work/Write) Balance, How to Find Which Great Young Adult Book to Read Next, How to Be a Great Beta Reader and Give Helpful Feedback, The First Two Chapters of All Your Twisted Secrets, What It’s REALLY Like to Go on Submission to Publishers, How I Decluttered Social Media to Cut Stress (and Spark Joy! These words are unnecessary unless an interruption to the action soon occurs. www.use-in-a-sentence.com English words and Examples of Usage Example Sentences for "necessary" It is really unnecessary to bring anything to the party; we have lots of food, and plenty of stuff to drinkTo really learn vocabulary, it is necessary to study it in a variety of ways. Enter the word you’re seeking in both the Find what: and Replace with: fields. Pleasant. If it’s an opinion that’s coming from you, we know it’s your opinion. Saying For all intents and purposes, Rachel will be managing this project can be more succinctly phrased as Rachel will be managing this project. 46. This is another filler phrase that is sometimes used to soften the delivery of whatever follows. You’ll be the first to know about new books, short stories, exclusive content, and more. Repeat this process for every word you want to find in your document. If you’re an expert in something or have good reason for what you’re writing, don’t give people reason not to trust in that! Answer: My answer has to be yes! But it’s not necessary — no one is reading your writing as you’re doing it, so you have the opportunity to remove those fillers and just get straight to it. Removing them helps speed up the pacing of both action and dialogue, and makes your work more polished and professional. Cut unnecessary words to keep your sentences tight and your readers happy. I am constantly guilty of using “just” as a filler word, especially in emails. A movie doesn’t have to be “rather dull,” it can just be “dull.” Delete! Eliminating phrases like these that can sound cliche will help you communicate more effectively. This is a weird one, and it shows up so often and so naturally we don’t even notice it. However, if communicating concisely and clearly is your goal, eliminating filler words is an easy way to shave content you don’t need. So is used in a couple of different unnecessary contexts. The haunted house is delightfully terrifying this year. Example: I cannot remember the story. “You have a map,” said Ramona. But most of the time when we’re writing, whether it’s in business, academia, or in an essay online, we’re making a case for something we believe in. 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