17 common redundant phrases and how to get rid of them

One of the most common culprits of wordiness is redundant phrases. Noticing and eliminating redundancy is one of the easiest ways to chop your final word count.

Here are 17 common examples of redundant phrases and their chopped versions.

Wordy version	Chopped version
actual fact	fact
consensus of opinion	consensus
despite the fact	despite
forever and ever	forever
future prospects	prospects
whether or not	whether
inadvertent error	error
mutual agreement	agreement
major breakthrough	breakthrough
past history	history
plan ahead	plan
postpone until later	postpone
reconsider again	reconsider
repeat over and over	repeat
still remains	remains
unexpected surprise	surprise
unintentional mistake	mistake

Do you have specific redundant phrases that you see all the time or that are your pet peeves? Share them below in the comments.

Slideshow

Video