sum total, total

Redundancies are words that unnecessarily repeat information. Because both sum and total refer to a whole, the familiar expression sum total is redundant; write sum or total.

  • Redundant: Researchers are concerned that food requirements will exceed the sum total of food production.
  • Recommended: Researchers are concerned that food requirements will exceed the sum of food production (or total food production).

Copyright notice for Writing Tips Plus

© His Majesty the King in Right of Canada, represented by the Minister of Public Services and Procurement
A tool created and made available online by the Translation Bureau, Public Services and Procurement Canada

Search by related themes

Want to learn more about a theme discussed on this page? Click on a link below to see all the pages on the Language Portal of Canada that relate to the theme you selected. The search results will be displayed in Language Navigator.