words to not use in essays

164 Phrases and words You Should Never Use in an Essay—and the Powerful Alternatives you Should

This list of words you should never use in an essay will help you write compelling, succinct, and effective essays that impress your professor.

Words and phrases you shouldn't use in an essay

Writing an essay can be a time-consuming and laborious process that seems to take forever.

But how often do you put your all into your paper only to achieve a lame grade?

You may be left scratching your head, wondering where it all went wrong.

Chances are, like many students, you were guilty of using words that completely undermined your credibility and the effectiveness of your argument.

Our professional essay editors have seen it time and time again: The use of commonplace, seemingly innocent, words and phrases that weaken the power of essays and turn the reader off.

But can changing a few words here and there really make a difference to your grades?

Absolutely.

If you’re serious about improving your essay scores, you must ensure you make the most of every single word and phrase you use in your paper and avoid any that rob your essay of its power (check out our guide to editing an essay for more details).

Here is our list of words and phrases you should ditch, together with some alternatives that will be so much more impressive. For some further inspiration, check out our AI essay writer .

Vague and Weak Words

What are vague words and phrases.

Vague language consists of words and phrases that aren’t exact or precise. They can be interpreted in multiple ways and, as such, can confuse the reader.

Essays that contain vague language lack substance and are typically devoid of any concrete language. As such, you should keep your eyes peeled for unclear words when proofreading your essay .

Why You Shouldn’t Use VAGUE Words in Essays

Professors detest vagueness.

In addition to being ambiguous, vague words and phrases can render a good piece of research absolutely useless.

Let’s say you have researched the link between drinking soda and obesity. You present the findings of your literature review as follows:

“Existing studies have found that drinking soda leads to weight gain.”

Your professor will ask:

What research specifically? What/who did it involve? Chimpanzees? Children? OAPs? Who conducted the research? What source have you used?

And the pat on the back you deserve for researching the topic will never transpire.

Academic essays should present the facts in a straightforward, unambiguous manner that leaves no doubt in the mind of the reader.

Key takeaway: Be very specific in terms of what happened, when, where, and to whom.

VAGUE Words and Phrases You Shouldn’t Use in an Essay


	, in combination with a range. Use: “The event was attended by approximately 80-100 people.” Not: “The event was attended by about 100 people.”
	Provide very specific detail in your essay. Use: “When the clinical trials were complete.” Not: “When the research was almost complete.”
	State which area specifically. Use: “There was a significant amount of flooding in the north of Miami.” Not: “There was a significant amount of flooding in the area.”
	Use more specific adjectives to describe the person, place, or thing. Use: “The elephant weighed 18,000 pounds and was 13-foot tall.” Not: “The elephant was big and tall.”
	Delete. Use: “The interesting thing about the character was…” Not: “The character was kind of interesting because…”
	Use: “The results add value to the existing body of knowledge on obesity among youths because…” Not: “The results were meaningful because…”
	Replace with something more precise: Use: “The character’s quest was unsuccessful because…” Not: “The character more or less failed in her quest.”
	State exactly who. Use: “These findings were replicated by Ghott et al. (1990).” Not: “These findings were replicated by other researchers.”
	Qualify what you mean by “poor.” Use: “The essay grade was ten points below a pass.” Not: “The essay grade was poor.”
	Be specific about what situation you are referring to. Use: “This essay will explain the political events that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall.” Not: “This essay will explain the situation that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall.”
	Specifically delineate the “something” you are referring to. Use: “This finding teaches us that the ideal storage temperature is…” Not: “This finding teaches us something.”
	Qualify your opinion with more in-depth information. Use: “The essay was interesting but could be improved by…” Not: “The essay was sort of interesting.”
	Explain what specifically you are referring to: Use: “We added the salt powder to the solution.” Not: “We added the stuff to the solution.”
	Replace with something more precise: Use: “I found this comparison between rich and poor most interesting.” Not: “This was the thing I found most interesting.”

Flabby Words and Expressions

What are flabby expressions.

Flabby expressions and words are wasted phrases. They don’t add any value to your writing but do take up the word count and the reader’s headspace.

Flabby expressions frequently contain clichéd, misused words that don’t communicate anything specific to the reader. For example, if someone asks you how you are feeling and you reply, “I’m fine,” you’re using a flabby expression that leaves the inquirer none the wiser as to how you truly are.

