Strategies for Concise Writing

Now that you can identify wordiness, this section teaches you specific strategies for eliminating it. These are not vague suggestions but concrete techniques you can apply to any sentence. Think of them as editing tools in a toolkit: each one targets a specific type of bloat.

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Strategy 1: Use Strong, Specific Verbs

Weak verb constructions use a general verb (make, do, give, take, have, get) plus a noun to express an action that a single strong verb could handle.

Weak Verb Combinations vs. Strong Verbs

Weak Verb + Noun	Strong Verb
make a decision	decide
make an improvement	improve
make a recommendation	recommend
give a presentation	present
give an explanation	explain
give consideration to	consider
take action	act
take into account	consider
have a discussion	discuss
have an effect on	affect
do an analysis of	analyze
do an investigation of	investigate
come to the realization	realize
reach an agreement	agree
put emphasis on	emphasize
provide assistance to	assist / help
conduct an examination of	examine
perform a review of	review
carry out an assessment of	assess
engage in a conversation	converse / talk

In Context

Weak: The committee made a decision to give approval to the new policy.

Strong: The committee decided to approve the new policy.

The strong version uses 9 words instead of 14 and reads more naturally.

Weak: The researcher conducted an investigation of the relationship between diet and health and came to the conclusion that certain foods have a significant effect on longevity.

Strong: The researcher investigated the relationship between diet and health and concluded that certain foods significantly affect longevity.

The revision saves 9 words while sounding more authoritative.

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Strategy 2: Eliminate Nominalizations

A nominalization is a verb or adjective that has been turned into a noun, usually by adding a suffix like -tion, -ment, -ness, -ence, -ance, or -ity. Nominalizations are not grammatically wrong, but they tend to make sentences longer and more abstract.

Common Nominalizations and Their Verb/Adjective Forms

Nominalization	Original Verb/Adjective
utilization	utilize / use
implementation	implement
investigation	investigate
establishment	establish
development	develop
improvement	improve
achievement	achieve
requirement	require
assessment	assess
agreement	agree
failure	fail
refusal	refuse
movement	move
adjustment	adjust
awareness	aware
effectiveness	effective
availability	available
complexity	complex

The Nominalization Pattern

Nominalizations typically appear in this pattern:

The [nominalization] of X by Y...

This can almost always be rewritten as:

Y [verb] X...

Examples

Nominalized	Revised
The utilization of technology by teachers has increased.	Teachers use technology more.
The implementation of the new policy caused confusion.	Implementing the new policy caused confusion.
The establishment of clear goals is essential.	Establishing clear goals is essential.
There was a failure on the part of management to communicate the changes.	Management failed to communicate the changes.
The refusal of the committee to approve the budget...	The committee refused to approve the budget...
The development of new software requires significant investment.	Developing new software requires significant investment.

Notice how the revised versions are shorter, more direct, and more vivid. The verb form carries more energy than the noun form.

Hidden Nominalizations

Sometimes nominalizations hide inside longer phrases:

Wordy: We need to give consideration to the possibility of expansion into new markets.

Concise: We need to consider possibly expanding into new markets.

Three nominalizations ("consideration," "possibility," "expansion") were converted back into their verb and adjective forms.

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Strategy 3: Reduce Prepositional Phrase Chains

Prepositional phrases (of, in, for, by, with, on, at, to, from) are essential to English, but chains of three or more prepositional phrases make sentences sluggish and hard to parse.

The Problem

The report of the committee on the status of the implementation of the recommendations of the task force was submitted.

This sentence has five prepositional phrases stacked on top of each other. By the time the reader reaches the verb ("was submitted"), they have forgotten what the sentence is about.

How to Reduce Prepositional Chains

Technique 1: Use possessives

the results of the experiment --> the experiment's results

Technique 2: Use compound nouns

the department of marketing --> the marketing department

Technique 3: Use adjectives

people of the region --> regional people

a decision of significance --> a significant decision

Technique 4: Restructure the sentence

Before: The increase in the number of students in the program in the fall was unexpected.

After: The fall enrollment increase was unexpected. or Enrollment unexpectedly increased in the fall.

More Examples

Prepositional Chain	Revised
the opinion of the majority of the members	most members' opinion
an investigation of the causes of the failure of the project	an investigation into why the project failed
the review of the performance of the employees in the department	the departmental employee performance review
in the absence of evidence to the contrary	without contrary evidence

Aim to limit most sentences to two or three prepositional phrases at most.

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Strategy 4: Cut Dead Weight

Dead weight consists of words or phrases that contribute nothing to the meaning of a sentence. Unlike filler phrases (which have concise replacements), dead weight can simply be deleted.

Types of Dead Weight

Throat-clearing openers: Words or phrases that delay the start of the real sentence.

Dead Weight Opener	What to Do
As a matter of fact, ...	Delete entirely.
It goes without saying that...	Delete; if it goes without saying, do not say it.
Needless to say, ...	Delete for the same reason.
What I mean to say is...	Delete and just say it.
It is interesting to note that...	Delete and state the interesting thing.
It is worth mentioning that...	Delete and mention it.

Meaningless modifiers: Words that sound substantive but add no information.

The data was somewhat inconclusive. --> The data was inconclusive.

("Somewhat" does not tell us anything useful. Either the data is inconclusive or it is not. If you need nuance, be specific: "The data was inconclusive for variables X and Y but supported the hypothesis for variable Z.")

Doubled phrases: Using two words that mean the same thing connected by "and" or "or."

Doubled Phrase	Concise Version
each and every	each or every
first and foremost	first
any and all	any or all
full and complete	full or complete
true and accurate	accurate
null and void	void
hope and trust	hope or trust
various and sundry	various

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Strategy 5: Combine Sentences

Sometimes wordiness comes not from individual sentences but from using multiple sentences to express what one sentence could handle.

Using Relative Clauses

Two sentences: The company hired a new CEO. The CEO has 20 years of experience.

Combined: The company hired a new CEO who has 20 years of experience.

Using Participial Phrases

Two sentences: She reviewed the data carefully. She identified three errors.

Combined: Reviewing the data carefully, she identified three errors.

Using Appositives

Two sentences: Dr. Lee is a leading expert in neuroscience. She published the study in Nature.

Combined: Dr. Lee, a leading expert in neuroscience, published the study in Nature.

Using Conjunctions

Two sentences: The budget was approved. The project timeline was extended.

Combined: The budget was approved, and the project timeline was extended.

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Strategy 6: Prefer Active Voice for Conciseness

Passive voice often requires more words than active voice. When conciseness is a priority and the agent matters, switch to active.

Passive (More Words)	Active (Fewer Words)
The report was written by the team. (8 words)	The team wrote the report. (6 words)
The decision was made by the board. (8 words)	The board made the decision. (6 words)
Improvements have been made to the system by engineers. (9 words)	Engineers have improved the system. (5 words)

Note: Passive voice is sometimes necessary for emphasis, topic continuity, or when the agent is unknown. Do not mechanically convert every passive sentence. Use active voice when it is also the clearer option.

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Strategy 7: Replace Clauses with Phrases, and Phrases with Words

Whenever possible, compress:

Verbose Form	Compressed Form
the woman who lives next door	the woman next door / my neighbor
the meeting that was scheduled for Monday	the Monday meeting
students who are in the advanced class	advanced students
a problem that is very difficult to solve	an intractable problem
He spoke in a manner that was hesitant.	He spoke hesitantly.
She is a person who always arrives on time.	She is punctual.

The principle is simple: if a clause can become a phrase, shorten it. If a phrase can become a word, shorten it further.

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Quick Summary

Strategy	Action
Strong verbs	Replace "make a decision" with "decide"
Eliminate nominalizations	Convert -tion/-ment nouns back to verbs
Reduce preposition chains	Use possessives, adjectives, or restructure
Cut dead weight	Delete throat-clearers, meaningless modifiers, doubled phrases
Combine sentences	Use relative clauses, participles, appositives
Prefer active voice	Switch from passive when conciseness is the priority
Compress clauses	Clause to phrase, phrase to word

Concise Revisions in Practice

The best way to internalize conciseness strategies is to see them applied to realistic writing samples. This section presents before-and-after revisions across three genres: academic, business, and general writing. Each example identifies the specific sources of wordiness and shows how the revision addresses them.

