How to properly write sentence with double words

I commonly come across sentences where I have to write the same word twice such as,

This is what I've been looking for for a long time.

and in these cases I just try to rewrite the sentence to avoid this.

Is it OK to write sentences like these?

How do you properly write these types of sentences?

Answer

It is okay, but can be potentially confusing/surprising for some people.

In this particular sentence, you can do "I've been looking for this for a long time" or "For a long time, this is what I've been looking for".

Comments

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