Words to avoid in academic writing: cliches, jargon, fillers, and more

When writing academic papers, such as theses, research papers, dissertations, and essays, word choice is important. Conversational phrases are inappropriate in an academic text. Awareness of the words to avoid may help you get higher grades, along with proper essay format, excellent content, and impeccable grammar.

Exaggerated, subjective, and informal words and phrases are hard to get rid of, especially if writing isn’t your forte. There are two ways to solve this problem. First, you can review numerous paper samples and learn from them. Secondly, you can hire a professional essay writing service to deliver a perfect essay for you to model.

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Why some words are not appropriate in academic writing

According to the Cambridge Proofreading & Editing Center, academic writing requires an objective, formal, and precise tone. Learning words to avoid in academic writing will help enhance the quality of your work and boost your grades.

Before you dive into the types of sentences to use and which ones to avoid, you need to find out the key requirements of any academic paper. Formality, objectivity, precision, structure, and other aspects are vital across the board, but specific requirements may vary by assignment. For example, while first-person writing is appropriate for personal or reflective essays, it has no place in theses and capstones. Ensure you are familiar with academic writing standards, or seek qualified assignment assistance before you start writing or editing your paper.

Types of words to avoid in academic writing

If you believe your academic writing is perfect the way it is, you just haven’t looked at it closely enough. Even professional academics slip up and include words and phrases better left out of scientific writing. So, let’s review the key categories of words you should stay away from in your papers.

Informal and colloquial expressions

Academic writing requires a formal style and corresponding language. Therefore, it is indispensable for the student to avoid phrases that can create the opposite effect.

• A bit
• A lot
• Sort of
• Would’ve
• Kind of
• The type to
• Likely/unlikely
• Tons of
• FTW, FOMO, FAFO, etc.
• One of a kind

Instead of saying “The test was a bit difficult to pass”, you should say “The test was difficult to pass” in order to keep the message concise and informative.

It is important to mind your transition sentences. Avoid informal plus, so, and, or besides, replacing them with much more appropriate forms of transition words, including moreover, what is more, therefore, additionally, and others. This way, you will maintain a formal tone and communicate your message clearly and straightforwardly.

Subjective or opinion-based language

In some types of essays, personal opinions are appropriate or even necessary, but in most assignments, you should focus on facts and evidence from credible sources. Using subjective language can call into question your paper’s objectivity and relevance. So, remember these words not to use in an essay:

• I believe/feel/think
• To my mind
• In my opinion
• Personally
• Amazing
• Horrible
• Horrific
• Impressive
• Devastating
• Cool
• Lovely
• Extraordinary

Remember that every argument should be supported by evidence to make it objective and convince your readers. You should not make any inferences unless they are objective and proven to be true.

Exaggerations and intensifiers

Reasonable doubt is the core of academic writing. Although the writers should be confident in the provided information, they should realize the possibility of their ideas being disproven. Therefore, make sure you do not use the words that presuppose absolute knowledge and authority. Be cautious with superlatives, absolute terms, exaggerations, and hyperbolic phrases, including:

• Best
• Always
• None
• Very
• Super
• Too
• Never
• Vital
• Critical
• Best/worst of all
• Unbelievably great
• Totally amazing/horrible
• This is impossible

Contractions

Contractions aren’t appropriate in formal writing. Even if you’re used to contractions in texting or DMs, spell out full words in academic writing to prevent ambiguity and miscommunication. Do not use these and other contractions:

• Don’t
• Isn’t
• I’ve
• They’re
• Should’ve
• Wouldn’t’ve
• Hasn’t
• It’s been

Cliches and idioms

Idioms work fine in casual conversations and creative writing, but their figurative meaning isn’t appropriate for academic writing. Instead of trying to “brighten up” the dry formal style, focus on clear and direct phrases, and leave these out:

• Break the ice
• A piece of cake
• Hit the nail on the head
• Eat your heart out
• Break even
• Neither here nor there
• Fool me once
• Up to no good
• Not until hell freezes over, etc.

You should also avoid clichés, such as above board, at the end of the day, get through, in recent years, think outside the box, and others.

Slang and jargon

You cannot get rid of professional terms and other industry-specific words in academic writing altogether, but make sure you do not use them to overcomplicate your writing. Instead, define and explain the terms that may be unknown to the readers. Be cautious when using generic phrases, which can disengage your audience, especially those without background knowledge in the field:

• Paradigm
• Holistic approach
• Synergy
• Disruptive innovation
• Time to market
• Lateral networking
• Industry 4.0
• IoT
• Cloud computing

If you plan to use common abbreviations, make sure to spell them out when they first appear in your paper and add the acronym in parentheses. For instance, key performance indicators (KPI) or return on investment (ROI). While industry experts may be familiar with the terms, casual readers will appreciate the additional explanation.

Personal pronouns

Striving to keep the formal tone of your writing, make sure you avoid the use of the first- and second-person pronouns. They will make your paper sound less professional:

• I
• My
• You
• Your
• We
• Out

To sound more authoritative and formal, replace personal pronouns with terms such as people, researchers, the team, the study, or the author, depending on the context.

