Redundancy

The best writing conveys its points clearly and concisely, without extra or unnecessary words.

One way that standardized tests assess whether or not students can write concisely is by checking if students can eliminate redundancy.

Redundancy is when a point is made more than once (either in an entire passage or paragraph or even in a single sentence).

Sometimes redundancy sounds fine. Repetition is true; it's just not good writing.

Let's look at some examples of redundancy:

The recipe called for adding the sugar gradually, a little bit at a time. 

In this case, the fact that the sugar should be added gradually is stated twice:

The recipe called for adding the sugar gradually, a little bit at a time. 

If you state that sugar is added "gradually" or "a little bit at a time," you do not need the other phrase.  They are redundant.

The teacher was being repetitive, repeating the same examples over and over again. 

In this case, the fact that the teacher is repetitive is stated twice:

The teacher was being repetitive, repeating the same examples over and over again.

If you state that the teacher is repetitive, you do not need to say that he is repeating something; you also do not need to say "over and over again" as you already know that from the fact that the teacher is repetitive.  This sentence contains multiple redundancies.

As you correct passages in standardized tests, keep your eye out for redundancy.  The sentences will sound grammatically correct, but they contain unnecessary words.  Usually the best answer is to "delete underlined phrase."

Practice Problems:

  • Redundancy Practice

    Identify sets of words that are redundant -- that provide the same information:

    1. Quinn created the most original and unique pieces of artwork that I have ever seen from a preschool student.
    2. When we went on our desert hike we find that ascending up the sandy hills were the most challenging.
    3. I never want to go through that experience again; I won't repeat it. 
    4. The president is rolling out the beginning of his new campaign to improve international relations.
    5. When refugees who are unable to stay in their home countries apply for asylum, they face a long and uncertain process.
    6. There is a significant maritime crisis in the Mediterranean Sea, where thousands of migrants are setting sail in precarious vessels. 
    7. Ancient Vikings were exquisite ship-builders; they made durable ships that stood the test of time and rough seas. 
    8. Life in rural Greek villages is significantly different from life in urban Greek cities. 
    9. Fair Trade coffee is certified to have been produced by workers who earn a fair and sustainable wage and work in safe and nontoxic work environments.
    10. Hypertensive people who have high blood pressure must be careful to avoid salt and stress. 

    Answer Key:

Test Prep Practice

  • Redundancy Test Prep

    Every year, our company has an $\boxed{1}$annual "Summer Celebration" party for which we cook a ton of food. Highlights of the party include not only a range of savory foods but an incredible diversity of sweets, $\boxed{2}$more different kinds of sweets than you can even imagine. We usually have cake, ten kinds of cookies, and fun beverages, $\boxed{3}$like aguas frescas and lemonade. 

    Another highlight of our party, $\boxed{4}$one of the very best parts, is the game playing. We play traditional party games, $\boxed{5}$the ones that everyone plays, like Catchphrase and Taboo. We also have $\boxed{6}$original games that we made up ourselves, like Product Match and HexiBoost and Talk Around the Block. Sometimes we turn things that are usually tedious, like times tables $\boxed{7}$ and other skills that students find boring, into games.  Our students enjoy playing times table wars and other math games.  They have so much fun playing $\boxed{8}$enjoyable games that they don't even realize that they are doing schoolwork, $\boxed{9}$but they are!

    Each year we try to do a unique activity $\boxed{10}$that we have never done before. One year we had an egg drop and many ingenious students found very clever ways to encase their eggs and drop them a long distance, $\boxed{11}$from our second story balcony. Another year we built structures out of marshmallows and uncooked spaghetti, a project that was hilarious $\boxed{12}$but messy!  This past year, students constructed boats, $\boxed{13}$building their own water vessels, from plastic wrap and straws. The winning students created boats that held $\boxed{14}$the most weight. 

    1.  
      1. NO CHANGE
      2. yearly
      3. semi-annual
      4. DELETE underlined word
    2.  
      1. NO CHANGE
      2. more differently labeled sweets than you can even imagine
      3. more varieties than you can imagine
      4. DELETE underlined portion
    3.  
      1. NO CHANGE
      2. like cupcakes and lemonade
      3. such as aguas lemonade
      4. DELETE underlined portion
    4.  
      1. NO CHANGE
      2. a very good part
      3. some very good parts
      4. DELETE underlined portion
    5.  
      1. NO CHANGE
      2. the customary ones
      3. the ones typical at parties
      4. DELETE underlined portion and following comma
    6.  
      1. NO CHANGE
      2. our own
      3. homemade
      4. DELETE the underlined word
    7.  
      1. NO CHANGE
      2. and other boring skills
      3. and other activities that students find dull
      4. DELETE the underlined portion
    8.  
      1. NO CHANGE
      2. these fun games
      3. games that are really fun
      4. DELETE the underlined portion
    9.  
      1. NO CHANGE
      2. but, they are
      3. but they really are fun
      4. DELETE the underlined portion
    10.  
      1. NO CHANGE
      2. that is something totally new
      3. that is new for the students each year
      4. DELETE the underlined portion
    11.  
      1. NO CHANGE
      2. from our really high second story balcony
      3. from our balcony
      4. DELETE the underlined portion
    12.  
      1. NO CHANGE
      2. but, really messy
      3. but, messy
      4. DELETE the underlined portion
    13.  
      1. NO CHANGE
      2. building his or her own water vessels
      3. building their own boats from straws
      4. DELETE the underlined portion
    14.  
      1. NO CHANGE
      2. the greatest weight
      3. weights, the greatest
      4. DELETE the underlined portion
      

    Answer Key:

Skill: