Clear, strong and concise sentences are the most effective way to conveying messages to your audience, whether your work appears in print or online. Writers often fill sentences with weak or unnecessary words. Words and phrases should be deliberately selected to be fit for purpose, and any that do not enhance the meaning or context of a written piece should be culled or replaced. Retaining only the most effective words will make your writing more concise and readable. Clutter-free writing is clear writing. When editing a written piece for clarity and ‘wordiness’ (i.e., reducing the word count), the material is checked for the use of ‘Clutter’ words or phrases that contribute little or nothing to its meaning. Clutter words are either deleted or the sentences in which they appear are restructured to eliminate them. The aim is to draft more powerful sentences to better engage the reader. Clutter words include Pause or Fillers words and Weak words.
Pause or Filler Words
Pause or Filler words add no meaning to a sentence and merely ‘fill the space’. They are words we use while speaking and often occur when we are trying to think of the next thing we are going to say. While useful when we’re talking, they are not needed in your writing. Pause or Filler words are empty and simply pad the text, preventing your message from getting across clearly and effectively. Examples: so, like, really, you know, just, well. Using words such as ‘really’ and ‘very’, for example, indicate that you require a stronger adjective in your sentence. To avoid these words, research the range of alternatives that would be perfect descriptors. For instance: ‘very angry’ could be replaced with enraged, furious, livid and so forth. The replacement words are more precise, and they add nuance to the meaning of the sentence.
Weak Words
Weak words and can make your writing boring and clumsy and may distract the reader. They have no real meaning and only clog up your sentences. Often, they are inserted into your writing unconsciously because you use these words when you’re talking — but they add no value to your written material. Examples: basically, in fact, in order to, essentially, get. Filler words and Weak words may in some cases have a legitimate place in your writing, and one often see them used in colloquial dialogue, but they become a problem when they are overused to the point of distraction and annoyance. The occasional use is acceptable but when too frequent, the word loses its meaning and signals to the reader that the writer is unskilled and careless about their language.
They Detract from the Quality of your Writing
Filler words and Weak words detract from the quality of one’s writing and the problem arises, as mentioned earlier, because more often than we realise, we write how we speak. They’re easy to eliminate. All you need do is go through your writing and delete or rephrase anything that doesn’t add meaning, or which doesn’t qualify your message. Here are a few examples: 1. There is a bird perched on top of your fence. (10 words)
There is a bird on your fence. (7 words)
2. This is actually a very difficult situation. (7 words)
This is a difficult situation. (5 words) OR The situation is difficult. (4 words)
3. There have been many arguments in the nursing profession about the merits of early discharge after major surgery. (18 words)
The nursing profession has frequently argued about the merits of early discharge after major surgery. (15 words and the sentence has been restructured to deliver a stronger active subject/verb.)
Cutting the Clutter from your Writing
There are additional measures you can take to cut the clutter from your writing. A few are mentioned here:
- Be modest with the modifiers you use (a modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that functions as an adjective or adverb to provide additional information about another word or word group. It is is also known as an adjunct.)
- Replace vague nouns and verbs with more powerful and specific words. E.g. It was an experience that really helped me learn a lot. Corrected: It was an educational experience.
- Reduce long, convoluted clauses to shorter phrases.
- Interrogate every word in a sentence. Check every word to make sure that it is providing something important and unique to a sentence.
- Reduce phrases to single words.
- Avoid redundancies (repetitious expressions or words), deleting words or phrases that unnecessarily reinforce what’s already been said. E.g. actual fact, blend together, advance forward.
- Use active rather than passive verbs.
- Cut empty phrases or meaningless descriptions.
- Avoid using noun forms of verbs (a.k.a. nominalisations.)
- Avoid the use of complicated ‘noun strings’ or ‘noun clusters’ ‒ several nouns or adjectives all in a row. E.g. draft native flora protection regulations.
- Combine sentences. Some information does not require a full sentence and can easily be inserted into another sentence without losing any of its value.
Examples of Clutter Words and Phrases
To help you strengthen your writing skills, below is a list of common fillers and other unnecessary words and phrases which can either be rephrased or deleted.
| Absolutely, Certainly, Completely, Definitely That Basically, Essentially Each and every In order At all times Commonly In the course of Has the ability to There/Here/It is… There has/have been | For all intents and purposes All of the The fact that With regard/reference to Being that In the event that Point in time Currently I/we believe In my/our opinion It is important to note | It is possible that It is important to note Just, Really, Very, Even As to whether Needless to say Pretty (as in pretty much) Period of time For the most part In terms of In spite of the fact that Make a … or give a … |
Final Thoughts
The goal of clear, concise writing is to use the most effective words. Concise writing does not always have the fewest words, but it always uses the strongest ones. Avoid fillers and other unnecessary words and phrases which can boost your word count, create clumsy sentences and make your written work appear amateurish. As a rule, more specific, well-selected words lead to more concise and powerful writing.
Contact me if you require a review of your writing. Avoid embarrassing and costly errors with Proof Perfect NZ. Email renellj@proofperfect.co.nz or call 029 1230 158.
