However – and here is the point of this post – there is a short cut. Sometimes you can pick most of the repetitions hiding in plain sight if you change your font, or put your manuscript into an e-reader rather than read it on your customary screen. Searching is particularly helpful when checking for repeated common research terminology as well as specific disciplinary terms.ĭuplication can be a real issue when composing the meta commentary used in academic writing – we might use the verb “argue” or “investigate” rather too often in a few paragraphs. You might alternatively use the search function in Word. You can also print out your text, using a highlighter every time you find a sneaky “crutch”. Because they are so familiar, we often miss them when we come to revise.Ĭhecking by reading aloud for “ so, but, therefore, thus, nevertheless, however, on the one hand, not only but also” may pick up places where you need to get rewriting. We use “crutch words” in drafting because they help us get the ideas down. Part of the problem is that we often use what are called “crutch” words – single words, phrases or clauses that are habitual. And another of my first draft problems, I often use superfluous sentence beginnings – It is clear that, it is worth noting that… and I know to look for these false starts during the revision process.Ĭhecking sentence and paragraph beginnings can quickly locate some repetitions. Dr X is, Dr X worked for me and… Because I know I do this, I can check my first draft for this particular problem. I often repeat someone’s name at the start of every paragraph when writing references. You may be aware of some of the places in your writing where you repeat yourself. Cutting out the déjà vu effect is part of becoming concise – making the point as simply and effectively as possible. Writers are thus always advised to revise by checking for unintended repetition. They may even get irritated if it takes them a while to find the point amid the verbiage. Readers and listeners get bored and switch off when hearing or reading what rapidly becomes the same old same old. And restatement is an approach often taken in pedagogic blogs like this one – I often say the same thing a few times in different ways, in case my first explanation doesn’t make things clear.īut repetition can also be a problem. Inclusive teaching practices rely on multiple illustrations and explanations. Saying the same thing in different ways is a pedagogic strategy which gives students varied ways into a topic, gives options for understanding a concept or process. Teachers for example deliberately repeat themselves.
#Different words for repetitive professional#
Repetition can also be integral to a professional practice.
#Different words for repetitive serial#
There’s also episeuxis – the serial repetition of word, usually within the same sentence – as in Tony Blair’s “Education, education, education.” Think of Martin Luther King’s “ I have a dream” speech in which poetic reiteration built up a picture of a possible future, a socially just United States. Rhetorical theory for example lists anaphora – the repetition of a word of phrase at the beginning of a sentence or clause used to create dramatic emphasis and affect. Purposeful repetition can be a stylistic choice. Repetitive writing takes many forms – several sentences that say the same thing using different words, a word or phrase used over and over, paragraphs and sentences that have identical beginnings, one point made multiple times using different examples.īut repetition is not necessarily a problem.