27:
97:
248:
Elegant variation can reduce clarity and introduce confusion. For example, it can create the impression that the identity of the person or thing being referenced is unknown. It makes the reader work harder to keep track of who or what is being discussed, sometimes requiring them to reread text — or
175:
Elegant variation distracts the reader, removes clarity, and can introduce inadvertent humour or muddled metaphors. It can confuse readers who are unaware, for example, that the Pope is the Bishop of Rome. It fails to fix the real cause of repetitive prose, which is usually repeated
238:
Bubbles (born April 30, 1983) is a common chimpanzee once kept as a pet by the
American singer Michael Jackson, who bought him from a Texas research facility in the early 1980s. Bubbles frequently traveled with Jackson, whose attachment to him led to media
353:
Fifteen-year-old Paul McCartney met Lennon that July, and joined as a rhythm guitarist shortly after. In
February 1958, McCartney invited his friend George Harrison, also fifteen, to watch the band. Harrison auditioned for Lennon, impressing him with his
612:
This likely derives from a fear of repeating the word "Batman". But replacing the second mention with words such as "titular", "eponymous" or "title character" only adds redundancy. It goes without saying that the name Batman is in the title
345:
This isn't the clearest or most efficient way to provide that information. It requires the reader to work out who "the fifteen-year-old" refers to — made more difficult here as the preceding sentence says McCartney is also fifteen.
337:
Fifteen-year-old Paul McCartney met Lennon that July, and joined as a rhythm guitarist shortly after. In
February 1958, McCartney invited his friend George Harrison to watch the band.
755:
Similarly to "titular" and "eponymous", readers can tell when you're mentioning something you have previously mentioned, and it probably isn't important to point out. For example:
388:"The former" and "the latter" are rarely the best solution to repetition. They typically obscure prose more than they clarify, and can force the reader to reread the prose.
444:. As it stands, the sentence structure requires us to state the subjects (Sarah and Louise) twice. We already know who the subjects are, so this is repeated information.
293:
Who was the auxiliary percussionist? It was
Nastanovich himself – a fact mentioned several thousand words earlier in the article, so good luck if you missed that.
974:
This comes at the cost of obscuring the name of the novel. That's OK if the context suggests the film and novel share the name, as in the example above.
412:(2005), was influenced by Kraftwerk, Depeche Mode and Johnny Cash. The song "Til Kingdom Come" was written as a collaboration with Cash before he died.
234:(he / him / she / her / they / them / it). When a pronoun isn't clear, just use the original word. In 99% of cases, the result is perfectly natural:
349:
It's no great riddle, but it obfuscates information to no advantage. It's simpler and clearer to introduce information in a logical, sequential way:
998:
example: "The territory of the municipality of Grado extends between the mouth of the Isonzo and the
Adriatic Sea and the lagoon of the same name."
309:
is the third studio album by
American singer-songwriter Joanna Newsom, released on February 23, 2010 via Drag City as the official follow-up to
853:
function is to avoid repeating the original term, and so is uncomfortably close to actually writing "I am avoiding repeating the name here".
1031:
943:
Alternatively, including "the" in the link text makes "the novel" unambiguous, especially when combined with the year of publication, per
499:
This seems to have been absorbed from press releases and video game journalism (reliable sources of bad writing). It's an example of the
199:
Elegant variation is often used on
Knowledge in reference to individuals – for example, writing "the director" instead of "Spielberg".
42:
It contains the advice or opinions of one or more
Knowledge contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of
538:
Why be imprecise? Be clear and direct and write "game", "film", etc instead of "title". Or remove the word entirely where possible:
396:(2005), was influenced by Kraftwerk, Depeche Mode and Johnny Cash. The song "Til Kingdom Come" was written as a collaboration with
230:
This presumably emerges from an attempt to avoid repetition. But the
English language already has a solution for repetitive nouns:
478:
The word "title" is sometimes used as a synonym for media such as movies, magazines, and particularly video games. For example:
324:
1050:
210:
Bubbles (born April 30, 1983) is a common chimpanzee once kept as a pet by the
American singer Michael Jackson, who bought
984:
is a 2015 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Matt Damon. Drew Goddard adapted the screenplay from
620:"Eponymous" can reduce clarity. Consider various company founders and the stores carrying their names: Benjamin Altman /
500:
503:– in other words, copying the writing style of specialist sources without considering Knowledge's general readership.