Filler words

The use of superfluous and vague words can weaken the writing and affect the overall effectiveness of the message. Avoid the following filler words that bear no meaning but rather distract readers:

• Literally
• Really
• Basically
• Just
• Helps to
• So
• Extremely
• Very

Redundant words and phrases are a similar issue that clutters the writing by repeating the same idea. Removing such language will make the writing more powerful and concise:

• End result
• In close proximity
• Final outcome
• Brief summary
• Past period
• Short moment
• Extra addition

Absolute terms

Absolute terms are strong words that imply extreme conditions, most of the time without sufficient evidence. Avoid language expressing absolute certainty, unless specific evidence and proof can be provided. The most common words to avoid in this category include:

• Always
• Everything
• All
• None
• Never
• No one
• Everyone
• Total
• Every

It may be more reasonable to replace them with the alternatives that emphasize the proof. For example:

• According to
• As claimed by
• Following

Problematic words and their alternatives

Whether you’re working on a research paper, dissertation, or essay, word choice can affect the overall quality of the paper. To convey your message clearly and effectively, double-check the paper for inappropriate words and phrases and replace them with alternatives suitable for academic writing. Here are a few examples:

What happens when you use wrong words and phrases?

While experienced writers know how to replace a vague word or phrase without losing its meaning, the struggle will be real for new learners. It may take quite some time and effort to practise and understand which words to remove from writing and which ones to leave. However, despite the process's challenges, the results are worth the effort.

The use of inappropriate language can result in numerous issues, such as:

• Ineffective communication
• Confused readers
• Wrong academic tone
• Repetitions
• Misused words
• Phrases with unwanted meanings

Such mistakes can become a major issue if you are working on a dissertation or a term paper. Make sure you proofread and edit the paper carefully to enhance your chances of a good grade.

How to make academic writing effective

Choosing the right language in academic writing is not a skill you can acquire overnight. Take your time to analyze the types of words to avoid in writing, as well as phrases that should be minimized. Pay attention to emotional and biased language in your writing. Focus on the effective tips that will help you keep the paper much more relevant and influential.

• Use precise and meaningful words. Avoid vague words with no meaning. If you cannot replace the filler word with a more reasonable alternative, consider eliminating it.
• Choose strong phrases. Phrasal verbs that sound influential in everyday speech may be completely ineffective in academic writing. Replace them with strong words and phrases with clear connotations.
• Avoid obsolete words. Even when working on history papers, you should opt for up-to-date language rather than archaic vocabulary.
• Stay away from overused words. Informal words and phrases that make our everyday language more colorful and eloquent do not work the same way in academic writing. Instead, clichés and idioms can compromise the text's integrity and precision.
• Get help. If you still have trouble with words to avoid, get in touch, and we’ll set you up with a professional editor who will clean up your papers.

Conclusion

Even if your research and writing skills are top-notch, choosing the wrong words for an assignment can ruin your academic projects. So, keep our list of words to avoid in an essay at hand and go through your writing with a fine-toothed comb to catch jargon, cliches, and contractions. This simple step will significantly increase your chances of getting top grades.

FAQ

Why is informal language inappropriate in academic writing?

Unless you’re working on a narrative essay or a short story, an academic tone is required for assignments. It helps remove ambiguity and keeps your writing clear and easy to understand for all readers. Formal language is especially critical for high-stakes pieces, like dissertations and research papers, that can decide the fate of your future in academia.

Are contractions acceptable in academic papers?

Avoid contractions in academic writing, unless you’re quoting a source or an idiom. Contractions are considered informal, whereas academic writing requires a formal writing style. Some professors can be more lenient about it, but most will require you to write out full words. If you aren’t sure, ask your instructor to avoid misunderstandings.

Can personal pronouns be used in academic writing?

Personal pronouns are acceptable only in certain assignments. For example, a college admission essay, a personal or reflection essay, or an acknowledgement section of your capstone or dissertation can all use the first person. If you are unsure whether personal pronouns are allowed, ask your instructor.

Why should absolute words like “always” and “never” be avoided?

In most cases, you have no way to prove your absolute claims; that’s why you should avoid such statements without making your writing too vague. You can replace absolute words with estimated percentages. For example, “in 95% of the cases”.

How can weak or vague words be replaced in academic writing?

You can either replace weak words with stronger alternatives or with hard data. For example, instead of claiming “only a few subjects,” say “3 out of 10 subjects” displayed the symptoms. Including specific numbers adds objectivity and weight to your writing. You can also use “persistent symptoms, such as fever, indigestion, and rashes,” instead of “very strong symptoms” to provide additional context.

Are there differences in word usage requirements across academic disciplines?

The basic formal tone and precise word choice requirements are the same across all fields. However, in some disciplines, first-person writing may be appropriate, whereas others prefer the passive voice or generic terms, such as “researchers” or “team”. Field-specific jargon will also vary depending on the discipline, and so will the tolerance toward contractions and other informal word choices.