Does that actually remove words from sentences?
This is the best trick of all. Your 80,000-word manuscript is about 320 pages. If you remove only 10 words per page, you can cut 3,200 words from your manuscript. Ten words is about one sentence. You can surely find one sentence that can be eliminated and not lose meaning. Need to cut more? Try 20 words per page or two sentences.
When I got cut from varsity cross country, I was at a crossroads. Should I audition for the play? Should I risk humiliationin front of new peers and a director I didn’t know? Should I subject myself to the slings and arrows of stage fright and start taking Pepto Bismol in the wings? Of course, I was assuming I’d make it that far—truth be told, maybe I wouldn’t even get past callbacks—but the reality was, I was no longer an athlete, I was an actor in waiting. I needed to redefine myself as a thespian. Most filler words are adverbs and adjectives. Use William Zinsser’s technique and read your sentences aloud. Note the rhythm and sound. Do your adverbs and adjectives overpower your verbs? Then get rid of the adverbs and adjectives. The action is what’s important. When I got cut from cross country and had to face the fact I couldn’t do varsity, I had a crossroads to face. Should I audition for the school play? Should I risk humiliation and falling on my face in front of new peers and a theater director I really didn’t know? Should I subject myself to the slings and arrows of stage fright and start taking Pepto Bismol in the wings? Of course, I was assuming I’d make it that far—truth be told, maybe I wouldn’t even get past callbacks—but the reality was, I was no longer an athlete, I was an actor in waiting, and hoping to find a new identity. I needed to embrace a new set of skills and artistry and redefine myself as a thespian. Whether you are , a , or another kind of , creating sentences that are strong and concise is important in conveying your message and arguments to your audience. In this article on writing and editing for wordiness (i.e., how to reduce word count), we focus on something you may not know you are doing: using too many filler words. Filler words are unnecessary words that many writers use, either intentionally or unintentionally, that do not contribute to clarifying their points or arguments. For example, take a close look at this very sentence because there are some things we did here that you probably weren’t aware were problematic! By reading this article, we hope you realize how toxic fillers are to your writing. So, if you want to draft more powerful sentences, read on! Hey friends, do you have trouble reducing the word count in your manuscripts? In this article, we will discuss 7 strategies for reducing the word count in an academic manuscript. I hope this will help you if you’re struggling with this.
Step 2: Remove Unnecessary Words
Not all fluff needs to go. If a filler word serves a purpose, keep it. The objective is to shorten your word count by eliminating unnecessary words and cutting or revising anything distracting to the reader.
“Every word you cut gives its power to the words that remain.”
Consider whether using this phrase enhances the clarity of your writing. If it adds meaningful emphasis or provides necessary context, it can be useful. However, if it doesn’t significantly contribute to the reader’s understanding, it may be better to omit it.
My secret for reducing word count: Be honest.
Want to know the laziest way to change the subject? Use “anyway” as an introductory word. Get rid of it and work on making your transitions sentence to sentence and paragraph to paragraph flow better.
Reword any text in seconds with our AI-powered paraphrasing tool.
Can you spot the fillers and other unnecessary words in the above sentences? Grammatically, these sentences are correct, but they would be shorter if we remove some unnecessary words.
10 Tricks to Reduce Your Word Count in Academic Writing
As shown in the examples above, eliminating filler words can significantly reduce your word count! On average, we’ve cut the word count of the sentences above by 25-30%. Look at your most recent writing. Now imagine it 25-30% leaner by eliminating fillers alone. Amazing, right? Wait until you apply our other word-count reduction rules!
Reduce Word Count Online - Psychology Writing
To help you strengthen your writing and editing skills, we have compiled a list of common fillers and other unnecessary words and phrases, below. While you can revise words and phrases in many ways, we’ve prepared some suggestions that work well in most situations.
11 tips for removing unnecessary words in writing · 1
Can you think of any other filler words you use regularly? After seeing our examples above, how would you edit your fillers? An even better way to ensure that your academic work is ready for submission to journals for publication is to receive from a professional editing service like Wordvice.