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Subject:Re: Redundancy & obscurity patrol From:"Larry Kunz ((919) 254-6395)" <ldkunz -at- VNET -dot- IBM -dot- COM> Date:Wed, 17 Jan 1996 15:19:52 EST
Here's my contribution for the "Words and Phrases to Throw Away"
list: the word "there" at the beginning of sentence.
The presence of "there is" or "there are," especially, signals
a sentence that probably needs attention. For example,
bad better
--- ------
> There is a full moon tonight. > The moon is full tonight.
> There are two selections on > The menu has two selections.
the menu.
> There are three things you can do. > You can do three things.
There are times, of course, when I exercise my writerly prerogative
and ignore the rule. <g> But most of the time it works wonders.
(Credit where credit is due: I learned this one from Dr. Merrill
Whitburn, a professor in RPI's TechComm department. No, I didn't
study at RPI, but I was privileged to take a class from Dr. Whitburn
at my workplace. It made me a better writer!)
Larry Kunz
STC Assistant to the President for Professional Development
ldkunz -at- vnet -dot- ibm -dot- com
