Redundancy Riddle

Worksheet Description

This worksheet tackles the concept of tautology, a stylistic quirk in the English language where the same thing is expressed multiple times using different words. It presents a series of sentences, each containing a tautological phrase, and tasks the student with identifying these redundancies. The examples range from simple, everyday statements to more complex sentences, illustrating the varied contexts in which tautologies can occur. Students are encouraged to think critically about language use and to recognize when statements are unnecessarily wordy.

The educational goal of this worksheet is to enhance students’ linguistic awareness, particularly in identifying tautologies within sentences. It teaches students to be more discerning readers and more precise writers by understanding where tautologies may inadvertently creep into language. The activity develops critical thinking skills as students must evaluate each sentence to find the redundancy. By completing this worksheet, students will be better equipped to avoid tautology in their own writing, leading to clearer and more efficient communication.