Conciseness and Redundancy
Eliminate wordiness, redundancy, and unnecessary repetition to make writing more concise and effective on the SAT.
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📚 Practice Problems
1Problem 1easy
❓ Question:
Which version is most concise? (A) "She returned back to her home." (B) "She returned to her home." (C) "She returned home." (D) "She went back and returned to her home again."
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Evaluate each for redundancy:
(A) "returned back" — "returned" already means "went back." "Back" is redundant. ❌ (B) "returned to her home" — Correct but "home" can replace "to her home." Could be more concise. ❌ (C) "returned home" — ✅ Two words, complete meaning. Most concise. (D) "went back and returned... again" — Triple redundancy! "Went back" = "returned" = "again" ❌
Answer: (C) "She returned home."
Rule: If a word already implies another word, don't include both:
- returned back → returned
- ascended up → ascended
- descended down → descended
- combined together → combined
- entered into → entered
2Problem 2medium
❓ Question:
Eliminate the redundancy: "The two candidates each have different and distinct policy positions on a variety of many different issues."
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Identifying redundancies:
- "different and distinct" → These words mean the same thing. Pick one.
- "a variety of many different" → Triple redundancy. "A variety of" = "many" = "different."
Step-by-step reduction: Original: "The two candidates each have different and distinct policy positions on a variety of many different issues." (21 words)
Remove "and distinct": "The two candidates each have different policy positions on a variety of many different issues." (17 words)
Remove "a variety of" and "different": "The two candidates each have different policy positions on many issues." (12 words)
Remove "each" (implied by "two"): "The two candidates have different policy positions on many issues." (11 words)
Answer: "The two candidates have different policy positions on many issues." (11 words vs. original 21)
Reduction: Cut nearly 50% of the words while preserving full meaning.
3Problem 3medium
❓ Question:
Choose the most concise version: (A) "Due to the fact that it was raining, the game was postponed and delayed until a later date." (B) "Because of the rain, the game was postponed until a later date." (C) "Because it rained, the game was postponed." (D) "The game was postponed on account of the fact that rain was falling."
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Evaluate each:
(A) "Due to the fact that" (wordy for "because") + "postponed and delayed" (redundant — same meaning) + "until a later date" (redundant — postponing IS delaying to later) ❌
(B) "Because of the rain" (good) + "until a later date" (redundant with "postponed") ❌
(C) "Because it rained, the game was postponed." ✅
- "Because" = concise
- "postponed" = already implies delayed to a later date
- 7 words, full meaning preserved
(D) "on account of the fact that" (extremely wordy for "because") + "rain was falling" (wordy for "it rained") ❌
Answer: (C) — 7 words, no redundancy, complete meaning.
Key insight: "Postponed" already means "delayed to a later date," so adding "until a later date" is redundant.
4Problem 4hard
❓ Question:
The passage says: "In today's modern contemporary society, many people are of the opinion that..." Which revision is best? (A) NO CHANGE (B) "In today's society, many people believe that..." (C) "In modern society, many believe that..." (D) "Many people believe that..."
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Analyze each choice:
(A) "today's modern contemporary" — triple redundancy (today's = modern = contemporary). "Are of the opinion that" — wordy for "believe." ❌
(B) "In today's society, many people believe that..." — Still has unnecessary "In today's society" but improvement on the verb. ❌
(C) "In modern society, many believe that..." — Better, but "In modern society" is often unnecessary. ❌
(D) "Many people believe that..." — ✅ Most concise. "In today's modern contemporary society" is usually unnecessary context.
However, context matters!
If the passage is CONTRASTING modern views with historical ones, "In modern society" (choice C) provides necessary context.
If there's no such contrast, choice D is best — the phrase adds no meaning.
Answer: Most likely (D), unless the passage specifically contrasts modern and historical perspectives, in which case (C).
SAT strategy: Introductory phrases like "In today's society" are often filler. If the meaning is clear without them, cut them.
5Problem 5expert
❓ Question:
A student writes: "The research study conducted an investigation and examination into and regarding the various different effects and impacts of social media usage and use on the mental health and psychological well-being of teenagers and adolescents." Make this concise.
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This sentence is spectacularly redundant. Let's identify EVERY redundancy:
- "research study" → both mean investigation (pick one)
- "conducted an investigation and examination" → "investigated" or "examined"
- "into and regarding" → pick one ("of")
- "various different" → "various" already means "different"
- "effects and impacts" → same meaning (pick one)
- "social media usage and use" → redundant
- "mental health and psychological well-being" → same concept
- "teenagers and adolescents" → same group
Concise version: "The study examined the effects of social media on teenagers' mental health."
Word count comparison:
- Original: 38 words
- Revised: 12 words
- Reduction: 68%!
Answer: "The study examined the effects of social media on teenagers' mental health." (12 words)
The principle: Every pair of synonyms should be reduced to one word. Every unnecessary modifier should be cut.