43:
285:
Nastanovich also later recalled an awkward incident where it became apparent that Godrich did not know the name of
746:
The Standing Committee is the highest organ of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) when the
732:
The Standing Committee is the highest organ of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) when the
270:
talks about how much of the film arose from his feeling that movies are like dreams or drug-induced reveries.
47:
995:
188:
549:
741:
As with other cases of elegant variation, it's better to just write the word again, or use a pronoun:
810:
In articles about different works with the same title, it's common to wikilink using something like
329:
Elegant variation is sometimes used to add information. For example, the following passage from the
986:
801:
718:
647:
When used with wikilinks, terms such as "eponymous" make the wikilink destination less clear (see
794:
416:
Where repeating the name feels repetitive, the cause is usually inefficient syntax. For example:
79:
379:
372:
1011:
963:
924:
897:
885:
834:
577:
469:
570:
621:
644:. The names of these companies can't be predicted from the founders' names, nor vice versa.
586:
Readers can see when a word or phrase is in a title or phrase. We don't need to tell them.
955:
915:
877:
826:
563:
274:
Scorsese, De Palma, and Schrader are all directors – so which director does this refer to?
203:
65:
8:
648:
72:
936:
It may be clunky, but it beats "of the same name", which tries to mask clunkiness with
786:
710:
555:
461:
364:
57:
111:
50:. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints.
697:
687:
629:
206:, a pet chimpanzee once owned by Michael Jackson. The elegant variation is bolded:
35:
959:
944:
919:
881:
830:
641:
278:
262:
According to Scorsese, it was Brian De Palma who introduced him to Schrader. In
194:
662:
597:
432:
Sarah and Louise went to a supermarket, where Sarah bought Louise an ice cream.
298:
1044:
1002:"same name"? Is it the Grado Lagoon? The Isonzo Lagoon? The Adriatic Lagoon?
977:
Alternatively, we could use two sentences to reduce the sense of repetition.
856:
It adds no information — if the title is the same, then readers can see that.
277:
The following example of elegant variation, from the article about the band
967:
929:
889:
838:
428:
Without "the latter" and "the former", the sentence might feel repetitive:
165:
780:
184:. In other words, it is a case of treating the symptom and not the cause.
637:
254:
169:
1018:
666:
601:
704:
333:
article tells us that George Harrison was 15 when he met John Lennon:
1024:
670:
633:
358:
692:
682:
436:
This is an example of how repetition usually emerges from repeated
231:
156:
glove had a large black stain, causing great embarrassment to the
105:
Don't overuse synonyms — they distract readers and remove clarity.
625:
330:
115:
506:"Title" removes information and creates ambiguity. For example:
420:
Sarah and Louise went to a supermarket, where the former bought
674:
605:
296:
This was once the lead sentence of the article about the album
1027:, a Twitter account documenting examples of elegant variation
404:
In most cases, just repeating the name is clean and natural:
114:
is the attempt to relieve repetition by replacing words with
896:
This isn't ideal, because it isn't clear where the wikilink
1037:
about elegant variation that mentions this Knowledge essay
1005:
202:
Here's a passage from an old version of the article about
727:
A word sometimes used to avoid repetition. For example:
243:
341:
auditioned for Lennon, impressing him with his playing.
130:
about 4 pm. Two firefighters were injured battling the
534:
games, films, comics or some combination of all three.
1014:, discussing the overuse and abuse of "respectively".
869:
The solution isn't necessarily obvious. For example:
862:
It can make it less clear what is being referred to.
455:
191:
instead, prose becomes clearer and simpler overall.
451:
At a supermarket, Sarah bought Louise an ice cream.
