COMMON MISTAKES IN WRITING.
Omitting needless words (Verbiage)
Academic and administrative texts are often characterized by verbiage—the use of more words than are needed to express an idea.
Verbiage is usually caused by the use of needless words and the unnecessary repetition of (parts of the) meaning..
UNNECESSARY USE OF "FACT".
The most notorious participant in verbose expressions is the word fact. It can nearly always be omitted.
1-despite the fact that..................although
2-due to the fact that...................because
3-given the fact that....................as, since
4-in spite of the fact that..............although
5-in the light of the fact that........since, because
6-in view of the fact that............as, because
7-owing to the fact that.............since, because
8-regardless of the fact that.......although
9-the fact that.............................delete
10-to be aware of the fact that......to be aware that/to know that
11-to call someone’s attention to the fact....to remind someone that/ notify someone that
VERBOSE EXPRESSIONS.
COMMON VERBOSE EXPRESSIONS.
Verb + nominalizations instead of the simple verb.
1- a certain number of......some
2- a larger/greater/higher degree of.... more
3- a lesser/smaller degree of.............less/ fewer
4- a person who is xxx....................a (an) xxx person
5- along the lines of.......................like
6- at a later date..............................later
7- at the present time...................currently / now
8- begin to notice...........................notice
9- by means of...............................by
10-by the same token ...................similarly
11- by virtue of..............................by
12- come to an abrupt end............end abruptly
13- conduct an investigation into....investigate
14- end result................................results
15- few in number.........................fewer
16- first and foremost....................first
17- for the purpose of.....................to
18- he is a man who.....................he
19- in a hasty manner....................hastily
20- in order to................................to
21- in the course of.......................during
22- in the event of........................if
23- it is an aim of x to....................x aims to
24-on the grounds that..................because
25- on the surface level................on the surface
26- the intention of X is to.............x extends to
27- the manner in which...............the way
28- the question as to whether.....whether
29- the reason why is that...........because
30- there is no doubt but that.......no doubt
31-this is a subject that................this subject
32- used for xxx purposes.......... used for xx
33-whether or not........................whether
34- with the exception of ..........except
35- to be in conflict with................to conflict with
36- to be of the opinion that.........to believe
37- to make an arrangement.............to arrange
38- to give consideration to...........to consider
39- to carry out a review............to renew
40- to conduct an analysis ............to analyze
41- to perform an evaluation............to evaluate
42- to have an effect on.................to effect
43- to make a resolution................to resolve
44- to hold an investigation..............to investigate
45- perform an assessment..............to assess
46- to effect a renewal of..................to renew
47- to exhibit tendency to be...............to attend to
UNNECESSARY REPETITIONS.
Expressions where parts of the meaning are unnecessarily repeated.
basic fundamentals.....basics or fundamentals
big/small in size............big/small
compete with each other....compete
equal to each other.......equal
exactly identical/the same......identical/the same
first priority....priority
most important priority....priority
free gift.......gift
inadvertent error.....error
intertwined together....intertwined
joint collaboration.....collaboration
lag behind........lag
longer/shorter in length....longer/shorter
mental attitude......attitude
merge together......merge
mix together.......mix
mutual agreement....agreement
necessary prerequisite......prerequisite
reconsider again.......reconsider
scrutinize carefully......scrutinize
significant importance......importance or significance
summarize briefly.....summarize
true fact..............fact
ultimate goal............goal
unexpected surprise............surprise
various different....................various or different