It’s a virtue to be concise. However, first drafts—and drafts by people who don’t write for a living—may be bloated.
Below, you’ll find examples of word and phrase substitutions I’ve made to streamline drafts.
Streamline your prepositions and adverbs
As a result of → from
Due in large part to → due largely to
In advance of → before
In the event of → in
In which to → to
Trim your verbs
Being able to help solve → Helping to solve
Be rendered → become
Has been largely supportive of → has largely supported OR has supported
Isn’t to say → doesn’t mean
Located in → in
We expect there will be → we expect
Would need to be → must
For more examples…
…go to “More substitutions for economical writers.”
YOUR word or phrase substitutions?
Are there word or phrase substitutions that you often make? Please share.
On a related note…
If you’re interested in making your writing reader-friendly, you should consider “Words to avoid in your investment communications with regular folks.”