One common writing issue I’ve encountered is the overuse of also.
Also has a useful purpose in addending something to a point one makes:
- We bought groceries, washed the van, and dropped of the package to mail; we also stopped for ice cream.
Where also becomes problematic is when it’s used repeatedly. Often, it ends up being unnecessary and even redundant.
Take this bio I read recently (edited slightly for privacy):
During her final year of school, Jill co-edited a school magazine. Jill oversaw the organization, supervised a team of editors, and helped prepare an issue for publication. Jill also held a research assistant’s position, where she gained experience interpreting and drafting shareholders’ agreements. She also analyzed numerous small business issues and structural concerns during her tenure. While in school, Jill also completed an independent study on the legal and financial viability of new, socially conscious organizations. Jill also drafted and revised several estate plans focused on charitable giving, intergenerational transfers of farm property, and farm succession. She also worked on advances in technology related to law.
Jill is also an avid writer and editor whose focus the past few years has been on non-fiction, but she intends to complete a novel she’s been working on for a number of years. Jill also hopes to become an active member of the community.
In this example, “Jill” used also 7 times!
Here‘s the thing though. Most of those were unnecessary. The fact that Jill includes those statements tells the reader that she also did these things. Functionally, it adds nothing except redundancy.
Here’s a rewrite:
During her final year of school, Jill co-edited a school magazine. She oversaw the organization, supervised a team of editors, and helped prepare an issue for publication. Jill also held a research assistant’s position, where she gained experience interpreting and drafting shareholders’ agreements. She analyzed numerous small business issues and structural concerns during her tenure. While in school, Jill completed an independent study on the legal and financial viability of new, socially conscious organizations. She drafted and revised several estate plans focused on charitable giving, intergenerational transfers of farm property, and farm succession, and she worked on advances in technology related to law.
Jill is an avid writer and editor, whose focus the past few years has been on non-fiction, but she intends to complete a novel she’s been working on for a number of years. She hopes to become an active member of the community.
See the difference? The bulk of the message still remains, but it’s cleaned up a bit.
What writing redundancy do you regularly encounter? Let me know in the comments.
