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 84 prisoners were housed in six cells" (New York Times). Make it "officials said 84 prisoners." An exception is at the start of sentences when 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 45 weeks was spent on the study" (London 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."