Tip: Eliminate Empty Phrases
Sentence: As rewarding as the incentives are, IT MUST BE ACKNOWLEDGED THAT they have created unnecessary competition among otherwise trusting team members.
Edited Sentence: As rewarding as the incentives are, they have created unnecessary competition among otherwise trusting team members.
Explanation: Empty phrases are groups of words that do not communicate anything. They seem to express an important thought, yet once removed, the emptiness of the words becomes evident.
In the edited sentence above, the empty phrase is “it must be acknowledged that.” The removal of the empty phrase in the edited sentence creates a concise, clear sentence without changing the meaning of the sentence. So, what did the phrase “it must be acknowledged that” add to the sentence? Nothing.
As a scholar, you must do your due diligence to eliminate empty phrases from your writing when editing your works. Or, you can work with an experienced editor to do so.