Question

The audience rose up and graciously applauded the guest speaker with a standing ovation.

What is the best way to revise this sentence to eliminate wordiness?
The audience rose and graciously applauded the guest speaker.
The audience rose and graciously gave the guest speaker a standing ovation.
Applauding the guest speaker with a standing ovation, the audience rose.
The sentence is correct as written.

Answer 1

"The audience rose and graciously applauded the guest speaker."

Reason: It removes the redundant "up" and the awkward phrase "with a standing ovation," tightening the sentence. (Even more concise: "The audience gave the guest speaker a standing ovation.")