HOW-TO-TORIAL

I Noticed That You’re Overusing That

This will teach you that the word ‘that’ is not that great

Dearest Writers,

I noticed that I have developed a pet peeve as an editor. I am writing to tell you that I need your help with that. I believe that with a little awareness this is something that can be improved that will make your writing that much stronger.

Did you notice that I used the word ‘that’ excessively in my opening paragraph? Did you feel that the word ‘that’ was necessary or that it added meaning to that introduction? Are all of these ‘thats’ driving you crazy?

I have found ‘that’ only rarely adds value to a statement. In fact I think for readers like me ‘that’ is distracting. Frequent use may give an impression the author doesn’t care much about editing. In some cases, the author simply hasn’t noticed their habit.

I, too, overused the word in question until someone called it to my attention. Now when I edit my work I notice ‘that’ has slipped in here and there. It takes diligence and a careful editing eye to find and delete those pesky four-letter words.

As an editor I implore you to join me in eradicating excessive use of ‘that’ for a cleaner, clearer reading experience. Don’t leave all the fun for your publication editors. Trust me, we have plenty of other uses for our ‘delete’ buttons and volunteer hours.

In the following examples is ‘that’ necessary?

1. I always knew that I had a calling / I always knew I had a calling
2. An idea that I do agree with / An idea I do agree with
3. Every blog post that I’ve posted / Every blog post I’ve posted
4. I think that I love you. / I think I love you.
5. I guess that I was wrong. / I guess I was wrong.

Appropriate use of ‘that’

1. Is that what you want to say?
2. Give that to me.
3. I heard about that in the newsletter.

Excessive use of ‘that’

1. I told her that I didn’t believe that he said that in public.
2. I think that he was lying when he told you that he didn’t do that.
3. Put that beer down, get off that couch, and start deleting unnecessary ‘thats’ that are clogging up your stories and making readers think that that’s the way that you want to express that thought.

Now you’ve had an overview and concrete examples. Use the four letter t-word sparingly and at least one editor will thank you. That’s a wrap!

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Rachael Ann Sand writes humor in an attempt to hang onto her sanity. She’s a former editor of MuddyUm and author of several how-to-torials. Laugh and learn along with our humor writing community!