There seems to be a writing myth out there that the more words you use, the more “formal” or “proper” your writing sounds. This seems especially true in corporate settings, where extra words are added all willy-nilly. No matter what you’re writing, your goal should be writing concisely.
Check out these examples, where a bunch of words can easily be replaced by one:
1. “has the ability to” = can
2. “in order to” = to
3. “for the purpose of” = for
4. “through the use of” = using
See how simple those phrases actually are? Extra credit: Do you catch yourself using any of these phrases when you speak?
