One of the most common culprits of wordiness is redundant phrases. Noticing and eliminating redundancy is one of the easiest ways to chop your final word count.
Here are 17 common examples of redundant phrases and their chopped versions.
| Wordy version | Chopped version |
| actual fact | fact |
| consensus of opinion | consensus |
| despite the fact | despite |
| forever and ever | forever |
| future prospects | prospects |
| whether or not | whether |
| inadvertent error | error |
| mutual agreement | agreement |
| major breakthrough | breakthrough |
| past history | history |
| plan ahead | plan |
| postpone until later | postpone |
| reconsider again | reconsider |
| repeat over and over | repeat |
| still remains | remains |
| unexpected surprise | surprise |
| unintentional mistake | mistake |
Do you have specific redundant phrases that you see all the time or that are your pet peeves? Share them below in the comments.
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