Have you ever ever obtained suggestions on an essay or writing task saying that you’ve got repeated phrases, phrases or concepts too many occasions? In case your writing is repetitive, it might probably decelerate a reader, make your writing sound boring and even point out that you just do not need sufficient data a few subject. On this put up, we can be investigating some writing methods to assist scale back repetition. Repeated phrases, phrases or concepts can usually lower your possibilities of scoring effectively on an essay or different piece of writing, however with the assistance of synonyms and different writing methods, it is possible for you to to enhance your writing.
Watch our video beneath to see an in-depth rationalization of writing methods you need to use to keep away from repeated phrases, phrases and concepts. Then take our interactive synonyms quiz without cost right here.
1: Use Synonyms (within the Proper Context)
When on the lookout for methods to cut back repeated phrases and concepts in your writing, the primary writing method to start out with is to make use of synonyms. Not solely will this assist to broaden your vocabulary, however it is going to additionally can help you talk your concepts extra successfully and in consequence, interact your reader higher.
Nevertheless, it isn’t so simple as simply utilizing a thesaurus or wanting up synonyms for specific phrases on the web. When selecting the best synonyms, there are a number of components it’s best to think about:
When contemplating the aim of our writing, we should take into consideration what style we’re writing. For instance, is it a persuasive textual content or opinion essay, a weblog put up, or a letter? Is it formal or casual writing? Contemplating the style will allow you to select applicable synonyms and vocabulary.
That is additionally intently associated to the viewers, or your reader. Who’s the piece of writing for? Are you attempting to impress a excessive stakes check assessor? Or a college professor or trainer? Maybe you might be writing an electronic mail to a peer or an announcement to most people. Whoever your reader is, you will need to preserve them in thoughts in relation to your synonyms and phrase alternative.
Lastly, we must always think about the which means of synonyms in context. Synonyms for a specific phrase can have barely totally different meanings for various conditions. If we don’t exactly select the right synonym, it may make the writing sound much less clear and awkward. When deciding on a synonym, strive the phrase within the context and ask your self – does it make sense?
Instance
Learn this sentence:
Expertise is a useful software for staying linked to household and associates who reside overseas.
Here’s a record of synonyms for the phrase ‘useful’:
advantageous, useful, invaluable, beneficial, worthwhile, good, fascinating
If we use the phrase ‘worthwhile’ within the sentence, we are able to test if it fits the context of what’s being stated:
Expertise is a worthwhile software for staying linked to household and associates who reside overseas.
This sentence sounds awkward as ‘worthwhile’ isn’t a exact or correct phrase alternative for the context of this sentence. Worthwhile means to make monetary acquire which doesn’t make sense for what’s being stated.
As an alternative, let’s think about using the synonym ‘invaluable’:
Expertise is a invaluable software for staying linked to household and associates who reside overseas.
This can be a way more applicable phrase alternative as invaluable means one thing that’s particular or has quite a lot of value, which inserts the context of the subject effectively. It’s also a better option than ‘good’ or ‘useful’ if we try to jot down a extra formal essay for a reader who’s marking our work.
To work on the writing strategy of utilizing the suitable synonyms in the suitable context, you’ll be able to entry our Free E2 English Quiz.
2: Rephrase an Vital Thought
We all know that repetition results in boring writing, which might usually lead to a low scoring task or essay. Nevertheless, repetition truly has an important place in our writing. In lots of essays, we might want to repeat our thesis assertion or opinion again and again, to persuade our reader of one thing or spotlight a most important concept. Studying the right way to rephrase an concept that must be replicated all through a textual content is a extremely vital writing method, particularly for specific essay sorts, like opinion essays or persuasive texts.
When you’re writing a persuasive textual content or opinion essay or any sort of writing the place you should repeat an concept or opinion, you’ll have some form of thesis assertion or sentence that states the primary level in a textual content.
Right here is an instance of a thesis assertion:
It’s evident that know-how is making folks much less interactive.
Such a assertion would wish to seem in the beginning of your writing but in addition once more all through your physique paragraphs after which lastly, within the conclusion. College students usually make the error of repeating the complete sentence, phrase for phrase, again and again.
As an alternative we are able to use the writing strategy of rephrasing to provide you with various variations of the sentence that also argues the identical concept. We will construct on the final strategy of utilizing synonyms. Rephrasing takes synonyms to the following degree the place we want to consider a gaggle of phrases otherwise. One of many writing methods to do that is to interrupt up the sentence into phrases or teams of phrases and reword them. Have a look at the totally different phrases within the the thesis assertion:
‘It’s evident that’… ‘know-how’… ‘is making folks much less interactive’.
Listed here are some various phrases for every a part of our sentence. See how every phrase may be reimagined:
It’s evident that…
- It’s apparent that…
- It’s clear that…
- It’s obvious that…
…know-how…
- units
- IT (data know-how)
- technological innovations
- the digital world
…is making folks much less interactive
- driving folks to be much less social
- making a society that’s extra socially remoted
- disconnecting us from each other
- affecting genuine human relationships and communication
Now it’s attainable to have totally different variations of our authentic thesis assertion which might be shaped with the choice phrases we got here up with. Listed here are a number of totally different variations of the thesis assertion:
It’s apparent that units are driving folks to be much less social.
It’s clear that IT is affecting genuine human relationships and communication.
It’s obvious that technological innovations are making a society that’s extra socially remoted.
