Any sub-editor worth their salt can transform wordy sentences into clear copy without losing any meaning.
To help sharpen your editing skills, take a look at these ten tips by Syvlia Smith, a retired reporter and former Washington editor for the Journal Gazette, writing for Global Business Journalism Program.
We use a lot of filler words when we speak which do not add much value. Avoid carrying these into written work by trimming out words like 'currently', 'very' and 'in order to'. The same is true for a lot of everyday terms.
"Look for redundant phrases: brand new; absolutely essential; tragic death; consensus of opinion; circle around. Eliminate redundancy. Shorter and simpler: new, essential, death, consensus, circle," it reads.
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