From Letters Editor Betty Talbert: Eliminate the deadwood in your copy whenever you can. Here are some useful cuts to tighten your letters that I compiled from “Getting the Words Right ...

To create tighter prose, eliminate every unnecessary word, and chose your words wisely. Review each sentence to determine whether it can be shorter and more direct. Some words signal that you can ...

The second step is to eliminate unnecessary words and make your writing simple, concise, and direct. Jargon is specialized terminology that those outside your field may not understand. For example, ...

it's important to eliminate unnecessary words. We're interested in hearing about pleonasms that bother folks, and we're interested in hearing from those who think it's silly to worry about pleonasms.