Common writing issues to look for

Redundancies

Unnecessary words

Good writing uses what’s necessary and nothing else. Rather than avoiding details, this means explaining details as succinctly as possible. Outside of removing paragraphs that are off topic, this also involves removing unnecessary words.

For example:
He blinked his eyes twice in disbelief.

Including “his eyes” isn’t necessary as you can’t blink without eyes.

Redundancies often appear as adjectives and descriptions. A good example of this is a “tall skyscraper.” We can remove the adjective as skyscrapers are always tall.

“Very” and “really”

These are another example of unnecessary words. They rarely add anything to a sentence and in most instances you can replace or delete them. Try using a word that’s more precise to replace the whole phrase. Instead of saying “very interesting,” you could say “fascinating.”

Jargon

Jargon is language that only people in a particular field or industry would understand. It’s important to be mindful of your reader, and remove jargon or explain what it means.

Here’s an example of what jargon looks like: “In order to streamline our workflow and optimise resource allocation, we need to leverage synergies between our cross-functional teams.”

An edited version might be: “We need to make our work process smoother and use our team's strengths better by working together across different departments.”

Sentence structure

Sentences and paragraphs starting the same way

When every sentence begins in the exact same way, it leads to writing that’s boring and hard to read.

To keep your writing interesting, use a variety of sentence openings. Maybe try using conjunctive adverbs like however, although, and moreover.

Long sentences

Good writing uses as few words as possible to get the point across.

Long sentences can muddle your meaning, even when they’re grammatically correct. Consider breaking longer sentences in two. And look for wordy phrases that could be replaced by one or two words.

Example:
“The cat, with its luxurious fur coat and a mischievous twinkle in its eyes, executed a sudden and calculated leap upon the unsuspecting rodent, swiftly ensnaring its prey within its sharp claws, and consumed the captured creature..”

"The cat pounced on the unsuspecting mouse, swiftly capturing its prey before retreating to enjoy its meal.”


Sentence structure variety

It’s not just the words in your writing that need variety, but also the shape of your sentences. Using the same sentence structure again and again can get daunting for the reader. Vary the length and style of your sentences to keep your writing interesting.

Passive voice

The passive voice is when the subject receives the action instead of does it.

The problem with the passive voice is that it comes across as weak. Whereas, the active voice sounds confident, and because the subject comes at the beginning, the sentence is easier to understand.

Passive: The ball was thrown by Sarah.

Active: Sarah threw the ball.

Look out for the passive voice when self-editing. It’s easy to switch around a few words to turn the sentence into an active one.

Parallelism

Parallelism is using the same grammatical structure for a series of related phrases. For example, if you’re writing a list, make sure you use the same format for each item.

Incorrect: He enjoys to swim, hiking and biking.

Correct: He enjoys swimming, hiking and biking.

Repeated words

Most authors I've worked with have a favourite word or phrase they use repeatedly. Maybe that's starting a sentence with 'for' or using the word 'gaze' whenever a character is looking at something.

I encourage all of them to pull up a thesaurus and find synonyms they can replace their pet word/s with.

Often we're immune to these words and won't even spot them ourselves, but I always say, if I notice them, then your reader will too!

Consistency

Verb tense

Sometimes, especially with nonfiction, writers accidentally switch tenses. It’s best to maintain the same verb tense throughout your entire piece of writing. Decide which tense to use at the start of editing and make sure each verb is consistent with that.

Tone

Similarly, it’s important that your tone remains consistent throughout your writing. Readers will find it jarring if your writing begins formally and then later becomes lighthearted. Choose the appropriate tone for your piece before editing and revise your draft to match.

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