“all, relevant, appropriate, duly, due, specific, closely, close”

Do you tend to use these words? They’re words that are commonly found in writing in international organizations and can usually be deleted without changing the meaning of the sentence.

A word like “all” can be substituted by “the” to mean “all” and to dedramatize the effect.

Working “closely” with someone sounds a bit overly familiar or is reserved for high-level diplomatic correspondence.

“Duly” and “due” are old-fashioned and can usually be omitted.  (However, “to be due” is correct when a deadline is being referred to.)

Quiz

Identify the redundancies in these sentences. Decide if they belong or not or how to rephrase to eliminate them.

1. The group reviewed 15 samples selected from all supplier sites during the period from 1 Jan. 2024 to 31 Oct. 2024.
2. It should report to the appropriate national authority, such as the Ministry of Health, and collaborate with relevant external organizations or funders.
3. It will also need to engage the participation of other relevant stakeholders who may be able to contribute to surveillance efforts, such as the private health sector, if applicable.
4. However, to sustain the engagement, due consideration must be given to individual concerns or trade-offs that may need to be made.
5. Once the activity has been completed, the report should be duly filled out by the Technical Officer responsible.
6. The committee will need to collaborate closely with the surveillance sites that have been identified to participate in the system.
7. The institution must be able and empowered to work in close collaboration with the national reference laboratory.
8. Other workforce development initiatives use competency frameworks to address specific technical topics for disease prevention.

Answer key

The possible redundancies are underlined and a suggested redraft given.

1. The group reviewed 15 samples selected from all the supplier sites during the period from 1 Jan. 2024 to 31 Oct. 2024.
2. It should report to the appropriate designated national authority, such as the Ministry of Health, and collaborate with relevant external organizations or funders.
3. It will also need to engage the participation of other relevant stakeholders who may be able to contribute to surveillance efforts, such as the private health sector, if applicable.
4. However, to sustain the engagement, due consideration must be given to individual concerns or trade-offs that may need to be made.
5. Once the activity has been completed, the report should be duly filled out by the Technical Officer responsible.
6. The committee will need to collaborate closely with the surveillance sites that have been identified to participate in the system.
7. The institution must be able and empowered to work in close collaboration with the national reference laboratory.
8. Other workforce development initiatives use competency frameworks to address specific technical topics for disease prevention.

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Author: Carol Waites

Presentation/editing by Christina O’Shaughnessy 
https://worldwidewriting.org/

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Carol Waites (PhD)
Email: carolswritingtips@gmail.com
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