Superfluous or redundant words are words that add nothing but clutter to a sentence or paragraph.

1. Sometimes they are a result of sloppy thinking. For example:

'It is thus that we see that it is ...' instead of 'Thus we see ...'

2. Sometimes they are simply the same thought repeated in different ways. For example:

A mid-ocean range is formed by the separation of two oceanic plates moving apart and the process of the sea floor spreading. When the two plates separate so that they move away from each other and are apart, the process forms new oceanic lithosphere along the divergent boundary.

You don't need both 'separation' and 'moving apart'; you don't need 'the process of' in front of 'spreading'; you don't need 'away from each other' and 'apart'. Without any loss of meaning, the sentence could read:

A mid-ocean range is created by the separation of two oceanic plates and the sea floor spreading. As the plates move apart, new oceanic lithosphere forms along the divergent boundary.

3. Any sentence beginning with 'What is', for example: 'What is ignored in all the debate about whether the climate is changing is'
or
'What most people mean when they say that the atmosphere is getting warmer is'
should sound the alarm.

The phrases: 'Ignored in the debate about climate change is'
'To most people, a warming atmosphere means'

are clearer.


Checking your work for superfluous words or phrases is time well spent. Superfluous words distract attention from the point you are trying to make. Often, superfluous words can just be removed. In other instances, a sentence may need to be rewritten.

Just an aside: anybody thinking of writing articles for journals or newspapers needs to be particularly good at weeding out superfluous words. Editors don't appreciate them and if you don't take them out, a sub-editor will be let loose on your piece, with unpredictable results.