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Academic Writing Revisions

Example 1: Literature Review Paragraph

Before (87 words):

It is a well-known fact that there are many researchers who have conducted investigations of the relationship between sleep and academic performance. Due to the fact that sleep deprivation has a significant effect on cognitive function, it is important to note that students who get an insufficient amount of sleep on a regular basis tend to perform at a lower level on exams and assignments. The purpose of this study is to make an examination of this relationship in greater detail.

Issues identified:

• "It is a well-known fact that" (stating the obvious)
• "there are many researchers who" (expletive construction)
• "conducted investigations of" (weak verb + nominalization)
• "Due to the fact that" (filler phrase)
• "has a significant effect on" (weak verb phrase)
• "it is important to note that" (dead weight)
• "an insufficient amount of" (wordy)
• "on a regular basis" (filler phrase)
• "tend to perform at a lower level" (wordy)
• "The purpose of this study is to make an examination of" (throat-clearing + weak verb + nominalization)

After (36 words):

Many researchers have investigated the relationship between sleep and academic performance. Because sleep deprivation impairs cognitive function, students who regularly sleep too little perform worse on exams and assignments. This study examines this relationship in greater detail.

Word count reduction: 87 to 36 (59% reduction)

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Example 2: Methods Section

Before (62 words):

In order to carry out the collection of data for the purpose of this study, a survey instrument was developed and administered to a total of 150 participants who were students at the university. The survey was conducted during the month of October in the year 2024. The data that was collected was then subjected to analysis using statistical software.

Issues identified:

• "In order to" (filler)
• "carry out the collection of data" (weak verb + nominalization)
• "for the purpose of" (filler)
• "a total of" (dead weight)
• "who were students at the university" (wordy relative clause)
• "during the month of October in the year 2024" (wordy)
• "The data that was collected was then subjected to analysis" (nominalization + passive chain)

After (29 words):

To collect data, we developed a survey and administered it to 150 university students in October 2024. We then analyzed the collected data using statistical software.

Word count reduction: 62 to 29 (53% reduction)

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Example 3: Conclusion Paragraph

Before (71 words):

In conclusion, it can be said that the findings of this research study provide evidence that is supportive of the hypothesis that was proposed at the beginning. It is the recommendation of the researchers that future studies should take into consideration the limitations that have been discussed in the previous section. There is a need for additional research in order to gain a better understanding of this complex phenomenon.

Issues identified:

• "In conclusion, it can be said that" (throat-clearing)
• "the findings of this research study" (prepositional chain)
• "provide evidence that is supportive of" (wordy)
• "the hypothesis that was proposed at the beginning" (wordy relative clause)
• "It is the recommendation of the researchers that" (nominalization + expletive)
• "should take into consideration" (weak verb phrase)
• "the limitations that have been discussed in the previous section" (wordy)
• "There is a need for" (expletive)
• "in order to gain a better understanding of" (filler + nominalization)

After (32 words):

These findings support the initial hypothesis. Future studies should consider the limitations discussed above. Additional research is needed to better understand this phenomenon.

Word count reduction: 71 to 32 (55% reduction)

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Business Writing Revisions

Example 4: Email Opening

Before (48 words):

I am writing this email to you in order to inform you of the fact that the quarterly budget review meeting that was originally scheduled for this coming Friday has been postponed due to the fact that several key stakeholders are not available on that particular date.

Issues identified:

• "I am writing this email to you in order to inform you of the fact that" (extreme throat-clearing)
• "that was originally scheduled for this coming Friday" (wordy relative clause)
• "has been postponed due to the fact that" (filler phrase)
• "are not available on that particular date" (wordy)

After (17 words):

Friday's quarterly budget review has been postponed because several key stakeholders are unavailable that day.

Word count reduction: 48 to 17 (65% reduction)

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Example 5: Recommendation Report

Before (76 words):

After giving careful and thorough consideration to all of the various options that are currently available to us at this point in time, it is the recommendation of the project team that the company should make the decision to proceed with the implementation of Option B. The reason for this recommendation is due to the fact that Option B provides a more cost-effective solution when compared to the other alternatives that were evaluated.

Issues identified:

• "After giving careful and thorough consideration to" (doubled adjectives + weak verb)
• "all of the various options" (dead weight)
• "that are currently available to us at this point in time" (multiple fillers)
• "it is the recommendation of the project team that" (nominalization + expletive)
• "should make the decision to proceed with the implementation of" (stacked nominalizations)
• "The reason for this recommendation is due to the fact that" (filler)
• "provides a more cost-effective solution when compared to the other alternatives that were evaluated" (wordy)

After (23 words):

After evaluating all available options, the project team recommends proceeding with Option B, the most cost-effective alternative.

