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It’s Deja Vu All Over Again!

21 June 2008 6 Comments

As much as I love Jim of The Net Fool, I saw one of his recent blog articles and had a seizure.

Not literally, though, and I’m still perfectly fine.

Anyway, I’m an e-mail subscriber of Jim’s moneymaking blog, so I automatically get updates when he has new posts. Last week, unfortunately, the title of his latest post sent me into a grammar fit. Here, in full, is his post’s title: “Question and Answer Session with the Net Fool: Win a Free Prize!”

Tell me you see what’s wrong.

I’ll understand if you don’t, though. Sometimes, these errors are used so often that people fail to notice what’s wrong with the picture. I’m talking about the redundancy, free prize. Now what’s wrong with that? Prizes are never paid for, because they’re meant to be won. Paying for prizes is something completely unethical, by the way. Anyhoo, since prizes are free, why say “free prize” at all?

That’s just one example.

There’s only one reason why people should avoid redundancies when writing: it makes your sentences a lot more complicated and difficult to digest. Instead of just going straight to the point with your message, you end up with an unnecessarily lengthy ramble. That’s one of the biggest pitfalls that any self-respecting writer should avoid. You want something concise, coherent and clear.

Another reason why redundancies should be avoided like the plague is that it never fails to elicit laughter from knowledgeable readers. It makes the writer sound laughable and unwieldy. Instead of focusing on your article’s message, these redundancies slowly draw attention away from what you’re saying to how you’re saying it.

Here are some more examples of redundancies you can avoid:

7 AM in the morning. Just say 7 AM. It can never be 7 AM in the evening.
Basic essentials
Refer back
Personal opinion
Unite together
Summarize briefly (see more examples here)

The thing, though, is that there are some cases wherein using redundancies can be quite acceptable. In some situations, it allows the writer the opportunity to emphasize his message. The use of “each and every” and “exactly the same” may be repetitive, but they’re pretty useful when you want to add a bit of oomph to your paragraph.

It’s still best to be careful, however, as not every redundancy can get a reprieve.

XOXO,

6 Comments »

Jena Isle said:

Yes, that’s right, Ms, Write. Is that redundant? Kidding…(grins)

Well, it is also one mistake or error (that’s redundant) I commit inadvertently (especially if I did not bother to proofread my article.

The writer should take time to go over her manuscript twice or even thrice. Good written articles are sometimes, edited several times.

Do you know that the most famous speech of Lincoln the Gettysburg Address has been officially edited 5 times?

Thanks for sharing.

# 22 June 2008 at 10:02 pm

miss-write (author) said:

Everybody makes mistakes (to quote a Hannah Montana song hahaha Last Song Syndrome). The most important thing for us writers is to proofread proofread proofread!

# 22 June 2008 at 10:08 pm

Jim said:

Haha, sorry for the seizure!
I hope you have noticed by now that my grammar is typically of higher quality than other bloggers. This was actually not a mistype at all, and was entirely intentional. I’ll frequently put things like “free prize” in the title simple for SEO purposes. People are much more likely to read a story with the word “free” in it than just “prize”

Good to see you are reading carefully though! Have a great weekend.

# 23 June 2008 at 9:30 am

miss-write (author) said:

Hi Jim! Didn’t intend to sound all high and mighty, just the old editorial instinct kicking in!

I mentioned that sometimes, using a redundant phrase can be done for emphasis. Should have mentioned that yours is a good example. Thanks for dropping by!

# 23 June 2008 at 10:17 am