252:Consider this excerpt from the article on the film
214:from a Texas research facility in the early 1980s.
1042:
771:Huayllabamba may also refer to the capitals of
760:Huayllabamba may also refer to the capitals of
517:could mean that Sega announced the game or the
313:highly acclaimed second studio release, 2006's
281:, makes the sentence difficult to comprehend:
447:The solution is to restructure the sentence:
149:raised his hand, it became apparent that the
859:It's often longer than the term it replaces.
122:"Three homes were destroyed by a five-alarm
325:Using elegant variation to add information
904:, or the article about novels generally?
907:Writing out the name in full is clear:
845:There are numerous problems with this:
1043:
750:is not convened in a plenary session.
736:is not convened in a plenary session.
91:
21:
16:Overusing synonyms confuses readers
13:
681:And there's no excuse at all for "
187:By removing elegant variation and
126:yesterday. Neighbors reported the
48:thoroughly vetted by the community
44:Knowledge's policies or guidelines
14:
1062:
849:It's extremely conspicuous — its
685:and their eponymous debut album,
168:coined "elegant variation" as an
38:on pitfalls in fixing repetition.
95:
25:
550:Titular, self-titled, eponymous
145:waved from the balcony. As the
1:
1051:Knowledge essays about style
990:, a 2011 novel by Andy Weir.
762:the aforementioned districts
7:
958:directed and co-written by
918:directed and co-written by
880:directed and co-written by
835:2000 novel of the same name
829:directed and co-written by
606:titular DC Comics character
287:the auxiliary percussionist
10:
1067:
922:, based on the 2000 novel
784:
708:
553:
459:
362:
321:... So who's the harpist?
164:The English lexicographer
55:
19:Essay on editing Knowledge
511:Sega announced the title
501:specialized style fallacy
218:frequently traveled with
589:Consider this sentence:
408:Coldplay's third album,
392:Coldplay's third album,
103:This page in a nutshell:
695:and their debut album,
249:forcing them to guess.
134:. Officials called the
992:
972:
934:
894:
843:
679:
610:
453:
434:
426:
414:
402:
356:
343:
319:
291:
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241:
228:
222:, whose attachment to
979:
949:
909:
871:
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656:
654:Be clear and direct:
591:
449:
430:
418:
406:
390:
351:
335:
304:
283:
260:
236:
226:led to media mockery.
208:
46:, as it has not been
956:science fiction film
916:science fiction film
878:science fiction film
827:science fiction film
628:; Barney Pressman /
484:Sonic the Hedgehog 3
339:The fifteen-year-old
264:Scorsese on Scorsese
734:aforementioned body
661:is a 1992 American
632:; John Nordstrom /
596:is a 1992 American
530:might refer to the
195:People (and chimps)
189:using plain English
172:of this strategy.
532:Sonic the Hedgehog
526:Sonic the Hedgehog
492:Sonic the Hedgehog
486:is the third main
900:leads: the novel
802:WP:OFTHESAMETITLE
719:WP:AFOREMENTIONED
640:; Kenneth Wood /
624:; Maxwell Kohl /
112:Elegant variation
109:
108:
90:
89:
1058:
817:
813:
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795:WP:OFTHESAMENAME
781:Of the same name
765:
737:
721:
580:
573:
566:
529:
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472:
382:
375:
170:ironic criticism
155:
99:
98:
92:
82:
80:WP:SECONDMENTION
75:
68:
29:
28:
22:
1066:
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1061:
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1059:
1057:
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1041:
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1025:Second Mentions
1021:
1019:Further reading
1012:WP:Respectively
1008:
960:Jonathan Glazer
945:MOS:LINKCLARITY
920:Jonathan Glazer
884:, based on the
882:Jonathan Glazer
833:, based on the
831:Jonathan Glazer
818:. For example:
815:
811:
808:
807:
800:
793:
789:
783:
773:those districts
759:
731:
725:
724:
717:
713:
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669:, based on the
636:; Sam Walton /
604:, based on the
584:
583:
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569:
562:
558:
552:
540:Sega announced
524:
510:
482:
476:
475:
468:
464:
458:
440:, not repeated
400:before he died.
