I’m working on a job right now which combines the work of several authors. It’s a complex job: part marketing device, part technical document. What interests me about it is the way the non-marketers who wrote several sections have written what they think would be acceptable marketing-speak.

One of the main selling points of the product is the options it gives the consumer, post consumption (sorry to be vague, I’m just trying to keep it as general as possible). In almost every section, this is expressed by alluding to the ‘wide range of options’ available.

I’m not offended by the options. What I take exception to is the wide range.

Variants have included diverse range and wide variety (and variety is an interesting word: meaning both a lot of something as well as a particular type of something).

But how wide is a range? How long is a piece of string?

Of course, the adjective is completely redundant. It’s attempting to intensify something that is unquantifiable, and by doing so, dilutes the meaning of the word it’s trying to strengthen.

In trying to talk up a product or service, using words like this can just make your text seem like it’s so full of fluff. Get to the point. People don’t have the attention span for fluff these days. If a selling point is a good selling point, it doesn’t need embellishment.

What redundant words are you using in your writing? Try rewriting your copy so it includes as few words as is possible, even if only to get you to look at your text differently.