Purpose of the Lesson

The purpose of this lesson is to point out the difference between concise sentences and those that have repetitive words and concepts.

Good English writing is direct and concise. A sentence should not contain unnecessary words and the same ideas must not be stated more than once. This does not mean that your sentences should be short or without detail, it simply means that each word should count. It has been said that Chinese writing is "circular" and that it acceptable to repeat concepts. For this reason, students whose first language is Chinese have to pay close attention when they are writing in English to express themselves as clearly and succinctly as possible. Let's look at some examples.

A. In the meantime, while I waited between performances, I sat in the waiting room.

B. Between performances, I sat in the waiting room.

Sentence A is what we call a redundant sentence. It means that ideas are repeated. In the meantime and while I waited both describe the same concept. Also, the writer is using the word waited and the word waiting. With 350,000 words in the English language, there is an abundance of synonyms that would describe the idea without using the same word again. sentence B is a more correct version of the sentence which is simple and direct. Let's look at another sentence.

Many uneducated people who have never attended school have trouble finding good jobs.

The definition of uneducated means someone who has never attended school. Having both in the same sentence is considered redundant. You can simply leave out this phrase.

Consider the following examples: 12 noon, circle around, close proximity, 3 a.m. in the morning, cooperate together, each and every, surrounded on all sides, and rate of speed. Each of them is unnecessarily repetitive. Choose one or the other.

The rule for writing concisely is to make sure every concept in the sentence is essential. Expect your readers to be astute and to only need to be given an idea once.