Apr 18, 2010 · Bell Ringer: Concision, Wordiness, and Redundancy Objective: To examine sentences and determine how to be concise by eliminating wordy and redundant phrases or words. Directions: Read each statement carefully and select the answer that does not make the sentence wordy or redundant. In English usage, redundancy is usually defined as the use of two or more words that say the same thing, but we also use the term to refer to any expression in which a modifier's meaning is contained in the word it modifies (e.g., early beginnings, merge together—many more are listed below).Think of redundancies as word overflows.Deep sigh! Commas do have a reason (actually, several reasons) to exist. Their primary purpose is to separate--words or phrases in a list, clauses with certain conjunctions. They also isolate explanatory information from the main sentence. May 12, 2016 · redundant and wordy material that involves sophisticated language or complex concepts or where the material is redundant in terms of the paragraph or essay as a whole Delete Evaluate 4 punctuation around essential/restrictive appositives or clauses Delete Evaluate 4 a colon to introduce an example or an elaboration Use Apply 3 Shorter is nearly always better. Short words are clearer than their wordy alternatives. When you have a number of wordy phrases in a letter, memo, email, etc., the document loses clarity. Short doesn't mean simple - it means that you've considered the language you are using carefully with your reader in mind. Replace these wordy phrases with their concise alternatives. WORDY PHRASES CONCISE ...Cut throat-clearing introductory phrases; Remove unnecessary descriptive words and modifiers; Correct nominalizations and wordy adjective phrases; Remove redundancies and correct usage errors; Catch high-level grammar and punctuation mistakes; Edit conversational language to be more professional; Reduce wordiness and meet word counts