Redundancy is verbal (文字中的) obesity because redundant expressions add nothing to what has already been said in a sentence.In Chinese students' writings, redundancy comes mainly in two forms.
1.The needless repetition of a word or a phrase
1) Employers are finding it increasingly difficult to find people whose Chinese and English are both excellent.
In sentence 1) , findis an awkwardly repeated word.You can replace the second findwith a synonym:
2) Employers are finding it increasingly difficult to hire (or recruit) people whose Chinese and English are both excellent.
2.The needless repetition of an idea
1) My future hope is that I can get a chance to travel around the world.
In sentence 1) , futuresimply repeats the meaning of hopeit modifies, so future is a needless word and should be eliminated:
2) My hope is that I can get a chance to travel around the world.
In brief, to avoid redundancy, use direct and economical diction.Repeat a word or a phrase only when it is needed for emphasis or clarity.
Practice 2-5-1
To edit for redundancy in each sentence below, you need to cut unnecessary word or phrase and substitute better word or phrase, or rewrite the entire sentence.Answers are provided only as suggestions.
1.Only beginners, those who are inexperienced, can enter that contest.
2.The reason for my absence yesterday was because of illness.
3.Those who can follow directions are few in number.
4.He felt that the remark about his reputation would do great damage to his reputation.
5.There is only one person that Thompson trusts and that is his wife.
6.At daybreak this morning, we were awakened by noises caused by something downstairs.
7.This interesting instructor knows how to make an uninteresting subject interesting.
8.I had got a cold.So, as soon as I got home and got upstairs, I got changed out of my wet clothes and got some medicine out of the cupboard (櫥櫃).