- Mai Duc Nguyen
IELTS Vocabulary Tips – Improving Conciseness in Academic Writing

In this article, I would like to share common mistakes of conciseness that IELTS candidates often make in their Writing tests and how to improve them.
1. Because of the fact that
Example: Because of the fact that the student didn’t finish his homework, he failed his final exam.
Improved: Because the student didn’t finish his homework, he failed his final exam.
2. Be of the opinion that
Example: I am strongly of the opinion that more public schools and hospitals should be built in this area.
Improved: I (strongly) believe that more public schools and hospitals should be built in this area.
3. For the purpose of
Example: The government introduced the policy for the purpose of creating more jobs.
Improved: The government introduced the policy (in order) to create more jobs.
4. It can be seen as a good idea
Example: It can be seen as a good idea for employees to share ideas frequently with each other.
Improved: Employees should share ideas frequently with each other.
5. In a … manner/ way
Example: Employees in this company are required to work in a responsible manner.
Improved: Employees in this company are required to work responsibly.
6. What I mean to say is that
Example: What I mean to say is that businesses should not harm the natural environment during their operations.
Improved: Businesses should not harm the natural environment during their operations.
7. It can be easily seen/ It is clear from the graph that
Example: It can be easily seen from the graph that China will replace the USA as the world’s most powerful economy in less than 20 years.
Improved: The graph shows that China will replace the USA as the world’s most powerful economy in less than 20 years.
8. Had the appearance of
Example: The business proposals had the appearance of having been neglected.
Improved: The business proposals appeared to have been neglected.
9. By means of
Example: We travel by means of car.
Improved: We travel by car.
Even better: We drive.
This article was originally written by Mai Duc Nguyen on VnExpress, the world’s most read Vietnamese newspaper, at: https://vnexpress.net/nhung-kieu-dien-dat-dai-dong-khong-nen-co-trong-bai-luan-ielts-3701646.html
Follow us on Facebook here and Twitter here. Have a question about IELTS? Please contact us here.
#ieltsvocabulary #ieltstips #conciseness #ieltswriting #academicwriting