Why Should Flabby Words be Removed from an Essay?

Flabby words are fine in everyday conversation and even blog posts like this.

However, they are enemies of clear and direct essays. They slow down the pace and dilute the argument.

When grading your essay, your professor wants to see the primary information communicated clearly and succinctly.

Removing the examples of flabby words and expressions listed below from your paper will automatically help you to take your essay to a higher level.

Key takeaway: When it comes to essays, brevity is best.

Flabby Words and Expressions You Shouldn’t Use in an Essay


	Use: “I will continue to present the final analysis.” Not: “I will go on to present the final analysis.”
	Use: “This research proved…” Not: “I might add that this research proved…”
	Use: “This essay effectively demonstrated…” Not: “This essay was effective in terms of…”
	Use: “Shakespeare was a talented writer.” Not: “In my opinion, Shakespeare was a talented writer.”
	Use: “Although this paper was written 50 years later, nothing has changed.” Not: “In spite of the fact this paper was written 50 years later, nothing has changed.”
	Use: “If new research emerges, the situation may change.” Not: “In the event that new research emerges, the situation may change.”
	Use: “I concluded that the hypothesis was incorrect.” Not: “In the process of writing the essay, I concluded that the hypothesis was incorrect.”
	Use: “Freud probably believed…” Not: “It seems like Freud was of the opinion…”
	Use: “They reached the United States.” Not: “They made it to the United States.”
	Use: “Kant frequently argued this point.” Not: “Kant argued this point on a regular basis.”
	Use: “In this paper, I will highlight the most relevant findings of my study.” Not: “In this paper, I will pick out the most relevant findings of my study.”
	Use: “It is important to emphasize the implications of this argument.” Not: “It is important to point out the implications of this argument.”
	Use: “Start by describing the research methodology.” Not: “The first step is to describe the research methodology.”
	Use: “It is clear the government must act now to resolve the issues.” Not: “It is clear the government must take action now to resolve the issues.”
	Use: “In Section 6 of the essay, we will examine the research findings.” Not: “In Section 6 of the essay, we will talk about the research findings.”
	Use: “Consider the thesis statement…” Not: “The most important thing is to consider the thesis statement.”
	Use: “Jane Eyre cried because…” Not: “The reason Jane Eyre cried was because…”
	Use: “Students frequently fail this exam.” Not: “This is an exam that students frequently fail.”
	Use: “This essay has demonstrated…” Not: “Time and time again, this essay has demonstrated…”
	Use: “After reviewing the survey outputs, I will determine…” Not: “After reviewing the survey outputs, I will try to figure out…”
	Use: “The argument was fascinating.” Not: “The argument was very interesting.”
	Use: “I then revaluated the research findings.” Not: “I then went back over the research findings.”
	Use: “We must consider the historical context when reviewing George Orwell’s work.” Not: “When it comes to the work of George Orwell, we must consider the historical context.”
	Use: “This essay, written over 100 years ago, offers an insight…” Not: “This essay, which was written over 100 years ago, offers an insight…”
	Use: “Kotler, a renowned marketing expert, claims…” Not: “Kotler, who is a renowned marketing expert, claims…”
	Use: “Every experiment in the study will differ.” Not: “Every experiment in the study will be different.”
	Use: “The thesis statement asserts…” Not: “With reference to the thesis statement…”

Words to Avoid in an Essay: Redundant Words

What are redundant words.

Redundant words and phrases don’t serve any purpose.

In this context, redundant means unnecessary.

Many everyday phrases contain redundant vocabulary; for example, add up, as a matter of fact, current trends, etc.

We have become so accustomed to using them in everyday speech that we don’t stop to question their place in formal writing.

Why You Shouldn’t Use Redundant Words in Essays

Redundant words suck the life out of your essay.

They can be great for adding emphasis in a conversational blog article like this, but they do not belong in formal academic writing.

Redundant words should be avoided for three main reasons:

They interrupt the flow of the essay and unnecessarily distract the reader.
They can undermine the main point you are trying to make in your paper.
They can make you look uneducated.

The most effective essays are those that are concise, meaningful, and astute. If you use words and phrases that carry no meaning, you’ll lose the reader and undermine your credibility.

Key takeaway: Remove any words that don’t serve a purpose.

