Ways to change your word count without changing your text’s meaning

These methods work to lower or increase your word count by a little bit; major changes usually require edits to content. Note: if a change would alter the meaning or flow of the passage substantially and undesirably, you might not want to implement it (unless you’re really desperate).

• “the X of Y” ⇄ “Y’s X”, “the Y X” (but beware noun stacks!)
• “the goal of the opposition” ⇄ “the opposition’s goal”
• “the writers of the report” ⇄ “the report’s writers”
• “makes X Y” ⇄ “Y-izes X” (if there is already a word that means “Y-izes”—this is easier in Esperanto)
• “makes the argument stronger” ⇄ “strengthens the argument”
• “made the idea a reality” ⇄ “realized the idea”
• “was able to X” ⇄ “X-ed” or “could X”
• “were able to influence” ⇄ “influenced”
• note: only use replace “was able to do X” with “X-ed” when you’re saying that Z was able to do X and actually did X; if Z was able to do X but didn’t, this change alters meaning substantially
• “were able to influence” ⇄ “could influence”
• “are able to win a majority” ⇄ “can win a majority”
• “not only X but also Y” ⇄ “both X and Y”
• “an objector not only to the hydrogen bomb but also to nuclear weapons in general” ⇄ an objector to both the hydrogen bomb (specifically) and nuclear weapons in general”
• “information not only about the atomic bomb but also about the hydrogen bomb” ⇄ “information both about the atomic bomb and about the hydrogen bomb” ⇄ “information about both the atomic bomb and the hydrogen bomb”
• note: unfortunately, this does change the meaning slightly, but often imperceptibly