Clarity
Do not confuse your reader. No confusing, flummoxing, bewildering, confounding, baffling, dumbfounding your
reader with wordy expressions, unnecessarily long sentences, and a string of prepositional phrases. Nobody wants
to read unnecessary words.
Wordy Expressions
Due to the fact that— because
In light of the fact that—because
On the grounds that—because
At the present time—now
Until such time as—until
At all times—always
At no time—never
Most of the time—usually
In this day and age—today
In the event of—when
In the event that—if
In the neighborhood of—around
Despite the fact that—although
Concerning the matter of—concerning or regarding
It is necessary that—should or must
It is important that—should or must
There is a need for—should or must
Has the ability to—can
Is able to—can
Is in a position—can
As a matter of fact—actually
The way in which—how
In my opinion, I believe—use one of them, or neither
Put a line through all the unnecessary words:
In the final analysis, I feel that the United States should have converted to the use of the metric
system of measurement a long time ago. In the present day and age, the United States, except for
Borneo and Liberia, is the one and only country in the entire world that has not yet adopted this
measurement system.
Prepositional Phrases
The use of too many prepositions in a sentence results in wordy, confusing writing. Commonly used prepositions:
aboard
below
for
past
about
beneath
from
since
above
beside
in
through
across
besides
inside
to
after
between
into
toward
against
beyond
like
under
along
but
near
underneath
amid
by
of
until
among
concerning
off
up
around
down
on
upon
at
during
onto
with
before
except
outside
within
behind
over
without
Write a clearer sentence:
The project is likely to result in a minor population increase in the city from families relocating
to the site from outside the community.