Have professors been giving your essays back with the comment that you’re going too heavy in the words? If they are, then your writing is probably bordering on obese – you need to trim off the fat to get in shape.
Producing a lean essay means stripping your writing free of all words that don’t contribute to its “health.” That means clearing it of things such as:
- Wordy constructions
- Unhelpful modifiers and intensifiers
- Unnecessary explanations
- Tangential discussions
- Clichés
- Fillers
- And, pretty much, anything that doesn’t contribute to the essay’s strength and purpose.
How do you do this? At the core, you should focus in communicating your ideas using ungarnished nouns and verbs, relying on them to clearly express your ideas. Throwing in an occasional adjective or adverb is fine, too. If one isn’t absolutely necessary, however, then leave the nouns and verbs to fend themselves. They can do just fine.
When you find yourself using two or more words to describe something, try finding a single-word replacement. It’s usually possible. Cut out the worthless intensifiers, such as very, totally and really, without remorse. Be vicious when checking for duplicate expressions and ideas. Unless you have a valid reason for repeating things, cut the extra stuff out. Fire up the English writing software and look at all its recommended fixes. Chances are, they’ll help streamline your work even further.
Most importantly, make sure you actually have something to say when crafting an essay. The easiest way to produce wordy text, after all, is to begin writing with absolutely nothing to talk about.