Utilizing various phrases helps us scale back repetition however can even enrich the outline in our writing as effectively. After we rephrase an vital concept, it forces us to be artistic and provide you with assorted methods to speak an concept.
3: Reorder Sentences
One other type of repetition is when writers have a gaggle of sentences that start in the identical means, one after the opposite. With such a repetition, they not solely use the identical sentence construction, but in addition begin their sentence with the very same phrases. This can be a frequent factor that lecturers see in writing, which may be fastened with reordering and sentence variation, one other glorious writing method to practise.
Under is an instance of a paragraph that does such a repetition. You’ll be able to see a number of sentences that start in the identical means.
The overuse of our units can create a way of disconnection from the actual world. Many individuals are usually glued to their cell phones whereas strolling down the road or sitting at a restaurant, as an alternative of participating within the bodily world round them. Many individuals are starting to prioritise their digital interactions over in-person connections. That is inflicting our society to turn out to be extra delinquent. Many people are socially isolating themselves by signalling they aren’t fascinated with actual life conversations.
There are three sentences that begin with both ‘Many individuals are…’ or ‘Many people are…’ which might trigger the reader to turn out to be bored and irritated by the repetition, no matter how nice the concepts are. What writing methods can we use to vary this?
The primary sentence that begins with ‘Many individuals are’ is a fancy sentence as a result of it has a most important clause and a subordinate clause. We will swap the order of those clauses round so it reads higher:
Now the sentence doesn’t begin in the identical means and as an alternative begins with a dependent or subordinate clause.
The following sentence is a straightforward sentence as a result of it has one most important or impartial clause. We will insert a subordinate or dependent clause in the beginning, ‘With out realising,’ and alter ‘many individuals’ to the pronoun ‘we’. After all, we are able to’t neglect to vary the ‘their’ to ‘our’ so it is sensible.
Right here is the improved model:
It sounds a lot better!
The ultimate sentence that repeats is a fancy sentence. We will swap the clauses round once more to create variation. We will additionally omit, or take out, the phrase ‘many’ as a result of it was already used earlier within the paragraph. Right here is the reordered model:
Now learn the brand new and improved paragraph aloud so you’ll be able to hear how it’s extra attention-grabbing and dynamic to learn:
The extreme use of our units can create a way of disconnection from the actual world. As an alternative of participating within the bodily world round them, many individuals are sometimes glued to their cellphones whereas strolling down the road or sitting at a restaurant. With out realising, we’re starting to prioritise our digital interactions over in-person connections. That is inflicting our society to turn out to be extra delinquent. By signalling they aren’t fascinated with actual life conversations, people are socially isolating themselves.
As you’ll be able to see, reordering sentences additionally builds on the writing strategy of sentence variation. It’s worthwhile to know the right way to write easy, compound and sophisticated sentences in order that it’s simpler to swap clauses round or add clauses in, the place essential. Through the use of this ability, not solely are you lowering repetitive sentence starters, however you’re additionally showcasing your expertise in utilizing a wide range of grammatical buildings.
4: Use Pronouns
This final of the writing methods is likely one of the easiest methods to keep away from repetition. After we are writing, there’ll usually be repeated phrases or key nouns that get duplicated all through the textual content. The usage of pronouns will make the sentences extra concise and simpler to learn. In some excessive stakes English checks, this ability can also be referred to as referencing since you refer again to the concept with out repeating the identical phrase.
Here’s a record of pronouns that can be utilized as an alternative of nouns or the names of individuals or issues. This record doesn’t embrace all pronouns, it simply showcases a number of frequent ones: he, she, it, them, they, we, him, her, this, that, these, these…
When substituting pronouns for nouns, you will need to select the suitable pronoun as a result of an unclear pronoun will make your writing complicated. Take a look on the instance beneath:
Folks ought to think about how a lot folks use know-how.
If we changed the second ‘folks’ within the sentence with the pronoun ‘we’, it will sound awkward:
Folks ought to think about how a lot we use know-how.
The right pronoun to make use of right here is ‘they’.
Folks ought to think about how a lot they use know-how.
Right here is one other instance of repeated nouns:
Expertise has each optimistic and damaging penalties as a result of know-how can join us to folks far-off whereas additionally distracting us from actual life. To sort out the know-how drawback, we must always think about having a restrict on our display time.
Within the first sentence, the important thing noun ‘know-how’ has been repeated twice. We will change the second ‘know-how’ with the pronoun ‘it’. The phrase ‘know-how’ is used once more to start with of the second sentence. We will change ‘the know-how drawback’ through the use of a pronoun so it as an alternative reads as ‘this drawback’. Right here is the improved model:
Expertise has each optimistic and damaging penalties as a result of it can join us to folks far-off whereas additionally distracting us from actual life. To sort out this drawback, we must always think about having a restrict on our display time.
It flows effectively now, doesn’t it?
Utilizing pronouns is a straightforward and efficient approach to scale back pointless repetition in writing. Nevertheless, you will need to keep in mind to all the time double test that the pronouns agree with the unique noun. You are able to do this by studying your writing aloud to make it possible for it flows effectively.
The extra you recurrently work in your writing, the extra these writing methods will turn out to be part of your follow. An ideal place to start out is our Free E2 English Quiz, which may help you to know the right way to use synonyms in the suitable context.
As all the time, if you’re on the lookout for knowledgeable suggestions, particularly for a excessive stakes English examination, make sure to signal as much as E2testprep.com, the place our skilled lecturers and ex-examiners may help you to enhance your writing!
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