writers.com tips:

Redundancies

Avoid tautology! Tautology is the use of words that duplicate the meaning of a word or words already used, as in:

basic principles
hollow tube
mutual cooperation
personal opinion
exactly equal
consensus of opinion
still continues
past memories
various differences
each individual
true facts
important essentials
future plans
terrible tragedy
end result
final outcome
free gift
past history
unexpected surprise
sudden crisis

(An expression that's not redundant as much as it is illogical is "very unique." Since unique means "one of a kind," adding any modifier of degree -- very, so, especially, somewhat, extremely, etc. -- is illogical.)

Redundant categories, like these, should also be avoided:

large in size
often times
of a bright color
heavy in weight
period in time
round in shape
at an early time
economics field
honest in character
of an uncertain condition
in a confused state
unusual in nature
extreme in degree
of a strange type

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