SAT: Concision & Editing Cheat Sheet

The core ideas of SAT: Concision & Editing distilled into a single, scannable reference — perfect for review or quick lookup.

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Quick Reference

Redundancy

Using two or more words or phrases that convey the same meaning, making one of them unnecessary. Redundancy adds length without adding information.

Wordy Phrases and Their Concise Equivalents

Common multi-word expressions that can be replaced by a single word or shorter phrase without changing the meaning. The SAT frequently tests recognition of these patterns.

Eliminating Filler Words

Removing words that do not contribute to the sentence's meaning, such as 'basically,' 'actually,' 'really,' 'very,' 'quite,' and 'just' when they serve no purpose.

Sentence Combining

Merging two or more short sentences into a single, more efficient sentence using coordination, subordination, or participial phrases. This reduces repetition and improves flow.

Parallel Structure in Editing

When revising a sentence, maintaining consistent grammatical forms in lists, comparisons, and paired elements. Parallel structure is both a grammar rule and a concision tool, as non-parallel constructions often require extra words.

Active vs. Passive Voice for Concision

Active voice ('The researcher analyzed the data') is generally shorter and more direct than passive voice ('The data was analyzed by the researcher'). The SAT often tests whether students can identify when passive voice adds unnecessary words.

Avoiding Circular Definitions

A sentence that restates its own claim using different words without adding new information is circular. Concision editing removes the circular element.

Tightening Relative Clauses

Replacing wordy relative clauses ('who is,' 'that was,' 'which are') with more compact modifiers like adjectives, appositives, or participial phrases.

Removing Unnecessary Intensifiers

Words like 'very,' 'extremely,' 'incredibly,' and 'absolutely' often weaken rather than strengthen writing. Replacing them with a more precise word or simply deleting them improves concision.

The Shortest Correct Answer Principle

On SAT concision questions, the shortest answer that preserves the original meaning and maintains grammatical correctness is almost always correct. If a longer option adds no new information, it is likely wrong.

Key Terms at a Glance

Concision:Expressing ideas in the fewest words necessary without sacrificing clarity, meaning, or important nuance. The goal of concision is efficiency, not brevity for its own sake.

Redundancy:The use of two or more words or phrases that express the same idea, making one of them unnecessary.

Wordiness:Using more words than necessary to express an idea. Wordy writing is not necessarily wrong -- it is just inefficient.

Active Voice:A sentence construction where the subject performs the action. Generally more concise and direct than passive voice.

Passive Voice:A sentence construction where the subject receives the action. Often wordier than active voice and may obscure who is performing the action.

Nominalization:Converting a verb into a noun form, often making the sentence wordier. Example: 'decide' becomes 'make a decision,' 'analyze' becomes 'conduct an analysis.'

Appositive:A noun or noun phrase placed next to another noun to rename or describe it. Appositives are more concise than relative clauses for adding identifying information.

Throat-Clearing:An opening phrase that announces what the writer is about to say without adding content. Examples: 'It is worth noting that,' 'It goes without saying that.'

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