Redundant Words and Phrases You Shouldn’t Use in an Essay


	Use: “The water was freezing.” Not: “The water was absolutely freezing.”
	Use: “The research findings revealed…” Not: “The actual research findings revealed…”
	Use: “Adds an element to the analysis.” Not: “Adds an additional element to the analysis.”
	Use: “We will sum the responses.” Not: “We will add up the responses.”
	Use: “Hamlet had no choice but to…” Not: “Hamlet had no alternative choice but to…”
	Use: “Throughout human history, females have…” Not: “All throughout human history, females have…”
	Use: “The animals included dogs, cats, birds, etc.”Not: “The animals included dogs, cats, birds, and etc.”
	Use: “The survey findings indicated…” Not: “As a matter of fact, the survey findings indicated…”
	Use: “The theme of love overcoming evil is compelling.” Not: “As far as I am concerned, the theme of love overcoming evil is compelling.”
	Use: “This prompts me to question the accuracy of the findings.” Not: “This prompts me to ask the question: ‘Were the findings accurate?’”
	Use: “We assembled the various parts.” Not: “We assembled together the various parts.”
	Use: “We cannot confirm the validity of the findings.” Not: “At the present time, we cannot confirm the validity of the findings.”
	Use: “According to the findings…” Not: “According to the basic findings…”
	Use: “The elements of the story blend well.” Not: “The elements of the story blend together well.”
	Use: “The Romans were defeated.” Not: “The Romans were completely defeated.”
	Use: “I will then connect the main aspects of the analysis.” Not: “I will then connect together the main aspects of the analysis.”
	Use: “Some people argue the trend of using big data to understand customer needs won’t continue.” Not: “Some people argue the current trend of using big data to understand customer needs won’t continue.”
	Use: “The findings were scrutinized.” Not: “The findings underwent careful scrutiny.”
	Use: “The remains were near the dwelling.” Not: “The remains were found in close proximity to the dwelling.”
	Use: “To achieve victory, it was necessary to eradicate the enemy.” Not: “To achieve victory, it was necessary to completely eradicate the enemy.”
	Use: “The organization’s assets depreciated over time.” Not: “The organization’s assets depreciated in value over time.”
	Use: “We identified six kinds of bacteria.” Not: “We identified six different kinds of bacteria.”
	Use: “The test failed because the fire was too hot.” Not: “The test failed due to the fact that the fire was too hot.”
	Use: “During the story…” Not: “During the course of the story…
	Use: “The number of incorrect answers dwindled.” Not: “The number of incorrect answers dwindled down.”
	Use: “Every scenario was tested.” Not: “Each and every scenario was tested.”
	Use: “They are equal in height, but Sarah is a faster runner.” Not: “They are equal to one another in height, but Sarah is a faster runner.”
	Use: “The findings were the same.” Not: “The findings were the exact same.”
	Use: “The result was the fall of the dictatorship.” Not: “The end result was that the dictatorship fell.”
	Use: “Although the weights of the materials were equal, their performance was not comparable.” Not: “Although the weights of the materials were equal to one another, their performance was not comparable.”
	Use: “All participants returned the completed survey.” Not: “Every single person returned the completed survey.”
	Use: “It is interesting to observe how the characters evolve.” Not: “It is interesting to observe how the characters evolve over time.”
	Use: “I completed the test with a classmate.” Not: “I completed the test with a fellow classmate.”
	Use: “I continued to add water until the vessel was filled.” Not: “I continued to add water until the vessel was filled to capacity.”
	Use: “The researcher concluded that the test was reliable.” Not: “The researchers’ final conclusion was that the test was reliable.”
	Use: “Shakespeare remains foremost a poet.” Not: “Shakespeare remains first and foremost a poet.”
	Use: “The idea to test the relationship between speed and weight was conceived when…” Not: “The idea to test the relationship between speed and weight was first conceived when…”
	Use: “First, I was interested in the character’s name.” Not: “First of all, I was interested in the character’s name.”
	Use: “The bird flew rapidly.” Not: “The bird flew through the air rapidly.”
	Use: “The results indicate that imports can be detrimental to the economy.” Not: “The results indicate that foreign imports can be detrimental to the economy.”
	Use: “I am a graduate of HKU.” Not: “I am a former graduate of HKU.”
	Use: “The research fuses a myriad of experimental techniques.” Not: “The research fuses together a myriad of experimental techniques.”
	Use: “My plans for the next stage of the research include…” Not: “My future plans for the next stage of the research include…”
	Use: “Gather your thoughts and develop a new thesis.” Not: “Gather your thoughts together and develop a new thesis.”
	Use: “The study sample consisted of 150 members of the public.” Not: “The study sample consisted of 150 members of the general public.”
	Use: “The specimen had grown by 5 cm.” Not: “The specimen had grown in size.”
	Use: “A Bunsen burner was used to heat the solution.” Not: “A Bunsen burner was used to heat up the solution.”
	Use: “The machine parts were connected using a tube.” Not: “The machine parts were connected using a hollow tube.”
	Use: “It is important that the tools integrate.” Not: “It is important that the tools integrate with each other.”
	Use: “To prove the hypothesis, this essay will…” Not: “In order to prove the hypothesis, this essay will…”
	Use: “This essay will introduce the idea that…” Not: “This essay will introduce the new idea that…”
	Use: “This paper describes a collaboration between…” Not: “This paper describes a joint collaboration between…”
	Use: “Kotler is an expert in the field of marketing.” Not: “Kotler is a knowledgeable expert in the field of marketing.”
	Use: “This idea will be explored in more depth later.” Not: “This idea will be explored in more depth at a later time.”
	Use: “The substance was made of…” Not: “The substance was made out of…”
	Use: “These findings represent a breakthrough in the field of…” Not: “These findings represent a major breakthrough in the field of…”
	Use: “Othello may have been…” Not: “Othello may possibly have been…”
	Use: “Blyton’s use of alliteration was unique.” Not: “Blyton’s use of alliteration was most unique.”
	Use: “The two philosophers respected one another.” Not: “The two philosophers had mutual respect for one another.”
	Use: “Never have I been so amazed.” Not: “Never before have I been so amazed.”
	Use: “Henry Ford presented an innovation that changed the world.” Not: “Henry Ford presented a new innovation that changed the world.”
	Use: “The grade for my essay is pending.” Not: “The grade for my essay is now pending.”
	Use: “The digital form was created by…” Not: “The digital form was originally created by…”
	Use: “My experience has taught me…” Not: “My past experience has taught me…”
	Use: “It was during that period that steam power emerged.” Not: “It was during that period of time that steam power emerged.”
	Use: “Night and day are opposites.” Not: “Night and day are polar opposites.”
	Use: “The findings are not available at present.” Not: “The findings are not available at the present time.”
	Use: “This essay will argue that the reason…” Not: “This essay will argue that the reason why…”
	Use: “At this point, we will refer to the work of…” Not: “At this point, we will refer back to the work of…”
	Use: “This essay will examine…” Not: “This essay will take a look at…”
	Use: “We will perform all the tests within that time frame.” Not: “We will perform all the tests within that time.”
	Use: “The respondents were asked to write their names.” Not: “The respondents were asked to write down their names.”

