Avoid overuse of common cliches in your writing

One of the first steps in avoiding overuse of common cliches in your writing is to first learn to identify them. We get so used to hearing them in our daily conversation that we sometimes forget that they make our writing dry and boring.

Here are some examples of overused phrases or cliches and what you might say instead:

“Everyday Life” – This is a common cliche that can be completely eliminated in most cases. You can also remedy this by being more specific. Daily life can vary depending on who you are and where you are in life. Talk directly and specifically with who you are talking to.

“In today’s society”: you can remove this with a simple “today” or “currently

“Pros and Cons”: Instead, try to use the pros and cons or perhaps the costs and benefits.

Some other types of cliche phrases that appear frequently in article writing include:

All walks of life

Writing on the wall

Winds of change

Hook, line and lead

The calm before the storm

Cut it in the bud / pinch it in the bud

Sticks out like a sore thumb

Jumps and jumps

Biting the bite

Sleeping dog lie

Run for the hills

Devil’s job

Avoid it like the plague

The future depends on it

Slippery slope

Bane’s existence

These phrases are often used as a method to illustrate a point. Since they are well known sentences, we think it will be easier to make our point by using them. The problem with this is twofold: First, you’ve lost an entire audience to anyone who doesn’t know what these phrases are. Second, you are not finding a new, unique, or interesting way to say what you want to express. There is nothing creative about reusing an old cliche over and over again.

There are so many great words out there and so many great ways to use them that you’ll want to challenge yourself to avoid these common cliches and find new ways to express your point of view. A good exercise to help you do this is to write freely for a certain period of time and then read what you have written. Print it out and highlight cliché or overused sentences so that you can really make a point to notice and avoid them in the future. This will help you reduce the amount of clichés you use from now on and your writing will be more solid and interesting.

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