Strategies for shortening texts?

Question

When reviewing a text to shorten it beneath a fixed, externally imposed word limit, which strategies are available for shortening the text? What kind of shortening can be expected?The most obvious is to find passages whose purpose isn't essential, such as discursive explanations. But there are only a limited number of such opportunities for shortening a text.

Answer 1

The first thing I do is go through and shorten lengthy sentences, removing excess description and replacing phrases with single-worded synonyms. If I still have room to wean my paper down, I go through and delete unnecessary sentences - even if I think they add substance to the essay, sometimes you have to massacre the paper. After that, all you can do is combine sentences, remove transition words, and check for any places where you may be slightly repetitive.