Colloquial Expressions and Grammar Expletives

What are colloquial expressions.

A colloquial expression is best described as a phrase that replicates the way one would speak.

The use of colloquial language represents an informal, slang style of English that is not suitable for formal and academic documents.

For example:

Colloquial language: “The findings of the study appear to be above board.”

Suitable academic alternative: “The findings of the study are legitimate.”

What are Grammar Expletives?

Grammar expletives are sentences that start with here , there, or it .

We frequently use constructions like these when communicating in both spoken and written language.

But did you know they have a distinct grammatical classification?

They do; the expletive.

Grammar expletives (not to be confused with cuss words) are used to introduce clauses and delay the subject of the sentence. However, unlike verbs and nouns, which play a specific role in expression, expletives do not add any tangible meaning. Rather, they act as filler words that enable the writer to shift the emphasis of the argument. As such, grammar expletives are frequently referred to as “empty words.”

Removing them from your writing can help to make it tighter and more succinct. For example:

Sentence with expletive there : There are numerous reasons why it was important to write this essay. Sentence without expletive: It was important to write this essay for numerous reasons.

Why Should Colloquial Expressions and Grammar Expletives be Removed from an Essay?

While colloquial expressions and grammar expletives are commonplace in everyday speech and are completely acceptable in informal emails and chatroom exchanges, they can significantly reduce the quality of formal essays.

Essays and other academic papers represent formal documents. Frequent use of slang and colloquial expressions will undermine your credibility, make your writing unclear, and confuse the reader. In addition, they do not provide the exactness required in an academic setting.

