Words to avoid in academic writing

When working on academic papers, such as theses, research papers, dissertations, and essays, it is indispensable to pay due attention to the words and phrases used. There are multiple types of lexical units acceptable in conversational speech and inappropriate in an academic text. The awareness of the phrases to avoid may help to keep the scholarly papers much more effective and better quality. Proper essay format, excellent content, impeccable grammar, and proper word choice are the elements that may help you succeed with any academic paper.

Make sure you avoid expressions that are unsophisticated, exaggerated, subjective, and too informal, as well as those that are absolutely unnecessary. While the assignment may seem easy for experienced writers, it can be a challenge for new students. Fortunately, when browsing the web, you can get two helpful options. Firstly, you can check numerous paper samples and learn from the examples. Secondly, you can hire a professional paper writer who will contribute to your academic prosperity.

If you are willing to accept the challenge and deal with the project independently, keep reading this article for more information about the words to avoid in academic writing, their types, and alternatives.

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Key reasons 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. These qualities are difficult to learn and advance, yet possible. A lot of experience and practice may be effective for you when working on the desired results. Understanding the words to avoid in academic writing will help to enhance the quality of your writing and make the content of each text much more relevant and influential.

Before you dive into the types of sentences to use and which ones to avoid, you need to find out the key peculiarities of any academic paper. Formality, objectivity, precision, structure, and multiple other aspects can transform an average paper into an academic project. However, it is crucial to avoid vague wording, informal expressions, subjective statements, exaggerations, and other common mistakes that can affect the credibility and clarity of your paper. Make sure you are aware of the academic writing standards, or take your time to find qualified assignment help.

Types of words to avoid in academic writing

Academic writing has always been one of the most challenging and demanding assignments for college students. However, instead of profound knowledge of the subject, awareness of formatting styles, and use of the structural patterns, students should also pay attention to the word choice. What words should you avoid in academic professional writing? What are the phrases that can affect the integrity of your papers? Look through the key categories of words you should stay away in your academic writing. Follow the guidelines unless you are ready to hire a professional to write a term paper or other type of project for you.

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

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.

Additionally, it is important to mind the words and phrases you use at the beginning of each sentence. Avoid informal plus, so, and, besides, and moreover, 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 in a clear and straightforward way.

Subjective or opinion-based language

Facts, relevant information from credible data sources, and precise evidence are the elements of any academic paper. Consequently, the use of subjective language can question the relevance of the text. Some opinion-based language can reveal a writer’s bias. At this point, it is indispensable to consider diverse types of essays, as expressing personal opinions may be appropriate in dissertations and other papers but absolutely unnecessary in others. In academic writing, emotional phrases will undermine the relevance of your arguments and question the results of the study. Therefore, when working on such assignments, students should focus on factual and neutral language.

• I believe
• To my mind
• In my opinion
• Personally
• Amazing
• Horrible
• Horrific
• Impressive
• Devastating

Another important aspect to mind here is that every argument should be supported by evidence. 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
• Best of all
• Unbelievably great
• Totally amazing
• This is impossible

Contractions

Formal writing style presupposes the absence of contractions. No matter if it comes to auxiliary verbs, personal pronouns, or other forms. Although they can be effective and helpful in conversational language, they are absolutely of no use in formal writing.

• Don’t
• Isn’t
• I’ve
• They’re

Cliches and idioms

Cultural and figurative context are the key features of idioms and cliches. However, as you may never know who will be the last to read the paper, you should make maximum effort to avoid any kind of confusion and challenge possible. Choosing the clear and direct language to express ideas and provide facts can provide much better results than those with vague meanings.

• Break the ice
• A piece of cake
• Hit the nail on the head

Besides, the overused expressions are mainly colloquial and should be used mainly in informal speech. Integrating them in your academic papers may affect the credibility of the writer and question their awareness of the topic. Thus, instead of a happy medium, it is more reasonable to choose the word compromise. Above board should be replaced with legitimate. Avoid similar phrases, such as at the end of the day, get through, in recent years, think outside the box, and others.

