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It's not really another suggestion, since it is really the essential point of "Does it have a point? Is the point clear? Could it be more concise? Could it be c
by swombat 16y ago
It's not really another suggestion, since it is really the essential point of "Does it have a point? Is the point clear? Could it be more concise? Could it be cut entirely?", but yes, absolutely right.
I'll hasten to add that I am by no means a perfect writer. As I said, writing can always be improved.
That said, I do take exception to getting rid of, for example, "of which is". You might call those waste words, and that's your right, but I think that without them the phrase's rhythm is dry and unfriendly.
- InclinedPlane 16y agoA particular pet peeve of mine is the use of "really", which is often extraneous and just as often dulls the writing. Consider: "It's not another suggestion, since it is the essential point of..."
- swombat 16y agoSure. And, like "to be honest" and other expressions of that kind, the "really" serves a purpose: it softens the sentence, making it less confrontational.The surest way to dull, boring writing is to take out every bit of warmth and replace it with rigid application of pseudo-grammatical rules. Sentences should be as concise as possible - but not more.