Make sure you screen your essay for any type of conversational language; for example, figures of speech, idioms, and clichés.

Key takeaway: Grammar expletives use unnecessary words and make your word count higher while making your prose weaker.

Words and Phrases You Shouldn’t Use in an Essay


	Use: “Blood is thicker than water.” Not: “It is a fact that blood is thicker than water.”
	Use: “As logical to expect…” Not: “As it would be logical to expect…”
	Use: “The evidence suggests the hypothesis is correct.” Not: “There is evidence to suggest that the hypothesis is correct.”
	Use: “This essay presents numerous ideas.” Not: “There are numerous ideas presented in this essay.”
	Use: “Future studies will investigate this area further.” Not: “There will be future studies to investigate this idea further.”
	Use: “We expect the outcomes to indicate…” Not: “All things being equal, we expect the outcomes to indicate…”
	Use: “This paper has achieved its objective of…” Not: “For all intents and purposes, this paper has achieved its objective of…”
	Use: “The story predominantly explored the theme of unrequited love.” Not: “For the most part, the story explored the theme of unrequited love.”
	Use: “This essay reviewed the idea of sentiment.” Not: “For the purpose of this essay, the idea of sentiment was reviewed…”
	Use: “Soda consumption is linked with obesity.” Not: “Here’s the thing: Soda consumption is linked with obesity.”
	Use: “The recommendations follow the analysis.” Not: “The recommendations are after the analysis.”
	Use: “We effectively reduced the mistakes.” Not: “We effectively cut down on the number of mistakes.”

Nominalization

What is normalization.

A normalized sentence is one that is structured such that the abstract nouns do the talking.

For example, a noun, such as solution , can be structured to exploit its hidden verb, solve .

The act of transforming a word from a verb into a noun is known as normalization.

Should normalization be Removed from an Essay?

This is no universal agreement as to whether normalization should be removed from an essay. Some scholars argue that normalization is important in scientific and technical writing because abstract prose is more objective. Others highlight how normalizations can make essays more difficult to understand .

The truth is this: In the majority of essays, it isn’t possible to present an entirely objective communication; an element of persuasion is inherently incorporated. Furthermore, even the most objective academic paper will be devoid of meaning unless your professor can read it and make sense of it. As such, readability is more important than normalization.

You will need to take a pragmatic approach, but most of the time, your writing will be clearer and more direct if you rely on verbs as opposed to abstract nouns that were formed from verbs. As such, where possible, you should revise your sentences to make the verbs do the majority of the work.

For example,

Use: “This essay analyses and solves the pollution problem.”

Not: “This essay presents an evaluation of the pollution issue and presents a solution.”

While normalized sentences are grammatically sound, they can be vague.

In addition, humans tend to prefer vivid descriptions, and verbs are more vivid, informative, and powerful than nouns.

Key takeaway: Normalization can serve a purpose, but only use it if that purpose is clear.

normalization You Shouldn’t Use in an Essay


	Use: “I will then analyze the data.” Not: “I will then progress to present an analysis of the data.”
	Use: “She appeared unexpectedly.” Not: “Her appearance was unexpected.”
	Use: “We attempted to reproduce the results but failed.” Not: “Our attempts at reproducing the results were unsuccessful.”
	Use: “Winston believed the state was corrupt.” Not: “It was Winston’s belief that the state was corrupt.”
	Use: “Robert’s carelessness caused John’s death.” Not: “John died because of Robert’s carelessness.”
	Use: “The temperature dropped due to the rain.” Not: “The rain caused a drop in temperature.”
	Use: “Jesus’ behavior confused the priest.” Not: “Jesus’ behavior caused considerable confusion for the priest.”
	Use: “We compared the height and weight of the participants.” Not: “We drew a comparison between the height and the weight of the participants.”
	Use: “The flavor weakened when water was added.” Not: “The flavor decreased in strength when water was added.”
	Use: “Kotler defined strategic marketing as…” Not: “Kotler’s definition of strategic marketing was as follows…”
	Use: “I will conclude by describing the main findings.” Not: “I will conclude with a description of the main findings.”
	Use: “Reproducing the results was difficult.” Not: “I experienced difficulties reproducing the results.”
	Use: “The hero easily won the battle.” Not: “The hero won the battle with ease.”

That’s a lot to take in.

You may be wondering why you should care?

Cutting the fat helps you present more ideas and a deeper analysis.

