total

   Three points to note:

   1. Total is redundant and should be deleted when what it is qualifying already contains the idea of a totality, as here: "[They] risk total annihilation at the hands of the massive Israeli forces now poised to strike at the gates of the city" (Washington Post).

   2. The expression a total of, though common, is also generally superfluous: "County officials said a total of eighty-four prisoners were housed in six cells" (New York Times). Make it "officials said eighty-four prisoners." An exception is at the start of sentences, where it is desirable to avoid spelling out a large number, as in "A total of 2,112 sailors were aboard" instead of "Two thousand one hundred and twelve sailors were aboard."

   3. "A total of forty-five weeks was spent on the study" (Times) is wrong. As with a number of and the number of the rule is to make it "the total of. . . was," but "a total of. . . were."