I've talked about 'unnecessary' words that we use all too regularly when we write. Words like really, very, usually, definitely, and ...The list goes on and on.
A good rule to eliminate these useless words is: If a sentence makes sense without the word, there is no reason to use it. A lot of sentences with then or that work well without either one. Note the difference in these two sentences:
A. She ran from the big dog, then she screamed, and then she fell on the sidewalk.
B. She ran from the big do, screamed, and fell on the sidewalk.
A. She is the best singer that I've ever heard.
B. She's the best singer I've ever heard
The elimination of that and then does no damage to the sentence at all, Without then or that, the sentence reads better.
The chart in today's poster makes it clear that you do not need to use the word very as a modifier because there are many other words that work better.
Adding the word down or up in a sentence is not always needed. Look at the following sentences:
A. She sat down on the pretty pink chair.
B. She sat on the pretty pink chair.
A. He stood up and walked out of the house.
B. He stood and walked out of the house.
In both sentences above, you can eliminate up or down with no damage to the sentence.
Don't worry a great deal over these words when you write the first draft. When you proofread and edit is the time to eliminate as many unnecessary words as possible. What I've shown here is not anywhere near a full list.
Do a search using 'unnecessary words in writing' as your keywords. Read two or three articles that cover this subject in more detail. The more you read about them, the more aware you will be when writing and proofreading your work.
