Ridding Your Writing of Redundancy

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Redundancy is a type of wordy phrase in which, usually, one word is giving the message and the other word is, in a different way, repeating the message. In the phrase
“VIN Number,” the term “VIN” already means Vehicle Identification Number, so following this phrase with the word “number” is redundant.

In the following list, I name a number of redundancies on the left side of the page. On the right side, I provide a substitute word or phrase that eliminates the redundancy
of the phrase on the left.

Maybe you think that using phrases like “IRA Account” or “true facts” or “cancel out” is small stuff and won’t result in lost business or even embarrassment. But for
people who are aware of redundancies, they may find a way to make a claims letter a laughingstock in a court of law. As a friend of mine once said, “Redundant phrases may be a trifle, but being aware of trifles can lead to perfection – and perfection is no
trifle.”

Redundant	Substitute
absolutely perfect	perfect
actual experience	experience
add together	add
any and all	all
as a general rule	as a rule
at this moment in time	at this time
cancel out	cancel
chemotherapy treatment	chemotherapy
circle around	circle
circular in shape	circular
close proximity	near, close
combine into one	combine
completely honest	honest
completely unanimous	unanimous
consensus of opinion	consensus
consecutive in a row	consecutive
different varieties	varieties
current status	status
each and every	each
end result	result
estimate about	estimate
foreign imports	imports
group meeting	meeting
necessary requisite	requisite
overall plan	plan
PIN number	PIN
public media	media
really unique	unique
tuition fees	tuition
VIN number	VIN
whether or not	whether

A few on this list may not meet with your agreement: Why is “public media” redundant? Because all media is public.

Why is “chemotherapy treatment” redundant? Because therapy is a form of “treatment.”

Why is “completely honest” redundant? Because “honest,” like “pregnant” or “perfect” cannot be modified. They are known as superlatives. One is honest or not.

I hope you’ll e-mail me any redundancies you see in claims letters and I’ll be glad to write a follow-up column. Send them to me at garyblake725@gmail.com.

About Gary Blake

Gary Blake is director of The Communication Workshop, offering claims writing webinars and seminars to claims professionals throughout the US, Bermuda, Canada, and the UK. Blake is the author of The Elements of Business Writing (Pearson Education), used at more than 100 insurance companies. He has written about claims writing for a number of industry publications. His e-mail is garyblake725@gmail.com. More from Gary Blake

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