The wordy definition: The situation of wordiness is one in which writers attempt to utilize several words or extravagant words in the place of a few, well-chosen, concise, and less ambiguous words. This results in unnecessary confusion and annoyance on the part of the reader.
The clearer definition: Wordiness means "using more words than necessary to express thought" (Merriam-Webster's 1363). Readers find wordy papers difficult to follow.
1 Wordiness is a result of idea generation. Most people write wordy sentences and paragraphs when they are writing early drafts. In final drafts, however, writers need to trim those wordy passages.
2 Many people write wordy papers because they are trying to make their ideas sound important by using long words and intricate sentences. They think that their writing must be complicated to seem professional. But although these writers are trying to impress their readers, they often end up confusing them. The best writing is clear, concise, and easy to understand. Your ideas are much more impressive when your reader does not have to fight to understand you.
3 When a writer can't find the "perfect" word, s/he often ends up putting a long phrase in its place. Some wordiness, then, is the result of a writer's frustration at not being able to find that perfect word.
4 Finally, passive sentences and other constructions that hide the subject are often wordy. For example, the passive sentence "The cat was eaten by the dog" has many more words than the active sentence "The dog ate the cat." One passive sentence is OK; a paper full of passive sentences is full of extra words.
1 Revise! Don't be afraid of wordiness in drafts. Write down what you need to write down at first. Then, in revision, go through your paper carefully, cutting unnecessary sentences, phrases, and words.
2 Have confidence in your ideas. You don't need to make them sound more complex than they are. Say what you mean completely but concisely; your readers will thank you!
3 Write out loud! That is, say what you're writing out loud as you write it. Most people don't speak in a wordy way, so if you can say what you mean, transfer it directly on to the page or screen. Sometimes it's easier to find that "perfect" word by talking through several choices.
4 Avoid passive constructions. You can write a passive sentence down and then change it. Find the person or thing in the sentence that is doing the action and make it the subject. For example, the thing doing the acting in the sentence "The cat was eaten by the dog" is the dog. Make "the dog" the subject: "The dog ate the cat."
5 Use active verbs rather than forms of "to be." For example, change "It is difficult in situations when every sentence in a paper is marked 'wordy'" to "Students panic when their teachers mark every sentence in a paper as wordy."