Removing clutter

There are two forms of clutter – macro and micro.

What I call macro clutter is content that does not contribute to the point you are making. When you review content ask yourself, does this add to the argument? If in doubt, cut it out. BUT save it first – either as an old version or a ‘cut text’ file – just in case you change your mind later. This pays back. I removed content that was not central to my PhD thesis that turned out to make a nice stand alone paper later on.

What I call micro clutter is supurfluous words. In professional writing, examples include:

• Too many adjectives – obviously depends on what you are writing
• Words with the same meaning – just pick one
• Too many words – be direct and to the point
• Clutter words themselves – making sentences long and points lost

Grammarly have a nice summary of the repeat offenders that often appear in your writing without you even noticing. A summary is provided below. I would say ‘that’ is the most common clutter word I see.

There are other online tools that can help you sharpen your spidey-senses to clutter. You can also use readability tools (accessibility) in Microsoft Word. Once aware, you can start remove clutter or even avoid it altogether.

My guilty clutter is ‘in order to’. Why ‘in order to’ when ‘to’ will do?