Concision

Sometimes, Writing section questions have more than one multiple-choice answers that are grammatically correct. In these cases, the correct answer is the shorter one. What makes an option more concise than others:

  • It must be grammatically correct.  A "better" choice will never introduce an error.  So, choose shorter, more concise answers when choosing among grammatically correct answers only. 
  • It will eliminate redundancy (So, rather than saying "I put the essay I had written on the teacher's desk," a more concise answer might say, "I put my essay on the teacher's desk."  Because an essay is something that you write, you don't need to explicitly say that you wrote it.)
  • It will be in the active voice (So, saying "I played baseball yesterday" rather than "I was playing ball yesterday.")
  • It will not add extra words or convoluted phrases in order to "sound smart."  (For instance, students might like to write "Because I had already familiarized myself with its functions, I was able to utilize the machine in an efficient manner."  A more concise student might write, "Because I knew how to use the machine, I used it efficiently."  Although students often think the first sentence is smarter, the second sentence says the same thing in a more concise and understandable manner: it is the better sentence. 

When writing, students often make their sentences more passive, more redundant, or just needlessly complicated in order to sound smart.  When writing, your most important job is to be clear.  If you write clearly, you will write well.

On tests, students often default to the shortest multiple choice answer in the name of concision; this is also a mistake.  Always look through your answer choices to eliminate answers that are grammatically wrong or do not fit in the passage. Then, if you have multiple answer choices that you cannot eliminate, you can choose the answer that is more concise. 

Practice Problems:

  • Concision Practice

    For each sentence, rephrase the underlined portion so that it is simpler.

    1. I bought these cookies so that they would be eaten by you and I.

    2. Every single person that goes to the same school as I do knows Jason.

    3. We are in the process of preparing a meal.

    4. We are going to be going to the school dance.

    5. To speak in an honest manner, I really don't like that paint color.

    6. I had not even begun to wake up when the earthquake happened.

    7. The color of those drapes is perhaps almost kind of seafoam green.

    8. I have known my friend Miles for I think almost, but not quite, four months.

    9. Before the innovation of the drug known as penicillin, there was no way to treat many common.

    10. Tomorrow we will use a catapult for the flinging of our flying machines.

    Answer Key:

Test Prep Practice

  • Concision Test Prep

    Many young people don't know how to cook, but they should. There are numerous benefits that cooking offers. Cooking can be an excellent way to $\boxed 1$ get rid of excess stress. Many find it to be a soothing activity, and you even get to $\boxed 2$ enjoy the product of your creation when you've finished. Plus, cooking is a $\boxed 3$ skill that is useful in many contexts.

    Why is cooking so calming? Perhaps it's because cooking $\boxed 4$ requires you to be carefully focused, which makes it more difficult for your mind to wander to stress-inducing thoughts. Perhaps it's the physical motions of cooking, $\boxed 5$ such as the kneading of dough, that release mood-improving endorphins. Or perhaps it's the warmth and the scents $\boxed 6$ that are produced by cooking that calms us down. Either way, it's $\boxed 7$ clear that cooking is a great way to relax frazzled nerves.

    Beyond being a calming excercise, cooking is $\boxed 8$ a skill that is important to have. Buying already-made food may be easier, but it is often $\boxed 9$ more money-costing than preparing your own meals. Small expenses like buying ready-made meals can certainly add up. Plus, freshly-cooked meals $\boxed {10}$ are in general more healthful than pre-cooked meals. A certain peace of mind comes with $\boxed {11}$ the knowledge of which ingredients are in what you consume.

     

    Cooking can certainly be difficult and time-consuming. That said, it can offer valuable relief from stresses $\boxed {12}$ caused by the trials of daily life. It is also frequently more affordable than buying pre-made meals. These benefits and others make cooking a crucial skill for young people to learn.

     

    1.

    1. NO CHANGE
    2. jettison extra stress
    3. getting rid of excessive stress
    4. quash the budding of stress

    2. 

    1. NO CHANGE
    2. enjoy your creation
    3. indulge in the enjoyment of the fruits of your labor
    4. eat the food you made

    3. 

    1. NO CHANGE
    2. vital and undeniably overlooked skill
    3. important skill to have in the toolbox of life
    4. useful skill

    4. 

    1. NO CHANGE
    2. requires the complete focus of your mind
    3. requires complete focus
    4. requires undivided, full focus

    5. 

    1. NO CHANGE
    2. such as kneading dough
    3. such as the beating and whacking of dough
    4. with the example of kneading dough

    6. 

    1. NO CHANGE
    2. that get produced in the process of
    3. of
    4. from


     

    7. 

    1. NO CHANGE
    2. difficult to convincingly refute the fact that
    3. obviously true
    4. certainly clear

    8. 

    1. NO CHANGE
    2. an important skill
    3. an ever-useful, crucial skill
    4. a skill that you need

    9. 

    1. NO CHANGE
    2. likely to cost more money
    3. more expensive
    4. less money-saving

    10.

    1. NO CHANGE
    2. are usually healthier than
    3. oftentimes have an increased nutritional content compaed to
    4. tend to be less unhealthy than

    11. 

    1. NO CHANGE
    2. having information about what's in your food
    3. knowing what's in your food
    4. being aware of what ingredients you're consuming
    12.
    1. NO CHANGE
    2. incurred during the work day
    3. created by the ravages of your daily routine
    4. we find in daily life
     

    Answer Key:

Skill: