Editing to Cut the Fluff

Lesson 7 Editing to Cut the Fluff

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Essential Question

Why is it important to declutter your writing?

Grammar in the World

What Do I Know?

Use the following interactive exercise to see what you already know about editing to cut extra, unimportant information from your writing.

Building Blocks

Grammar is a complex system and structure of language. Mizzou Academy Grammar Lab spotlights one skill (or block) at a time, but it’s often helpful to see how a skill works together with other, related blocks to build the language structure as a whole. You may find the following resource topics helpful as context for this lesson:

Learn About Editing to Cut the Fluff

If you had some trouble finding the main ideas in the “What Do You Know” quiz, you’re probably in good company, because points that are clouded over and masked by that much fluff are hard to find!

“Fluff” is a general term that refers to parts of our writing that don’t contribute anything meaningful. Fluff clutters, distracts, and interferes with clear communication, so editing to “cut the fluff” means stripping away all that extra stuff your writing doesn’t need.

The following are common kinds of fluff that you likely want to cut: filler, irrelevant information, and distractions.

Filler: a type of fluff that does little more than take up space. Filler often comes in the form of words that mimic conversational speaking habits or phrases and clauses that overstate, waffle, or repeat themselves.

Unnecessary Emphasis

If an idea is important, let it speak for itself. That extra adverb won’t make it any more of what it already is.

Common emphasis filler:

just
really
basically
very
even
that
like

My 10th Grade English class didn’t even cover Shakespearean sonnets.

I’m very worried about this unit just because it’s all, like, so new to me.

I know the test really isn’t going to be that hard, so I basically just need to get over my Shakespeare anxiety.

Stating the obvious

If your point is already clear or an idea is obvious, your reader will already know it.

Common filler words and phrases that state the obvious:

clearly

obviously

it goes without saying
without question
without a doubt
as you can see
if you look closely at the evidence, you will see that
as everyone can agree
due to the fact that

Needless to say, I’m nervous about the sonnet analysis essay.

Sonnets are confusing, as you can plainly see from the evidence I’ve provided.

Hyper-signaling a conclusion

If the idea comes at the end and offers a closing thought, you probably don’t need to tell your reader that it’s the end.

Common conclusion filler:

in conclusion
finally
to sum up
in summary
in closing
to bring it all together
for my last point
in short

In conclusion, Shakespeare’s sonnets are challenging but rewarding to read.

To sum it all up, I hope my students feel comfortable and confident at the close of the Shakespeare unit.

Waffling

If you’re not confident about what you have to say, it won’t help to waver or try to hide in the crowd.

Common filler that waffles:

for what it’s worth
in my humble opinion
other people may think differently, but...
it’s just my interpretation, but...
I probably would argue that
some people might think

many people think

some people suggest

I understand that many people might think Shakespeare is an important writer to study, but in my humble opinion, his sonnets belong in a college course.

Redundancy

If you’ve already made a point, you do not need to make it again.

Common forms of redundant filler:

lists of synonyms (using multiple words with similar meanings)

inversion (making the same points in reverse order)

paraphrase (restating the same idea in different words)

Common indicators of redundancy:

as I mentioned earlier

as previously explained

you will recall that

as I said before

Complex, intricate, complicated sonnets challenge me as a reader.

Studying meter and rhyme may sound tedious, but when you need to study rhyme and meter, it’s best to tackle it head-on.

Italian sonnets have a distinct stanza structure and metrical pattern of their own that is different from English sonnets.

As I stated above, Complex sonnets challenge me.

Irrelevant Information: a type of fluff that clogs the flow of your writing with ideas or information unrelated to the main point

Showing Off

Even when you’re proud of what you know, your goal as a writer is to communicate clearly and effectively, not to impress your reader. If it doesn’t directly serve your purpose, cut it.

Common types of irrelevant, showy fluff include:

jargon (overly technical or inflated language)

overly complicated syntax (long, winding sentences that string together lots of phrases and clauses)

facts or data that may spotlight your expertise, but don’t relate to the subject at hand

In the scholarship of sonneteers, erudition is the pursuit.

To fully understand a sonnet, you must dedicate yourself to form and function, as well as the more elusive aspects of theme and tone, because comprehension may well be the goal of scholarship, but for the true connoisseur, what matters most is the purity of feeling.

A wordsmith at heart, Shakespeare would occasionally break from strict sonnet formatting rules. And this was almost 200 years after sonnets first appeared among the Sicilian school of court poets who were influenced by the love poetry of provincial troubadours.

Tangents

The clearest path is a straight line. Side-stories and wandering trains of thought are not relevant. Stay on track.

Common indicators that you may have strayed off-point:

Anyway,
As I was saying,
To get back to the main point,

What difficult break-ups can teach you is that you can’t fully trust a suitor’s flowery words, even when they’re delivered in verse. Anyway, getting back to sonnets, Historians believe they may know the identity of the mysterious “fair youth” to whom many of Shakespeare’s sonnets were addressed.

Distraction: a type of fluff that misdirects attention away from the main idea or purpose for writing

Overly emotional language

Conveying feeling and tone are important, but exaggerating them often pulls focus from the main point.

Common indicators of overly emotional language:

hyperbole, metaphor, or other kinds of figurative language that sound out of place in context

The introduction of the Shakespeare unit seems to intimidate most students; they look like their dog just died.

By the end of the Shakespeare unit, students would never in a million years have expected it to be their favorite part of the course.

All-about-me syndrome

Unless you’re writing a personal narrative, stories that turn attention away from your main topic and toward yourself are usually distracting.

Common indicators of self-direction:

unnecessary use of the first person “I”

personal examples that do not serve as evidence

Shakespeare has maintained cultural relevance for centuries. I even remember this one time in college when I heard someone use a line from a sonnet to try to get a date at a fraternity party.

Interjections

Sudden expressions of feeling do not typically add meaningful information or advance purpose in academic writing

Common indicators of interjections that may be distracting:

Reconsider anything with an exclamation point.

If it sounds like a side comment, it’s probably best to cut it.

Any unit examining themes on love and courtship must include Shakespeare’s sonnets. They’re so perfect!

Write With Purpose

Bottom line: Whether an expression, idea, or information is “fluff” largely depends on your purpose for writing. So when you edit to cut the fluff, check your presentation of each idea against your core aim for that specific writing assignment.

If it doesn’t directly and effectively serve that purpose, it’s fluff. Cut it.

Do I Get It?

What have you learned about editing to cut the fluff? Check your understanding in the following interactive.