User:Tony1/Redundancy exercises: removing fluff from your writing

"Ministry of Works" says it all! You wonder whether ten words could be six or five (or fewer, if you want it to be what functional grammar calls "a short text"). Removing words could make the sign more direct and allow a bigger font-size.

Redundancy is a major source of problems in writing. Here are sets of exercises to sharpen your ability to identify redundancy. The exercises tend to get harder as you progress through the page. Remember, you're trying to develop the habit of scrutinising the need for every word in a text. Undertaking these exercises can be the start of a longer project to tighten up your prose. The exercises are in BrAusIrSthAfrNZ English, so Americans (and to a lesser extent, Canadians): please tolerate televise, behaviour, centre, travelling, defence, et al.

"Unfolding" design. The exercises are designed to be done in your head, without writing. Each exercise unfolds in stages: first you'll see the problem text, then—if you need them—one or more clickable hints to help you along; then a solution; and finally an explanation. You'll get the most out of the exercises by thinking carefully about each stage before clicking on the next. Stop before you've had enough, and plan to return each day to take up where you left off. "Distributed" ("spaced out") practice rather than "massed" (all at once) practice will have a more lasting effect on your writing style.

Visitors: why not register as an editor? This page receives an average of 10 visits a day—more when external writing courses have recommended it. If you're a visitor, please consider the satisfaction you might gain from joining the global effort to build the largest repository of knowledge in human history, by becoming a registered editor. It's simple, free, private, and takes about five minutes. Share your knowledge with the world. You choose how much to contribute. But of course you're welcome to do the exercises without registering.

Feedback on how to improve these exercises is welcome on the talk page.

Self-help writing tutorials:

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