Clear and concise questions call on you to marshal your skills with sentence structure in ways similar to some other CLT questions. In addition, however, they require you to recognize the virtue of conciseness: direct phrasing that strives for clarity and avoids wordiness. With this priority, it would be easy to conclude that the right answer to such questions is always the shortest answer. Alas, it is not so simple; sometimes the shortest answer has a grammatical issue, or, more often, the shortest answer removes something necessary to the meaning of the sentence in context. We might even go so far as to suggest that the second-shortest answer is often best, but take this as a general idea prone to plenty of exceptions!
Approach Question
Should you leave the sentence below as it is or opt for one of the three alternatives listed in the answer choices?*
The reason why she was late was because of traffic.
A. NO CHANGE
B. She was late because of traffic.
C. She was late due to the fact that there was traffic.
D. The reason why traffic caused her lateness.
Whenever you encounter a sentence, clause, or phrase in the context of a “Clear and Concise” question, ask yourself whether the same idea could be conveyed in fewer words. In this example, you might that “the reason why” and “because of” are expressing the same idea, so it is likely that one of the answer choices will offer you a briefer way to say the same thing.
The other principle to keep in mind is that ordinarily, the main subject and verb of a sentence should be introduced as soon as possible. Otherwise, you are keeping the reader or hearer in suspense about the sentence is talking about, which can lead to confusion. The two answers that begin with “She was late …” are the most promising candidates because they make clear who the subject is and what her status is (lateness). But saying “due to the fact that there was traffic” is a very long-winded way of blaming traffic as the cause. Why not just say “because of traffic”? The latter is much better. Confirming our answer by noting that answer choice D doesn’t even constitute a complete sentence, we can confidently affirm that the answer is B.
Part 1: General Strategy
Eliminate redundancy.
Incorrect example: On a yearly basis, the store did over a million dollars in revenue annually.
Correct example: The store did over a million dollars in revenue annually.
Even better example: The store averaged over a million dollars in revenue per year.
Try this question now.
Should you leave the sentence below as it is or opt for one of the three alternatives listed in the answer choices?*
Doug always made sure to start with the produce section every time he went to the grocery store.
A. NO CHANGE
B. At the grocery store, Doug always started with the produce section.
C. At the grocery store, the first place Doug always went was the produce section.
D. Every time Doug went to the grocery store, he always started with the produce section.
(spoiler)
Finding the best answer here requires 1) assessing the length of the sentences to avoid wordiness and 2) being wary of redundancy in particular. To start with the second requirement, notice how the original sentence here is, in a subtle way, redundant: it includes both “always” and “every time”. If you have the first, you don’t need the second, and vice versa! So the original answer is eliminated. Not only so, but choice D can be taken out as well, as it has the same issue, albeit with the redundant elements in the opposite order.
Choices B and C start similarly, but if we’re looking to avoid wordiness, choice B looks better since it’s shorter. Indeed, choice C uses unnecessary phrases to convey the same idea. Further, choice B starts its main clause directly with the subject and verb, “Doug … started.” The answer is B.
Replace phrases with single words.
Non-concise example: At this point in time, the project is not yet completed.
Concise example: The project is incomplete.
Preserve meaning while reducing wordiness.
Non-concise example: The research paper was very long, but it was extremely thorough and covered every aspect of the topic.
Concise example: The research paper was thorough and comprehensive.
Too concise example:The paper was long. (Important detail is omitted.)
Try this question now.
Should you leave the sentence below as it is or opt for one of the three alternatives listed in the answer choices?*
The creation of a republic is not an easy thing; Plato wrote an entire book on the topic!.
A. NO CHANGE
B. The fact that Plato wrote a whole book about the creation of a republic is enduring proof of the fact that doing such a thing is far from easy.
C. Plato wrote The Republic about creating a republic…
D. Creating a republic is not easy; Plato wrote a whole book about it!.
(spoiler)
This sentence has two parts contributing to its meaning: the main idea about the difficulty of creating a republic and the illustration about Plato’s book. Since retaining the meaning requires keeping both parts, we can rule out choice C; it says nothing about the difficult (“not easy”) part. Among the other choices, we should once again have a preference for the shortest answer, which is choice D. This choice seems clearly better than the wordy choice B, but the original answer seems similar. There is a slight difference in that the original says “on the topic” and choice D says “about it.” Not much difference there. “Not easy” is better than “not an easy thing” as it’s more concise; that starts to push things in the direction of choice D, but to confirm, we can lean on the principle that all other things being equal, the shorter answer is better. The answer is D.
Make sure the answer you choose is stated clearly, with the subject and verb typically placed near the beginning of the sentence.
Incorrect example: With much trepidation, fear, and trembling, and having not hardly slept at all, I approached the final exam.
Correct example: I approached the final example with much trepidation, having hardly slept.
Should you leave the sentence below as it is or opt for one of the three alternatives listed in the answer choices?*
No matter how much I try to deflect, my mother can always home in on the real issue.
A. NO CHANGE
B. My mother has an uncanny ability to zero in on what’s really going on, even when I do everything in my power to throw her off the scent…
C. Even when I do my best to confuse her, my mother is always able to hone in on the core problem.
D. My mother has a crazy ability when it comes to me.
(spoiler)
By now you have likely picked up on the whole “shorter is better” thing, which would seem to cast suspicion on choices B and C. Those two choices are indeed inferior to the right answer, but there is something else slightly off about choice C: “hone in.” Despite what many say, the correct phrase is “home in,” not “hone in.” To “hone” is to sharpen or enhance something.
So, back to the main point. Choice D is the shortest answer, even shorter than the original, but notice what it’s missing: unlike the other sentences, it doesn’t explain what Mom’s uncanny ability is. That takes most of the life out of the sentence! The original maintains the important gist and sounds well phrased. The answer is NO CHANGE.
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