Dept. of Redundancy Dept.

Sorry to mention my new thesaurus yet again (I promise -- no more thesaurus for a week, at least), but one nice feature is the section on general writing guidelines. I've been writing for years -- not professionally, but still ... -- and by now I've developed my own writing style. It's hard now to think about changing/improving my method of writing, but I figure it might be worthwhile. Two writing sins that I am guilty of: I sometimes using a 50-cent word when a 5-cent word would do and I sometimes get a tad redundant (especially when those 50-cent words start flowing). As I am trying to cut down on my redundancy addiction (my sesquipedalian (look it up) nature will have to wait), I now tend to notice redundant statements more frequently. Today's Decatur Daily has a doozy.

The story is about a man who was denied parole. He was convicted of killing his wife in 1984 and then burying her beneath a freshly dug fish pond in his back yard. [Actually, the story says he was "convicted of killing his wife in 1984 and burying her body ...", but I find BODY redundant.] The best example of redundancy, though, is in the 3rd paragraph:

Unless he is paroled, his sentence is 999 years, 99 months and 99 days, which means he will die in prison.

Even before starting my redundancy vigilance, I'd have recognized the needlessness of that last phrase. His sentence is 999 years, 99 months, and 99 days! Unless his name is Methuselah, OF COURSE he will die in prison if not paroled!

Just thought that was kind of funny. Not much to say today as I am WAY behind on grading stats homework sets.