How to Reduce Wordiness in English Writing
What Is Wordiness?
Wordiness means using more words than needed to express an idea. For example, "due to the fact that" can be replaced with "because." Both phrases mean the same thing, but "because" is shorter and clearer.
For English learners, wordiness often happens because of hesitation or trying to sound more formal. In reality, concise writing is considered more professional and confident in English. Native speakers prefer short, direct sentences.
Common Wordy Phrases to Avoid
Here are the most common wordy phrases English learners use and their concise alternatives:
- "In the event that" → "If"
- "At this point in time" → "Now"
- "In order to" → "To"
- "Despite the fact that" → "Although"
- "Has the ability to" → "Can"
- "A large number of" → "Many"
- "In the near future" → "Soon"
- "Is of the opinion that" → "Believes"
- "Due to the fact that" → "Because"
- "On a daily basis" → "Daily"
The Paraphrasing Tool can help you find shorter alternatives. Paste a wordy sentence into the tool and see how the Standard mode rewrites it more concisely.
Simple Strategies to Cut Wordiness
Here are four practical strategies you can apply today:
1. Remove filler words. Delete words like "very", "really", "actually", "basically", and "quite" from your sentences. These words add no meaning. Instead of "very big", say "huge". Instead of "really good", say "excellent".
2. Use active voice. "The team completed the project" (4 words) is shorter and clearer than "The project was completed by the team" (6 words). Active voice also sounds more confident and direct.
3. Avoid redundancy. Do not say "advance planning", "past history", or "end result". One word is enough. "Planning" already implies the future. "History" is always about the past.
4. Combine short related sentences. If two sentences are related, combine them into one. For example: "I studied English for two years. I can now write emails." becomes "After studying English for two years, I can now write emails."
How to Check Your Writing for Wordiness
Use the Readability Checker to see if your sentences are too long. A Flesch Reading Ease score of 60-70 generally indicates clear, concise writing. The Word Counter can also help you track your average sentence length — aim for under 20 words per sentence.
After editing, use the Text Diff Checker to compare your original and revised versions side by side. This helps you see exactly which words you removed and learn from your editing patterns.
For more tips on writing clearly, read our English Readability Checker Guide or try the AI Paraphrasing Tool guide to see how rewriting helps reduce wordiness.