: Re: How do I get rid of the tic of paired adjectives, predicates, etc.? In technical writing, I have a tic of writing in pairs. Some examples from a recent piece: "When you speak, be sure to

@Speyer920

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When I'm editing technical documentation (and, ideally, when I'm writing it in the first place), I try to make every word earn its place. If both words in your phrases need to be there to make your point, then don't worry about it -- that's not a tic but the writing process.

In the case of pairs (or larger groups) of descriptive adjectives or nouns, sometimes you don't need more than one. When you see yourself doing this, stop and ask if there is a single word that conveys what you mean, either one of these or a different, encompassing word. I know you said you want the nuance in your last example, but let's look at it again:

Great communicators know how to provide the right degree of guidance and structure.

Guidance includes structure, so I think you could safely remove "and structure" there. (It's hard to say without seeing this in context.) If you want to call out some nuance of providing structure, you could do that separately.

Sometimes you do need both but they don't need to be in the same sentence. For example, you write:

Face to face conversation is personal and private.

That's true, but why are you telling the reader this? Are you going to follow that sentence with something about personal interaction and something about privacy? If so, do you need this sentence too? Sometimes the answer is yes, you want the sentence as an introduction -- but ask yourself the question because sometimes the answer is no.

The first step in changing any unwanted writing pattern is noticing that you're doing that. You've done that. The next step is attacking them on a case-by-case basis as I've suggested here. In time you should find yourself adapting your writing style, so instead of editing them out you'll write fewer of them in the first place.

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