Word count reduction: 76 to 23 (70% reduction)

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Example 6: Project Update

Before (58 words):

With regard to the current status of the project, I would like to take this opportunity to provide you with an update. At the present time, we are currently in the process of completing the final phase of testing. It is anticipated that the project will be brought to completion within the next two-week time period.

Issues identified:

• "With regard to the current status of the project" (filler + prepositional chain)
• "I would like to take this opportunity to provide you with an update" (extreme throat-clearing)
• "At the present time" (filler for "now")
• "we are currently in the process of completing" (redundant + filler)
• "It is anticipated that" (expletive)
• "will be brought to completion" (weak verb)
• "within the next two-week time period" (redundant)

After (16 words):

Project update: We are completing final testing and expect to finish within two weeks.

Word count reduction: 58 to 16 (72% reduction)

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General Writing Revisions

Example 7: Personal Essay Opening

Before (52 words):

In today's modern society of the twenty-first century, it is a commonly held belief among many people that the ability to communicate effectively is one of the most important and essential skills that a person can possess in order to be successful in both their personal and professional lives.

Issues identified:

• "In today's modern society of the twenty-first century" (redundant + stating the obvious)
• "it is a commonly held belief among many people that" (expletive + filler)
• "the ability to communicate effectively" (nominalization)
• "one of the most important and essential" (doubled adjectives)
• "that a person can possess" (wordy relative clause)
• "in order to be successful" (filler)
• "in both their personal and professional lives" (could be tighter)

After (14 words):

Effective communication is essential for success in both personal and professional life.

Word count reduction: 52 to 14 (73% reduction)

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Example 8: Argumentative Paragraph

Before (65 words):

There are a number of different reasons why I am of the opinion that public transportation should receive a greater amount of funding from the government. First and foremost, it is the case that public transit systems have the ability to reduce the number of cars that are on the road, which in turn leads to a reduction in the amount of air pollution.

Issues identified:

• "There are a number of different reasons why" (expletive + dead weight)
• "I am of the opinion that" (wordy)
• "should receive a greater amount of funding from" (wordy)
• "First and foremost" (doubled phrase)
• "it is the case that" (expletive)
• "have the ability to" (weak verb phrase)
• "reduce the number of cars that are on the road" (wordy)
• "which in turn leads to a reduction in the amount of" (wordy)

After (24 words):

Public transportation deserves more government funding. First, public transit reduces cars on the road, which decreases air pollution.

Word count reduction: 65 to 24 (63% reduction)

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Example 9: Narrative Description

Before (45 words):

The woman who was sitting at the table that was located in the far corner of the restaurant appeared to be a person who was waiting for someone to arrive, as she kept on looking at the door in a repeated manner.

Issues identified:

• "who was sitting at the table that was located in the far corner" (nested relative clauses)
• "appeared to be a person who was waiting for someone to arrive" (wordy)
• "kept on looking" (filler)
• "in a repeated manner" (adverb should replace phrase)

After (19 words):

The woman at the far corner table seemed to be waiting for someone, repeatedly glancing at the door.

Word count reduction: 45 to 19 (58% reduction)

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Summary of Revision Statistics

Example	Genre	Before	After	Reduction
1. Literature review	Academic	87 words	36 words	59%
2. Methods section	Academic	62 words	29 words	53%
3. Conclusion	Academic	71 words	32 words	55%
4. Email opening	Business	48 words	17 words	65%
5. Recommendation	Business	76 words	23 words	70%
6. Project update	Business	58 words	16 words	72%
7. Essay opening	General	52 words	14 words	73%
8. Argumentative	General	65 words	24 words	63%
9. Narrative	General	45 words	19 words	58%

The average reduction across all nine examples is 63%. This means that typical wordy writing uses roughly two to three times more words than necessary.

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Key Takeaways from the Revisions

1. Most wordiness comes from just a few sources. Filler phrases, expletive constructions, nominalizations, and unnecessary qualifiers account for the vast majority of excess words.

