Concision, or writing concisely, means using words that present your ideas in a straightforward manner. Avoid unnecessary words that will complicate and convolute your message. Readers will lose interest in your ideas if your writing is too wordy.
“A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts.”
−William Strunk, The Elements of Style
To write concisely:
Delete empty words (really, very, totally, etc.) These vague words are not necessary.
Example: Physics is a really unique subject. (Really is not needed since something is either unique or not. Adding really actually weakens this sentence.)
Revised Example: Physics is a unique subject.
Rephrase sentences that start with “There is/It is.” Relying on There is/It is constructions adds unnecessary words to a sentence and weakens the verb.
Example: It is important that college students study a foreign language. (Make the sentence more concise by avoiding It is.)
Revised Example: College students should study a foreign language.
Avoid saying “I think/In my opinion/I believe.” You can assume the reader understands that you are expressing your own opinions. You don’t need to preface your ideas with I think/In my opinion/I believe.
Example: I think climate change regulations should be at the center of federal policy decisions. (Instead of announcing I think, simply state your view.)
Revised Example: Climate change regulations should be at the center of federal policy decisions.
Avoid making “This paper will argue/I will prove” statements. Similar to beginning statements with I think/In my opinion/I believe, announcing what you or the paper will say is unnecessary. Again, you can assume the reader understands who will be making statements and where they will be made. You don’t need to preface your ideas with This paper will argue/I will prove announcements.
Example: In this paper, I will argue that climate change regulations should be at the center of federal policy decisions. (Instead of announcing what will happen next, simply state your view.)
Revised Example: Climate change regulations should be at the center of federal policy decisions.
Eliminate redundancies. Saying the same thing twice will weaken your ideas and confuse the reader.
Example: The author discusses the numerous, multiple benefits of solar power, that is sun-powered energy. (Since numerous and multiple mean more than one, the reader does not need both terms. They also do not need solar power and sun-powered since one term is sufficient.)
Revised Example: The author discusses the numerous benefits of solar power.
When writing a first draft of a paper, feel free to be wordy if it helps you express your ideas. Work on writing concisely when you revise later drafts. Reading your paper out loud can help you find wordy or redundant phrases. Writing concisely will make your work clearer and more interesting to read.
Sources consulted: Upswing Writing Lab, The Elements of Style 4th ed.
Guide created by: C. Jones 3/1/2021
Revised by: J. Brown 1/17/2024
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