Don’t be tempted to write an essay that is stuffed with pompous, complex language: It is possible to be smart and simple.

Bookmark this list now and return to it when you are editing your essays. Keep an eye out for the words you shouldn’t use in an essay, and you’ll write academic papers that are more concise, powerful, and readable.

Words and Phrases to Avoid in your College Essays

When it comes to college essays, sometimes the words you choose not to write make just as much of an impact as the words you do choose to write.

Readers get bored with seeing the same old clichés and run-on expressions over and over again. And adding in fluffy language or confusing idioms can leave them feeling lost in your words.

You want your college essay to stand out for all of the right reasons. Avoiding certain words and phrases help make your writing more concise and purposeful.

So how do you know exactly which words and phrases you should avoid in your writing assignments?

To start, you can seek inspiration from college essays that worked for other students. But ultimately it's nice to have a list of what not to do to help you avoid potential mistakes along the way.

What you Should Avoid

1. contractions.

Contractions may seem informal or lazy to the reader. Take the time to write the full phrase out.

NO: It's been a journey.

YES: It has been a journey.

Idioms can be confusing and are often overused. Clearly state what you mean in your own words.

NO: I thought the fancy-looking house was going to be awesome, but all that glitters is not gold .

YES: Even though I thought the new house was going to be incredible with its fancy appliances and enormous windows, I was proven wrong as the appliances all broke within the first week and the windows all leaked.

Also, phrases that introduce idioms are overused. Avoid using phrases like: You know what they say ... But we all know ... As we've heard over and over again ...

Clichés are so... cliché. Everyone is using them, and the words have lost their power. Choose specific and illustrative examples to use so your essay isn't lumped into a pile with all the essays that use worn-out clichés.

NO: I knew I had to give 110% if I was going to win the race.

YES: I knew I needed to train harder than I ever had before—before school, after school, every weekend—if I was going to win the race.

Phrases like “ Every cloud has a silver lining ” and “ Better late than never ” have no place in a creative and original college essay. This is your chance to paint a complete picture of yourself and your personality. Use descriptive language to let the reader hear your voice in your writing instead of an overused, out-of-date expression.

4. Slang and Abbreviations

I hope u r 2 smart to write something like this in a college essay. Abbreviations are not at all acceptable in formal writing such as a college essay.

Also, slang needs to be avoided. Use common language that people of all ages will understand. Remember your audience; you're writing for your professor, not your friends. And tone should reflect that.

NO: The party was lit , and everything was Gucci .

YES: The party was lively, the music was loud and fun, and everyone was having an amazing night.

5. Vague or Elementary Words

Use words that show you're capable of a deeper, more thorough understanding of topics. Avoid words that are vague or simple when there is a better way to demonstrate your meaning.

NO: The thing I read showed that the environment is bad .

YES: The article I studied concluded that the environment had been devastated by the recent occurrences of hurricanes and flooding.

If you find yourself using words like thing, stuff, bad, good, shows, and gives , challenge yourself to replace these words with stronger, more descriptive language.

6. Run-On Expressions

A run-on expression is a phrase, usually at the end of a list, that indicates you could add more examples ( and so on, and so forth, etc. ).

Avoiding filler words and run-on expressions will make your college essay more clear and interesting to the reader.

If something needs to be added to your list of examples, add specific examples. Don't add expressions such as etc. and and so on . These are vague and add nothing of substance to your essay.

NO: I love many sports: basketball, baseball, etc.

YES: I love many sports: basketball, baseball, soccer, tennis, and lacrosse.

7. Filler Words or Weak Modifiers

Increasing your word count by adding filler words will make your essay actually, very, very, very weak.

If you can get rid of a word and it makes no difference to your writing, get rid of it. Or better yet, rephrase it to demonstrate what you truly are trying to convey.

NO: I totally believe that we should actually make the laws much, much more strict very soon.

YES: I believe we should urgently make the laws more strict.

8. Exaggerated Words

Not everything you write about needs to be about the best or the worst . When you exaggerate in writing, it can come off as being insincere. Words like always and perfect also fall into this category.

NO: My team was the best team ever because we always played well and our shots were always perfect .

YES: My team was gifted at the game and played well. We could make some amazing shots.

9. Unnecessary Words

Sometimes writers don't even realize they are adding words that aren't needed. Compare these two examples:

NO: She has got four little puppies.

