Choose precise, concise language — eliminate wordiness using the 7-pattern audit (CCSS L.7.3.a)

Audit prose for 7 named wordiness patterns: (1) redundant pairs, (2) empty phrases, (3) throat-clearers, (4) expletive constructions, (5) hedge overuse, (6) nominalizations, (7) prepositional pile-ups. Apply Strunk's 'omit needless words' systematically. Target 10-20 percent cut in revision. Apply Williams' actor-action clarity routine to research prose.

Mastery threshold

85%

Min instances

Typical minutes

Spaced intervals (days)

1, 3, 7, 14, 30, 60

Prereqs

Identify and produce the four sentence types — simple, compound, complex, compound-complex (CCSS L.7.1.a-b)

Successors

Compose a 5-paragraph analytical essay with CEA body structure and syntactic variety (CCSS W.7.1.a-e; W.7.2.a-f; W.7.4-6)

Common misconceptions

Equates 'concise' with 'short' — concise means every word earns its place, not necessarily fewest words.
Cuts so aggressively that nuance and qualification disappear (research writing needs measured hedging).

Exercise pool (2)

Diff	Stem	Type
2	Name all 7 wordiness patterns from memory and give one example of each.	name all seven patterns
4	Revise these 4 wordy sentences applying the 7-pattern audit. Label which pattern(s) you applied. (1) 'It is interesting to note that the...	concision revision