Slang and jargon

Jargon is another critical aspect to mind in academic writing. It can be challenging for many writers to get rid of the professional terms and other industry-specific words. However, the effort is unavoidable, as it is the only way to contribute to the simplicity and straightforwardness of your papers. Focus on the subject-specific terminology, but make sure you do not use it to make the text more complicated. Instead, define and explain the terms that may be unknown to the readers.

• Aneuploidy
• Demurrer

While technical terms can keep the readers confused, the unexplained language can be an extra burden. Be cautious using any of the following phrases that can disengage your audience, especially those who do not have background knowledge in the field.

• Paradigm
• Holistic approach
• Synergy
• Disruptive innovation

Industry-specific language is another aspect that should be taken into account when working on the academic paper. It refers to the terms typical for a specific profession or field. In most cases, the terms are clear for experts in the area, but can become absolutely confusing for readers outside of it. Reduction of these terms is critical in academic writing.

• Cloud computing
• KPI
• ROI

Instead of a key performance indicator, it may be more reasonable to use the word measure. Blockchain should be replaced with a digital ledger. These are not the taboo words for academic papers, but definitely the ones to be eliminated.

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

How do you replace them in the text? To sound more influential and formal, replace the personal pronouns with words, such as people, researchers, the team, the study, the author, depending on the situation.

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 and make them uninterested in the paper.

• 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 multiple times. Removing such language will make the writing more powerful and concise.

• End result
• In close proximity
• Final outcome

Absolute terms

Absolute terms are strong words that imply extreme conditions, most of the time without sufficient evidence. In the overwhelming majority of instances, the use of such words can lead the readers to wrong thinking. Therefore, when working on the academic project, students should avoid language expressing certainty, unless specific evidence and proof can be provided. The most commonly used words in this section include:

• Always
• Everything
• All
• None
• Never

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

No matter if you are trying to write a research paper, dissertation, or a trivial essay, the proper choice of vocabulary is a must. As conciseness and clarity are the top priorities, the writer should make sure they are aware of the words to avoid in an essay. Although the prominence of this point is frequently underestimated, the choice of the expressions and phrases included in the text matters and can influence the overall quality of the paper.

If you are focused on conveying the message clearly and effectively, you should double-check the paper for inappropriate words and phrases. Essays written in an academic voice typically include formal, technical, and objective language.

Inappropriate words in academic writing: outcomes of their use

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, irrespective of the challenges of the process, the results are worth the energy.

The use of the inappropriate language can result in numerous issues that will question your qualifications and professionalism, as well as the relevance of the presented paper.

• 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, enhancing your chances for success. Hire a qualified law essay writing service if you keep struggling with your text and prefer to entrust it to a professional.

Ways to contribute to the effectiveness of academic writing

The choice of the proper language in academic writing is not a skill you can get overnight. Instead, it requires much effort, determination, and persistence. Take your time to analyze the types of words to avoid in writing, as well as phrases which use should be minimized. Pay attention to emotional and biased language in your writing, and 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 working on history papers, you should opt for up-to-date language rather than archaic vocabulary. When it comes to the specific fields, there are certain terms that can be used, but make sure the overall idea and message are clear for the audience.
• 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, cliches and idioms can affect the integrity of the text and its precision.
• Get help. Browsing the web, you will be able to find a professional mba writing service, and a plethora of other platforms ready to help students with their challenging projects. Specify your assignment and the aspect you struggle with so that you get the best assistance.

Conclusion

Poor writing skills, limited knowledge of the field, and inadequate knowledge are not the only mistakes students can make when working on academic projects. Instead, there is a risk of using the wrong words and phrases that will affect the quality and relevance of the writing. Following the guidelines, learners can become more aware of the words to avoid, as they are not usually limited to the tabooed words and jargon. Instead, there is a whole range of phrases that need to be avoided during the writing process.

As you focus on the guidelines, you enhance your chances for success. Moreover, it may also be reasonable to hire a professional paper writer to come up with an impeccable assignment from scratch, or proofread and edit the existing one.