386:
385:
380:WP:LATTERFORMER
378:
373:WP:FORMERLATTER
371:
367:
361:
327:
246:
197:
180:, not repeated
153:
147:Supreme Pontiff
118:. For example:
96:
86:
85:
78:
71:
64:
60:
52:
51:
26:
20:
17:
12:
11:
5:
1064:
1054:
1053:
1039:
1038:
1028:
1020:
1017:
1016:
1015:
1007:
1004:
964:the 2000 novel
952:Under the Skin
925:Under the Skin
912:Under the Skin
902:Under the Skin
874:Under the Skin
867:
866:
865:It's a cliche.
863:
860:
857:
854:
823:Under the Skin
806:
805:
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785:
782:
779:
778:
777:
767:
766:
753:
752:
739:
738:
723:
722:
714:
709:
706:
705:Aforementioned
703:
663:superhero film
659:Batman Returns
615:Batman Returns
598:superhero film
594:Batman Returns
582:
581:
578:WP:SELF-TITLED
574:
567:
559:
554:
551:
548:
536:
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522:
497:
496:
474:
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470:WP:ELEVARTITLE
465:
460:
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384:
383:
376:
368:
363:
360:
357:
326:
323:
307:Have One on Me
299:Have One on Me
245:
242:
196:
193:
162:
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158:Bishop of Rome
139:
107:
106:
100:
88:
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61:
56:
53:
41:
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32:
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18:
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9:
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3:
2:
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1029:
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997:
994:Now consider
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712:
702:
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691:". Just say "
690:
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571:WP:SELFTITLED
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424:an ice cream.
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359:Former/latter
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311:the harpist's
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24:
23:
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999:
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968:Michel Faber
951:
950:
942:
940:clunkiness.
937:
935:
930:Michel Faber
923:
911:
910:
906:
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895:
890:Michel Faber
873:
872:
868:
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844:
839:Michel Faber
822:
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809:
772:
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754:
747:
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696:
686:
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665:directed by
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649:WP:EASTEREGG
646:
619:
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611:
600:directed by
593:
592:
588:
585:
542:Sonic Colors
541:
539:
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521:of the game.
518:
513:Sonic Colors
512:
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268:the director
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186:
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166:H. W. Fowler
163:
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146:
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138:suspicious."
135:
131:
127:
123:
110:
102:
33:
987:The Martian
982:The Martian
962:, based on
438:information
255:Taxi Driver
212:the primate
178:information
151:Holy Father
34:This is an
1033:New Yorker
954:is a 2013
914:is a 2013
876:is a 2013
825:is a 2013
673:character
667:Tim Burton
638:Sam's Club
602:Tim Burton
564:WP:TITULAR
422:the latter
398:the latter
224:the animal
220:the singer
216:The animal
787:Shortcuts
671:DC Comics
634:Nordstrom
622:B. Altman
556:Shortcuts
365:Shortcuts
143:Pope Paul
66:WP:ELEVAR
58:Shortcuts
1045:Category
1006:See also
711:Shortcut
698:The Cars
693:the Cars
688:The Cars
683:the Cars
462:Shortcut
354:playing.
279:Pavement
239:mockery.
232:pronouns
116:synonyms
73:WP:ELVAR
1035:article
642:Kenwood
630:Barneys
544:in 2010
515:in 2010
494:series.
490:in the
410:X&Y
394:X&Y
331:Beatles
244:Clarity
204:Bubbles
132:inferno
675:Batman
626:Kohl's
528:titles
1000:Which
938:worse
898:novel
886:novel
519:title
488:title
456:Title
442:words
182:words
128:blaze
36:essay
996:this
851:only
748:CCDI
124:fire
966:by
928:by
888:by
837:by
814:or
701:".
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1030:A
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315:Ys
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932:.
892:.
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816:]
812:]
775:.
764:.
677:.
608:.
317:.
289:.
141:"
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