YES: She has four little puppies.

NO: This lotion helps to smooth the skin.

YES: This lotion helps smooth the skin.

Eliminating unnecessary words makes writing more clear and coherent. This is also an easy way to cut down when you're trying meet a word count requirement .

10. Grammatical Errors, Fragments, and Run-on Sentences

When your college essay draft is complete, make sure to proofread it thoroughly. And have a teacher or talented writer proof it again for you.

Avoid any spelling and grammatical errors, but also avoid fragments and run-on sentences. When it doubt, use an online sentence fragment checker or a grammar checker such as Grammarly to triple-check your work.

Once your draft is complete, make sure you have an excellent proofreader look over your essay for errors.

When writing, choose your words carefully. Pick the words that will make the greatest impact on your message and keep the reader's attention. Avoid the words and phrases that will make your essay weak and boring.

With careful consideration of your word choices, your essays will stand out for all of the right reasons. You'll be submitting advanced writing assignments that will help you ace your coursework!

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33 Words not to use in your Essay

Chris Drew (PhD)

Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. [Image Descriptor: Photo of Chris]

Learn about our Editorial Process

There are many types of words not to use in an essay. Today I want to talk to you about just three types. I’ll also provide you with 33 examples of words not to use in your essay to give you an idea of the sorts of words to look out for.

I’ll break these 33 words up into three sets:

Set 1: Exaggerated Words not to use in an Essay

Set 2: assertive words not to use in an essay, set 3: emotional words not to use in an essay.

One major place where many students fall down is that they don’t realize that the ideal essay writing format is very different from other writing styles. If you’re writing like a journalist, blogger, or fiction writer, you’re probably losing yourself marks.

Students keep trying to write essays that excite, engage, and dazzle their marker through exquisitely crafted prose.

That won’t work.

Your marker doesn’t want to be excited or dazzled through Shakespearian verse.

In fact, your marker likely isn’t even reading most of your essay the way you think.

They’re not sitting down with a nice cup of tea for an afternoon of entertainment. Essay marking is serious business. Your marker has a stack of 20, 50, or even 100 assignments to mark over the space of two weekends – weekends when they’d much rather be skiing (trust me, I know this all too well).

Your marker is therefore trying to assess how well you know the information, and whether you’ve presented it in a critical, insightful, and balanced way.

They’re scanning through your work as fast as they can, and those superb adjectives you ummed and ahhhed over for hours are probably irritating the heck out of your frazzled marker .

How Would you Describe your Essay? Focus on being ‘critical’, ‘ insightful ’, and ‘balanced’. Do not make the mistake of trying to be ‘engaging’, ‘exciting’, and ‘entertaining’.

In fact, the more you try to excite or sell a position to your marker through superlative language, the more they’ll roll their eyes.

Your marker is going to make a decision in about the first 3 minutes of their marking what grade they’ll give you. The language you use in the first few paragraphs matters. A lot.

Your marker is going to want to know, in as short a time as possible:

Do they understand the issue?
Have they got a balanced perspective on the issue?
Have they looked at it from several different angles?

With this in mind, you’re going to want to start removing some of those superlative essay words that you’re accustomed to using in your nightly diary.

Here are thirty-three words to stop using. Immediately.

Exaggerated words are words not to use in your essay. Exaggerated language makes you sound like you’re selling your teacher a shoddy used car.

In academia we call these exaggerated words ‘Boosters’, and research shows students who use them too much tend to have lower grades.

Instead, you want to look like you’re very soberly stated the cases for and against a particular point. That same research study noted above highlighted that sober analysis tends to get higher grades.

Therefore, try not to provide the impression that you’ve exaggerated.

One of the biggest mistakes students make when writing an essay is overstating their claims. Students think their goal is to present a powerful exposition that will overwhelmingly convince their marker of one fact or another.

In reality, a truly critical thinker – even in an argumentative or critical essay is critical of both themselves and others.

Therefore, they don’t overstate one side of any argument. Even when they come to a conclusion at the end of their piece, it’s after picking apart the flaws and problems with all sides of an argument.

With this in mind, you don’t want to come across as a snake oil salesman. Here are some over-the-top words you might want to leave out of your next essay:

Amazing Ground Breaking Absolute Best Absolute Worst Thoroughly Convincing Look no Further Miraculous Superb Unbelievable Sensational Exceptional

Similarly, try not to use the most dramatic statistics that don’t seem to pass the common-sense test. If you do identify an overwhelmingly powerful statistic, search for one that seems more grounded or understated.

