I ran across this post from vappingo.com (a valuable new find) that’s all about ridding your work of ‘flabby words and expressions’.
Exact Title: 164 PHRASES AND WORDS YOU SHOULD NEVER USE IN AN ESSAY—AND THE POWERFUL ALTERNATIVES YOU SHOULD
I like the ‘powerful alternatives’ part…
A few examples:
— Use ‘will differ’ instead of ‘will be different’.
— Use ’emphasize’ instead of ‘point out’.
–Use ‘Start by’ instead of ‘The first step is to…’
While I don’t write essays, a quick scan of the list awakened me to lazy expressions I’ve used in my posts and letters.
Note: After reviewing the post, I’m now paranoid about every word I’m writing. Probably a good idea to NOT check out this post…
Word Inventions 