SAT Concision: Quick Guide | The Complete SAT Course - Class 10 PDF Download

What is concision? 

Concision involves eliminating redundancy, which is the unnecessary repetition and wordiness in writing. Essentially, concision means avoiding using two words that convey the same meaning.

Example

Incorrect:

• My daughter thinks that broccoli tastes terrible and bad.

Correct:

• My daughter thinks that broccoli tastes terrible.

Explanation: "Terrible" and "bad" mean the same thing here, so we don't need to use both words.

What's on the test?

During the official SAT exam, you can expect to encounter 3-5 questions that test your ability to identify and correct redundancy in underlined parts of sentences. Concision errors commonly occur in the following situations:

1. Compound verb phrases Example:

Incorrect

• The top spun and twirled on the table.

Correct

• The top spun on the table.

Explanation: “Spun” and “twirled” mean the same thing, so it’s redundant to use both.

2. Listed adjectives Example:

Incorrect

• The Grand Canyon is large, beautiful, and enormous.

Correct

• The Grand Canyon is beautiful and enormous.

Explanation: “Large” and “enormous” mean the same thing, so it’s redundant to use both.

3. Listed adverbs Example:

Incorrect

• The dog quickly ran speedily into the house.

Correct

• The dog ran speedily into the house.
• The dog quickly ran into the house.

Explanation: “Speedily” and “quickly” mean the same thing, so it’s redundant to use both.

4. Implied descriptors Example

Incorrect

• Coniferous and deciduous trees have several varied differences.

Correct

• Coniferous and deciduous trees have several differences.

Explanation: Because “differences” are variations by definition, it’s redundant to say “varied differences”.

Tips and strategies

Here are some useful tips for identifying and correcting concision errors on the SAT Reading test:

• Look for repetition in the underlined part of the sentence or surrounding text. Repeating the same information can create redundancy and is often a sign of concision errors.
• Generally, the shortest answer choice is the best choice when dealing with concision questions. Shorter options may eliminate unnecessary words that are present in the longer choices.
• Remember that using fewer words is usually better. If a sentence can be expressed in fewer words without changing its meaning, it is likely more concise and effective.

Example:

Incorrect

• After having waited for six weeks of time, Jacintha received her passport in the mail.

Correct

• After six weeks, Jacintha received her passport in the mail.