This comic?
Funny.
Using this kind of logic in your writing?
Still funny, but not good.
Tautology, which is basically the act of stating the same idea twice in two different ways, shows up all the time in writing. While it presence won't kill you, looking for it and taking it out of your writing will definitely help your paper flow better.
In the writing world, tautology shows up most often in the form of phrases. Most of these phrases are used in everyday conversation, which is the reason they worm their way into papers so easily. Here's a small list I have complied for your benefit.
- Faster speed - The word "faster" means to move at an increased speed. Saying faster speed is like saying "I'm moving at a greater speed of speed." Saying faster works just fine.
- Cheapest price - This is similar to the previous one in that an item that is considered to be "cheapest" must already have a price. If someone wrote, "the lowest price price," all of us would know to take out that additional price; saying "cheapest price" is the same thing.
- Over-exaggerate - To exaggerate means to overstate. It is impossible to overstate and overstatement.
- Short summary - A summary is a shorter version of something. There is not such thing as a short shorter version of something.
- Free gift - Gifts do not cost anything.
- Planning ahead - Planning something assumes the future is taken into account. You cannot plan the past.
Tautology shows up in a broader form when writers try to fill space in a paper. First of all, if you're a good planner, than your paper will already have enough substance before you even start to write. If you're more like me, however, and you just throw words together till you end up with what you want, then look out for tautology. If your essay is shorter than it needs to be, add another point or broaden your thesis. Don't just add more sentences talking about the same subject matter. Chances are, one (or more) of them will simple say that same thing in a different way.
It's interesting to note that even experienced writers struggle with tautology. You'd be surprised at how many times I've seen it show up in college level writing. I can't stress enough how important it is to read through your paper looking for mistakes. Catching your mistakes on your draft can be funny; having your professor catch them, and therefore lower your grade, is not.
Anyway, here's the link to the comic so you can pass the image along to your friends in whatever annoying, chain-email format you desire.
