Stylistic Errors, continued

2. Excessive Wordiness

According to the rules of grammar, it's correct to say, "The project that is new is of the greatest importance to the director." Stylistically, it's far better to say "The new project is of the greatest importance to the director." On the exam, direct and straightforward sentences are always the best.

One very frequent error that falls in this category is the unnecessary use of "-ing" verbs. For instance, it's much better to say "he spoke with his friend" rather than "he was speaking to his friend." Only use -ing verbs when you need to stress that the action was in progress.

Therefore it would be correct to say "he was speaking to his friend when he noticed that his car was getting a ticket." When you see -ing verbs, ask yourself if they're absolutely necessary. If not, look for a choice that doesn't use them.