TEAS® English Study Guide
Clarity and Concision
Good writing says what it means in as few words as needed. Many questions in this area give you several versions of a sentence and ask for the clearest or most concise — the one that cuts clutter without losing meaning.
Wordiness. Padded phrases can almost always be trimmed. Watch for these common offenders:
Wordy → concise:
- due to the fact that → because
- in order to → to
- at this point in time → now
- in the event that → if
- a large number of → many
- has the ability to → can
Redundancy. Some phrases repeat themselves, saying the same thing twice. Cut the extra word:
Redundant (fix in bold):
- free gift (a gift is already free)
- advance planning (planning is always ahead)
- final outcome (an outcome is already final)
- repeat again / each and every / past history
Awkward and unclear phrasing. A misplaced or dangling modifier creates confusion by attaching a description to the wrong thing. In "Walking to school, the rain soaked my jacket," the sentence literally says the rain was walking to school. The fix is to make clear who was walking: "While I was walking to school, the rain soaked my jacket."
The method: compare the versions and pick the one that keeps the full meaning with the fewest words. Cut padded phrases, delete redundant words, and make sure every descriptive phrase clearly attaches to the right noun.
Worked example:
Wordy: Due to the fact that she had the ability to swim, she was able to help. Concise: Because she could swim, she was able to help.
Two padded phrases ("due to the fact that," "had the ability to") shrink to "because" and "could" with no loss of meaning.