5 exercises — practise cutting redundant modifiers and word pairs from technical writing.
0 / 5 completed
1 / 5
Which sentence avoids redundant wording when describing a system change?
"We will eliminate the deprecated endpoint by Q3" is correct: "eliminate" already means to remove completely, so no intensifying modifier is needed, making this the most concise, redundancy-free version. Option A pairs "completely" with "entirely", both of which restate the same idea already contained in "eliminate" — a classic pleonasm. Option B stacks two synonymous intensifiers, "completely and totally", which adds words without adding meaning. Option D uses two near-synonymous verbs, "eliminate and remove", where the second is redundant given the first.
2 / 5
Which sentence correctly removes the redundant pairing in a status update?
"The outcome of the load test was a 40% latency reduction" is correct: "outcome" alone conveys the result of the test without needing extra qualifiers. Option A pairs "final" with "outcome", which is redundant since an outcome is inherently the concluding result of a process. Option B compounds the redundancy further by combining "final" and "end result", two phrases that both mean the same concluding result. Option D adds "absolutely" as an unnecessary intensifier on top of the already-redundant "final outcome".
3 / 5
Which sentence avoids a tautological time expression when scheduling a maintenance window?
"Scheduled for 2 AM on Saturday" is correct: "AM" already specifies morning, so no further clarification is needed. Option A adds "in the morning" after "2 AM", restating information the abbreviation already conveys. Option C similarly adds the redundant "morning time" after "2 AM". Option D wraps the time in an unnecessarily wordy phrase, "the early morning hour of", which again duplicates what "AM" already communicates.
4 / 5
Which sentence correctly avoids redundant modifiers when describing a code review requirement?
"Every pull request must pass CI before merging" is correct: "every" alone already expresses that the rule applies without exception to each item, so no additional emphasis is needed. Option A adds "single" after "every", a common redundant intensifier that restates the exhaustiveness "every" already implies. Option C uses the doubled phrase "each and every", pairing two near-synonymous quantifiers. Option D restates the same idea twice within one sentence, first with "all" and then again with the appended "each one".
5 / 5
A style guide flags redundant phrasing in API documentation. Choose the revision that removes the redundancy without changing the meaning.
"The API returns null if no records are found" is the correct, precise revision: "null" and "blank" describe overlapping, often identical, states in this context, so listing both as alternatives is redundant, and the shorter version removes the ambiguity along with the redundancy. Option B introduces a new redundant intensifier, "completely null", since "null" is already an absolute state with no degrees. Option C keeps the original redundancy and adds a further redundant pairing, "blank empty". Option D changes "or" to "and", which is grammatically odd (a single value cannot simultaneously be two different states) and still retains the core redundancy.