Proofreading Tips #1: Redundancies

Have you ever thought about how redundantly we speak in every day conversation? Sometimes this passes into our writing. For graduates especially, we are unfortunately trained to add extra "padding" into our text to reach a desired word count.

Word redundancies (known as pleonasms and sometimes given the nickname of "baby puppies") are one such way. Here is a list highlighting such phrases--avoid using these at all costs:

• advance warning
• alter or change
• assemble together
• basic fundamentals
• collect together
• consensus of opinion
• contributing factor
• dollar amount
• each and every
• end result
• exactly identical
• few in number
• free and clear
• grateful thanks
• great majority
• integral part
• last and final
• midway between
• new changes
• past history
• perfectly clear
• personal opinion
• potential opportunity
• positively certain
• proposed plan
• serious interest
• refer back
• true facts
• visible to the eye
• unexpected surprise
• surrounded on all sides
• null and void
• poisonous venom
• filled to capacity
• reason is because
• natural instinct
• past experience
• frozen ice
• cease and desist
• free gift
• variety of different
• follow behind the person in front of you
• salsa sauce
• save 20% off
• plenty of ample parking
• brief summary
• help assist
• future leader of tomorrow
• close proximity
• passing fad
• hot steam
• honest truth
• month of January
• duplicate copy
• live audience
• exit out
• mandatory requirement
• rise up
• seeing visually

The easiest way to detect a pleonasm is to ask "as opposed to what?" Steam that isn't hot? Requirements that aren't mandatory?

I will be the first to admit I have either spoken or written down some of these before. Many pleonasms are even common phrases we don't think twice about (as you can probably recognize a few on the list). Think back to your own writing. How many word redundancies do you use on a regular basis?

(...Wait, it would be better to say "regularly!")