Writing tips – Avoiding tautological language

Tautology in written or spoken language is the repetition of meaning. It’s usually something to be avoided, but it can have a useful place in creative writing when a point needs to emphasised for dramatic effect. Everyone knows to avoid saying dead corpse, but a novelist might be inclined to exaggerate thus:

“I’m no doctor, but I was satisfied that the body hidden in the undergrowth was irrevocably deceased.”

Irrevocably deceased is no more a condition than mildly deceased, but the effect works nicely in context. Interestingly, if we placed the tautology earlier and said totally satisfied, the sentence would be poorly constructed. Satisfied works far better on its own, and could even imply the narrator is responsible.

Tautology can be a good communication tool when used with care. If you find examples of it in novels, you can be confident that the author has chosen those words precisely because their meaning is duplicated. But there’s a great big problem with tautology when it creeps into everyday speech and writing.

This post, therefore, is not about creative writing but the common errors in regular verbal and written communication. You are more likely to encounter tautology in a workplace report or e-mail than in the pages of a novel. You will probably recognise quite a few of the examples in the list below.

Most cases of tautology occur for two reasons. Much of the time it is because language is informal and we have an unfortunate propensity for exaggeration. It’s also used excessively – in a reversal of the author’s technique – when the speaker lacks the confidence to communicate straightforwardly in a formal setting.

Some people are inclined toward embellishment, but this is a mistake if used carelessly. It’s something to be alert to in the work environment where professional communication is needed. I’m not talking about meaningless corporate jargon, but those clumsy mistakes which diminish the quality of the message.

Here is a list of tautological words and phrases, grouped subjectively and unscientifically.

TAUTOLOGY IN TIME AND MOTION

  • Future plans

  • Pre-existing

  • Evolve over time

  • Follow on from

  • Past history

  • Previous history

  • Past experience

  • Previous experience

  • Lived experience

  • Current trend

  • Future prospects

  • Plan ahead

  • Advance planning

  • Forward planning

  • Prior planning

  • Pre-arrange

  • Pre-plan

  • Pre-prepare

  • During the course of

  • Return back

  • Revert back

  • Reflect back

  • Restore back

  • Report back

  • Repeat again

  • Reiterate again

  • Hitherto never

  • Pre-book

  • Pre-pay

  • Pre-order

  • Leading from the front

  • Ascend up

  • Descend down

TAUTOLOGY IN MOOD AND EMOTION

  • Sad misfortune

  • Temper tantrum

  • Hopeful optimism

  • Shout loudly

  • Whisper quietly

  • Over exaggerate

  • Stroll leisurely

  • Join with

  • Totally satisfied

  • Meaningless platitude

  • Struggle hard

TAUTOLOGY IN PEOPLE AND GROUPS

  • Local residents

  • Young children

  • Old-age pensioners

  • New recruits

  • Collaborate together

  • Group together

  • Gather together

  • Joint cooperation

  • Joint collaboration

TAUTOLOGY IN QUALITY AND CONDITIONS

  • Actual facts

  • Necessary requirement

  • Completely overrun

  • Completely devoid

  • Entirely empty

  • Absolutely essential

  • Absolutely necessary

  • Careful scrutiny

  • First priority

  • Top priority

  • Number one priority

  • Adequate enough

  • Sufficient enough

  • Other alternative

TAUTOLOGY IN EXPLANATION AND AGREEMENT

  • Short summary

  • Whether or not

  • The reason why

  • The reason is because

  • So-called ‘ — ’ [redundant quote marks]

  • Actively + any verb

  • Ask the question

  • United as one

  • Totally unanimous

  • Consensus of opinion

TAUTOLOGY IN DRAMATIC EVENTS

  • Crisis situation

  • Major disaster

  • Terrible tragedy

  • Armed gunman

  • Dead corpse

  • Strange anomaly

TAUTOLOGY IN ABBREVIATIONS

  • Please RSVP

  • PIN number

  • RAM memory

  • GPS system

  • ATM machine

TAUTOLOGY IN DESCRIPTIONS

  • Free gift

  • Personal belongings

  • New innovation

  • Dry desert

  • Barren wasteland

  • Frozen ice

  • £10 pounds

  • Evening sunset

  • Coiled spring

  • Dilapidated ruins

  • Modern state-of-the-art technology

TAUTOLOGY IN COMMON PHRASES

  • In my opinion I think

  • I personally

  • Either it is or it isn’t

  • It is what it is

  • To be or not to be

  • But nevertheless

  • First and foremost

  • Attach together

  • In close proximity

  • Far distance

  • Enter into

It’s wise to avoid most of these examples. They do sound wrong if one is alert to these things. However, some terms have become conveniently ubiquitous. Pre-order is far simpler than order online before the product is released. It seems pedantic to insist on dropping the unneeded pre- prefix in that case.

But pre- is generally the most egregious example of tautology you are likely to encounter. Next time you hear someone talk about a pre-planned event, ask: “What’s the difference between a pre-planned event and a planned one?” (Planning is always done in advance, of course; the pre- prefix is clearly redundant.)

Be alert to the unnecessary use of back as well; it is often paired with words beginning with re-, such as return and reply. The state of going back is usually implied in those opening two letters, so there is no need to append back to verbs of that nature. This error is sadly very common and should be eradicated.

Sometimes the tautology in a phrase works to its advantage, such as first and foremost. It sounds authentic, as does ask the question. But the acceptable examples are outweighed by the poor ones, so it’s a good habit to review your written work for tautological phrases or descriptions before putting your name to it.