Shorten Necessary it … that Phrases

In contrast to the previous section, where unnecessary it … that phrases introduce background information, some it … that phrases serve a purpose and may be shortened instead of deleted.

1 There are no vessels in the cornea, and so it can be assumed that the oxygen supply of its epithelium is poor.

2 Since there are no vessels in the cornea, a poor oxygen supply of its epithelium is assumed/expected.

Exercises — Shorten Necessary it … that phrases

Consider the it … that phrases in table Table tbl-itThatReplace and the example sentences below. What purpose do they serve and what are some alternatives?

  • It is interesting to note that our model accurately predicts disease outcome.
  • However, it should be mentioned that similar results have been obtained in other cases.
  • It has been suggested that these peptides increase motivation, attention, and arousal.
  • It is often the case that automatically extracted metadata is incorrect.
Purpose Instead of … Use…
Untested hypothesis It can be assumed that assume, expect
It is interesting to note that …
It should be noted that …
It should be mentioned that …
It should be emphasized that …
It should be pointed out that …
It is possible that …
It has been suggested that …
It has been speculated that …
It is often the case that …
Table 1: Replace necessary it … that phrases with shorter phrases.