The one word THAT you can delete from all your writing

Brevity betters your writing.

Sure, you need to mix up your sentences. Lengthen them to elaborate more complex points. Shorten them for impact. (See what I did there?)

But there are a few words you can immediately axe from your vocabulary to improve your writing.   

One of them is ‘that’.

It is often a placeholder for not much in particular and deleting it reduces repetition, streamlining your sentences.  

Here are some examples:

• The one word THAT you can delete from all your writing
• The one word you can delete from all your writing  
• Many businesses that struggle with sales can…
• Many businesses struggling with sales can…
• The point that I’m making is…
• The point I’m making is…

Sure, it might seem like a small tweak but the impact on the flow of your words is disproportionately greater than the size of the edit.

Press CTRL+F, or whatever the Mac shortcut is, to initiate the ‘Search’ function in your word processor of choice. Enter ‘that’ and delete enthusiastically. It will do wonders for your writing.

As with most elements of grammar, the age-old saying ‘Know the rules, then break them’ holds true.

If ‘that’ is redundant, cut it out.  

If 'that' qualifies a sentiment or is fundamental to the sentence, you can leave it in sometimes:

• That is why she didn’t trust badgers…
• That house, the one with the conservatory…

Occasionally I suffer from ‘that’ affliction, but over time I have incorporated certain words into my ‘Editor’s Blacklist’ and keep a wary eye out for them when I revisit my writing to edit it.

What words are on your Editor's Blacklist?

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