5.11 (p.100) How to use a computer to check for unnecessary repetition.

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Repeating words is not necessarily a bad thing; using key terms may help you achieve coherence in your essay. Overuse of nonessential words can be distracting though. For example, the following graphic shows a passage from an essay on the film Shane. The word "foil"when analyzing the characters Shane and Starrett is used too often.

Foil

Once you've found all the places you've used a word, you can then determine whether or not you want to revise. The following passage, highlighted in blue, was used to replace the word "foil" in this passage.

Revised Passage

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