21 Tips to Shorten Your Essay

How often have you been told to shorten your essay? Your teacher, professor, or even boss might be telling you this. If that's the case then it's time to shorten your essays! There are many reasons why people want shorter essays: they don't have enough time to read them, they're too short for what needs to be communicated and more. In this blog post, we will explore 21 tips on how you can shorten your essay so that it is well received by readers!

How to shorten your sentence:

If you want to shorten your sentence, try rephrasing it. Instead of saying "I was born in California", say "I grew up in California." It would be better if the latter is only two words instead of four!

Use shorter sentences when possible:

A lot can get communicated in a sentence. For example, "The dog walked to the park" contains fewer words compared to "After eating its food and drinking water, the dog went out of its house and strolled towards the nearby park."

When you shorten your sentence use as few words as possible:

A lot can get communicated in just two or three words instead of five or six. For example, instead of saying "I learned that the dog went to the park", shorten it by using only two words: I found out."

When you shorten your sentence use more verbs than adjectives/adverbs:

Verbs are stronger and convey an action better compared to adjectives or adverbs. For instance, instead of saying "I was thinking about my future", shorten it by using verbs: "I contemplated."

Use fewer words in your sentence when you can:

When possible, try to use fewer words for the sake of brevity. For instance, instead of writing "People are becoming aware that their actions affect others," shorten it by using fewer words: "People are realizing their actions have an impact."

Avoid using relative pronouns that start a sentence off with a word like who, whom, which, or that:

These types of relative pronouns can easily be removed from the sentence. For example instead of saying "The woman to whom I showed my work is really encouraging.", shorten it by omitting the relative pronoun: "The woman is really encouraging."

Avoid using a sentence with lots of prepositions or conjunctions:

These types of words do not contain much meaning and can be removed from the sentence. For example, instead of writing "In this paper, I will discuss about how people are constantly evolving.", shorten it by omitting the word "about" and removing conjunctions: "I will discuss how people are constantly evolving."

Avoid using sentences with lots of commas:

Commas can be a comma splice if there is no conjunction after each comma. For example, instead of writing "We went to eat at a new restaurant on the main street, it was really good.", shorten it by removing all the commas: "We went to eat at a new restaurant on the main street. It was really good."

Avoid using sentences with lots of adjectives and adverbs:

These types of words do not contain much meaning and can be removed from the sentence. For example, instead of writing "The dog was really friendly and energetic.", shorten it by using fewer words: "The dog was friendly and energetic."

Avoid repeating the same word over again in a sentence:

Instead of writing "He went to school, he is now ready for high school", shorten it by removing repeated words. It would be better if the latter sentence only has one adjective: "He went to school. He is now ready for high school."

Don't be afraid of using contractions:

Contractions shorten a sentence and make it easier to read by using fewer words, they can also help you sound more casual if that's what you're going for!

Avoid ending your sentences with prepositions:

A sentence should not end with a preposition. For example, instead of writing "I lost the book, I was reading", shorten it by removing all the unnecessary words: "I lost the book."

Use contractions when you can:

Contractions shorten your sentences and make them easier to read. They also help convey casualness if that's what you're going for!

Avoid using the word "very":

The word 'very' is an intensifier and does not add much meaning to your sentence. For example, instead of writing "He was very tired," shorten it by removing all unnecessary words: He was tired."

Avoid using the word "really":

The word 'really' is an intensifier and does not add much meaning to your sentence. For example, instead of writing "I was really excited," shorten it by removing all unnecessary words: I was excited."

Use past tense verbs when possible:

Using past tense verbs makes your sentences less complicated. For example, instead of writing "I am looking forward to my next project," shorten it by using past tense verbs: "I looked forward to my last project."

Use fewer words when you can for the sake of brevity:

When possible, try to use fewer words for the sake of brevity. For instance, instead of writing "We went to eat at a new restaurant on main street, it was really good.", shorten it by using fewer words: " We ate at a new restaurant on main street. It was delicious."

Remove redundancies from your sentence:

A redundancy is a word or phrase that does not add any meaning to the sentence. For example, instead of writing "I am extremely excited about this", shorten it by removing all unnecessary words: "I'm really excited about this."

Avoid using passive voice verbs when possible:

Passive Voice weakens your sentences and makes them less direct because you are not saying who is doing the action. For example, instead of writing "I was given a book by my classmate", shorten it by using active voice verbs: "My classmate gave me a book."

Remove the wordiness from your sentence:

Don't be wordy! Your sentences should not contain more than ten words.

Avoid using the same adjective over again in a sentence:

Instead of writing "The house was really old and dirty", shorten it by removing repeated adjectives from your sentence so that you have only one adjective, if possible: "The house was old and dirty."

Do not be afraid of using short sentences:

Short, direct sentences are often more powerful than longer ones. For example, instead of writing "The dog was really friendly and energetic.", shorten it by removing all unnecessary words so that your sentence is shorter: "The dog was friendly and energetic."

If you shorten your essay, it will be easier for readers to understand and can also help them take in the information more easily. This is especially true when they are reading long paragraphs of text on a screen - if you're using a monitor or laptop that's smaller than 15 inches. The tips we've provided should shorten your sentence length while still making sure all content remains clear and easy to read. If this sounds like something you want to implement into your own writing strategy, let us know!