2. Concise writing is not oversimplified writing. Every revised example retains the full meaning of the original. Nothing is lost except noise.

3. The editing process is mechanical. You do not need inspiration or talent to make writing concise. You need a checklist and the patience to apply it sentence by sentence.

4. First drafts are supposed to be wordy. Do not try to write concisely on the first pass. Write freely, then edit for conciseness during revision. This two-step approach is more efficient than trying to be perfect on the first attempt.

5. Conciseness improves readability. Shorter sentences are easier to understand. When you cut excess words, you make your writing accessible to a wider audience and more persuasive to all audiences.

Conciseness Reference

This section is designed as a quick-reference guide. Bookmark it and return whenever you need to look up a wordy phrase, check a conciseness strategy, or review your writing with a structured checklist.

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Wordy-to-Concise Phrases Table

This table lists over 60 common wordy expressions and their concise replacements. When editing your writing, search for these phrases and replace them.

Wordy Phrase	Concise Replacement
a large number of	many
a sufficient amount of	enough
absolutely essential	essential
advance planning	planning
along the lines of	like
as a consequence of	because of
as a matter of fact	in fact (or delete)
at all times	always
at the present time	now / currently
at this point in time	now
basic fundamentals	fundamentals
by means of	by / with
by virtue of the fact that	because
close proximity	near
come to the conclusion	conclude
completely eliminate	eliminate
conduct an investigation	investigate
consensus of opinion	consensus
despite the fact that	although / despite
due to the fact that	because
during the course of	during
each and every	each (or) every
end result	result
few in number	few
first and foremost	first
for the purpose of	to / for
for the reason that	because
give an indication of	indicate
has the ability to	can
has the capacity to	can
have a tendency to	tend to
in a manner that is	(use adverb)
in close proximity to	near
in light of the fact that	because / since
in order to	to
in regard to	about / regarding
in spite of the fact that	although / despite
in the event that	if
in the final analysis	finally (or delete)
in the near future	soon
in the neighborhood of	about / approximately
in the process of	(currently) -ing
is in a position to	can
it is important to note that	(delete; state the point)
it is necessary that	must
make a decision	decide
make a recommendation	recommend
make an adjustment	adjust
make an attempt	try
make reference to	refer to
new innovation	innovation
on a daily basis	daily
on a regular basis	regularly
on the grounds that	because
past history	history
pertaining to	about
prior to	before
provide assistance to	help / assist
reach a conclusion	conclude
subsequent to	after
take into consideration	consider
the majority of	most
the reason is because	because
until such time as	until
whether or not	whether
with reference to	about
with regard to	about / regarding
with the exception of	except

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Editing Checklist for Conciseness

Use this checklist when revising any piece of writing. Work through it systematically, one item at a time.

Step 1: Scan for Filler Phrases

• Search for "due to the fact that" and replace with "because"
• Search for "in order to" and replace with "to"
• Search for "for the purpose of" and replace with "to" or "for"
• Search for "in the event that" and replace with "if"
• Search for "at this point in time" or "at the present time" and replace with "now"
• Search for "with regard to" or "in regard to" and replace with "about"
• Search for "in the process of" and simplify
• Search for "has the ability to" and replace with "can"

Step 2: Eliminate Expletive Constructions

• Search for "There is" and "There are" at the start of sentences
• For each one, ask: can I restructure to start with the real subject?
• Search for "It is" + adjective + "that" and consider deleting the frame

Step 3: Replace Weak Verbs

• Search for "make a" + noun (decision, recommendation, improvement)
• Search for "give a" + noun (presentation, explanation)
• Search for "take" + noun (action, into consideration)
• Search for "conduct" + noun (investigation, review, analysis)
• Replace each with the corresponding strong verb

Step 4: Reduce Nominalizations

• Scan for words ending in -tion, -ment, -ness, -ence, -ance, -ity
• Ask: can this noun be converted back to its verb or adjective form?
• Rewrite the sentence using the verb/adjective form

Step 5: Cut Unnecessary Qualifiers

• Search for "very," "really," "quite," "rather," "somewhat," "basically," "actually"
• Delete each one and check if the sentence meaning changes
• If emphasis is needed, replace with a more precise word

Step 6: Eliminate Redundancies

• Search for doubled phrases (each and every, first and foremost, any and all)
• Search for redundant modifiers (past history, future plans, completely eliminate)
• Delete the redundant word in each pair

Step 7: Shorten Prepositional Chains

• Flag any sentence with three or more prepositional phrases
• Use possessives, compound nouns, or adjectives to reduce
• Restructure the sentence if necessary

Step 8: Remove Throat-Clearing

• Delete "It is important to note that"
• Delete "It should be pointed out that"
• Delete "As a matter of fact"
• Delete "It goes without saying that"
• Delete "I am writing to inform you that"
• Delete "The purpose of this essay/report is to"

Step 9: Final Review

• Read the revised text aloud. Does it flow naturally?
• Compare the word count before and after revision
• Confirm that no meaning has been lost in the revision
• Check that the tone is still appropriate for the audience

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"Very" Replacement Quick Reference

Very + Adjective	Stronger Alternative
very afraid	terrified
very angry	furious / irate
very bad	terrible / dreadful
very beautiful	stunning / gorgeous
very big	enormous / immense
very boring	tedious / monotonous
very brave	courageous / valiant
very busy	swamped / overwhelmed
very calm	serene / tranquil
very careful	meticulous / cautious
very clean	spotless / immaculate
very clever	brilliant / ingenious
very cold	freezing / frigid
very confused	bewildered / perplexed
very creative	innovative / inventive
very crowded	packed / teeming
very dangerous	perilous / hazardous
very dear	cherished / precious
very deep	profound
very difficult	arduous / challenging
very dirty	filthy / grimy
very dry	parched / arid
very easy	effortless / straightforward
very exciting	exhilarating / thrilling
very expensive	costly / exorbitant
very fast	rapid / swift
very funny	hilarious
very happy	elated / overjoyed
very hard	strenuous / grueling
very hot	scorching / sweltering
very hungry	ravenous / famished
very important	essential / crucial / vital
very large	massive / vast
very lazy	indolent / slothful
very lonely	isolated / desolate
very long	extensive / prolonged
very loud	deafening / thunderous
very nervous	anxious / apprehensive
very old	ancient / aged
very poor	destitute / impoverished
very quiet	silent / hushed
very rich	wealthy / affluent
very sad	sorrowful / despondent
very serious	grave / solemn
very short	brief / fleeting
very shy	timid / introverted
very simple	basic / elementary
very slow	sluggish / lethargic
very small	tiny / minuscule
very smart	brilliant / astute
very strong	powerful / mighty
very stupid	foolish / idiotic
very surprised	astonished / stunned
very thin	slender / gaunt
very tired	exhausted / fatigued
very ugly	hideous / unsightly
very weak	feeble / frail
very wet	soaked / drenched
very wide	expansive / vast
very worried	anxious / distressed

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Self-Assessment Questions

After revising a piece of writing for conciseness, ask yourself these questions:

1. Can I remove the first sentence of my introduction? Many writers use the first sentence to warm up. Often the second sentence is where the real content begins.

2. Is every "of the" necessary? The phrase "of the" is a signal for potential prepositional chain reduction.

3. Does every paragraph earn its place? If a paragraph could be deleted without the reader missing anything, delete it.

4. Am I saying the same thing twice? In longer pieces, writers often restate points in different words. Keep the stronger version, cut the weaker one.

5. Could I explain this to a friend in fewer words? If your spoken explanation would be shorter and clearer, use that phrasing instead.

6. Are my transitions doing double duty? "However, on the other hand" is redundant. Pick one transition.

7. Is my conclusion just a copy of my introduction? Conclusions should add a final insight, not merely repeat what has already been said.

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Conciseness by the Numbers

Use these benchmarks to gauge your conciseness:

Metric	Target
Average sentence length	15-20 words (mix of short and long)
"Very" per 1000 words	0-2 occurrences
"There is/are" per 1000 words	0-3 occurrences
Filler phrases per page	0 after editing
Prepositional phrases per sentence	2-3 maximum
Revision word count reduction	20-40% from first draft is normal

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Quick Summary

Resource	What It Covers
Wordy-to-concise table	60+ phrase replacements for instant editing
Editing checklist	9-step systematic revision process
"Very" replacements	60+ stronger alternatives to "very + adjective"
Self-assessment questions	7 diagnostic questions for after revision
Benchmarks	Numerical targets for concise writing