Is wordiness really a grammar mistake?

No. A wordy sentence can be perfectly grammatical. It is a style problem, and one that teachers mark all the time in middle school essays. The standard, L.7.3.a, asks students to recognize it and cut it.

What if my child cuts a different word?

Check the meaning. In return back, cutting back keeps the meaning and cutting return loses it. Every sentence on this sheet has one extra piece, and the key shows the sentence with just that piece gone.

Why is there no multiple choice version?

Picking the tight sentence from a list is easy. Writing it is the skill that shows up in essays, so every item is a rewrite.

7th grade wordiness and redundancy

7th grade wordiness and redundancy worksheets

Redundancy means saying the same thing twice in a few words: return back, mix together, gray in color. Seventh graders find the extra words and write the sentence again without them. That is the concise writing CCSS L.7.3.a asks for.

Free printable PDF worksheet, aligned to Common Core L.7.3.a.

Each print is a different sheet with its own answer key. You don't need to sign up.

The kind of sentences you'll fix

Rewrite each sentence without the words that repeat an idea. Keep every word that adds meaning.

The two programs merged together into one app.
Fixed: The two programs merged into one app.
The canyon walls look red in color at sunset.
Each book report must be written in the student’s own personal words.

Every print pulls a new set of sentences at this level, so a make-up test or a second sibling gets a different mix.

What's on a 7th grade sheet

7th grade sheets draw from 47 sentences, 8 to a page. None of these sentences are on 8th grade sheets. 8th grade sheets print 7 to a page.

A few of the sentences, as the answer key corrects them:

Historians still debate the facts about the lost colony.
The new bridge will connect the two halves of town.
My family’s summer picnic is an annual event.

Fix it. Rewrite each sentence without the words that repeat an idea. Keep every word that adds meaning. 8 sentences to fix per page.

Every version prints on US Letter or A4, with its answer key on the last page.

How to teach this

Give students one question for every word they want to cut: does another word in the sentence already say this? Return means go back, so back goes. Gray is a color, so in color goes. The rewrites on this sheet only delete, so if a student adds a word or swaps one in, send them back to the question. After the sheet, a short list of the usual suspects on the wall (return back, gray in color, free gift, mix together) does more than any rule.

Watch for: The goal is not the shortest sentence. The rock was gray with white streaks has nothing to cut. The rock was gray in color does. Cut the word that repeats, not the one that matters. Mixed together keeps mixed, because together is already inside it. Some pairs only look doubled. Free time, advance guard, and past tense are ordinary phrases. The test is whether one word already says what the other one adds.

Common questions about 7th grade wordiness and redundancy

Is wordiness really a grammar mistake?: No. A wordy sentence can be perfectly grammatical. It is a style problem, and one that teachers mark all the time in middle school essays. The standard, L.7.3.a, asks students to recognize it and cut it.
What if my child cuts a different word?: Check the meaning. In return back, cutting back keeps the meaning and cutting return loses it. Every sentence on this sheet has one extra piece, and the key shows the sentence with just that piece gone.
Why is there no multiple choice version?: Picking the tight sentence from a list is easy. Writing it is the skill that shows up in essays, so every item is a rewrite.

Related worksheets

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Aligned to Common Core L.7.3.a. Reviewed by the One more sheet team. Content version 241, updated September 2026.

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