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10.6 Reduce wordy adverbial phrases to adverbs

English has good adverbs for almost all situations.

Wordy Phrase Concise Expression
on an annual basis yearly
in a professional manner professionally
in a short period of time quickly
on an as-needed basis as needed
in a competent fashion competently 
on a going-forward basis hereafter


Examples

1. Input consists of the Change Activity Extract file generated by TRACER on a daily basis and accumulated by NQ11 over a period of one week.

Rewrite: Input consists of the Change Activity Extract file generated by TRACER daily and accumulated by NQ11 weekly.

2. If dates are discussed and agreed upon, the customer will be more likely to complete the forms in a timely manner resulting in quicker timeframes and less need for follow up.

Rewrite: If dates are discussed and agreed upon, the customer will be more likely to complete the forms promptly resulting in quicker resolutions and less need for follow up.

3. It affects the team in a negative fashion when people avoid their duties and make someone else responsible for completing that task.

Rewrite: It undermines the team when people avoid their duties and make someone else responsible for completing that task.

 

Courtesy of John Mercer Associates, www.MercerWriting.com

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