You can present a seemingly over-the-top statistic alongside a less overwhelming statistic to show that there is disagreement within a topic. Even if both statistics seem to support a statement, present them side-by-side to show how even people who agree on big-picture issues disagree on some of the minor points.

Showing the small differences between different scholarly sources you have read is one of the best ways to show that you have come up with deep, thoughtful, and insightful ‘critical commentary’ about a topic. It also shows that you haven’t gotten carried away believing something wholeheartedly in a way that appears thoughtless.

Read Also: 13+ Examples Of The Word “Academic” In A Sentence

We don’t completely, unequivocally, and unrefutably know anything. Therefore, nothing is ever ‘confirmed’.

Even the ‘Theory’ of gravity is just a theory – and indeed, it’s changed and been updated many, many times since Isaac Newton got hit on the head by that apple.

Indeed, the idea that we never really know something to be completely true forms the basis of university thought. It dates way back to scholars such as Nicolaus Copernicus who, in 1514, proposed that the sun revolved around the earth.

Back then, this was a preposterous assertion! Everyone knew , was absolutely certain , that the earth was the center of the universe. The sun woke up in the morning and went to bed at night – that’s the way the world was.

However, by making observations of the positions of the stars at night, Copernicus showed us that we could observe that it was not the sun that was moving through space – it was us!

Copernicus showed us that we had to let our observations shape our beliefs. Thinking something is true – no matter how much it seems to be! – is not enough. We should always leave our minds open to new ideas.

Copernicus’s contemporary, Francis Bacon, called this new way of thinking skepticism .

Nowadays, students are taught to always be skeptical. We, therefore, aim not to use words that leave no room for new data to emerge to change our minds.

Take a look at some words that are overly certain, and consider replacing them with more skeptical terms:


Confirms	Supports
Knows	Argues
Proves	Identifies
Settles the Debate	Agrees
True Facts	Shows
Irrefutable	Emphasises
Undeniable	Defends
With Absolute Certainty	Current Scientific Consensus
Without a Doubt	Backs Up
Certainly	Reinforces
Incontrovertibly	Highlights

Emotional language is a sign of lack of critical thinking. Emotional words are therefore a big fat red flag for your teacher. You want to make it appear as if you have come to your position in an essay through the use of objective and thoughtful research.

This is very hard when an issue is inherently emotive. I used to teach a course on Child Protection. In this course I found it very difficult to get my students to stop using language like ‘disgusting’, ‘abhorrent’, and ‘repulsive’ to describe abusive behavior towards children.

“Look,” I would tell them, “I know that abusive behavior is disgusting – we all in this room agree on that. But you need to be a professional, objective juror. Explain to me the effects of child abuse through facts and research. Show facts, not feelings. In your essay, keep your emotional language out of it.”

Simply speaking, emotional language makes it appear to your marker that you are susceptible to researcher bias. A more sober analysis will be more much convincing.

Here are some words to avoid at all costs:

Disgusting Beautiful Gorgeous Perfect Repulsive Abhorrent Disagreeable Sickening Absurd Ridiculous Unintelligent Stupid

You might notice I didn’t provide you with possible alternative words in the table above. The reason is simple: remove superlative adjectives and adverbs, and don’t replace them with anything.

Many of my students complain that I’m asking them to be boring . It’s true, to an extent. In essay writing (unlike journalistic or blog writing), you need to take your ‘voice’ out of the writing.

You need to let the way you sorted and presented the data do the talking for you. For some tips on this, you might want to have a look at our post on paragraphs where we outline the ideal paragraph formula to achieve the best results in your essays.

In this post, I have outlined three types of words to avoid in essays , with examples. I have highlighted that you should avoid these three types of words:

Three types of Words to Avoid

Exaggerated Words
Emotional Words
Assertive Words

The above 33 examples are just a start: keep your mind active when editing your work and try to pick out these three types of words.

Essay writing is supposed to be succinct, clear, and to-the-point. It should be analytical and critical. However, it should do this calmly and professionally. By exaggeration, being emotional, and being assertive, you are doing yourself a disservice.

(You might also want to brush up on tautologies so you avoid using them in essays, too!)

By paying attention to your word choice, you can start to build your marks. Sometimes it’s more important to focus on words to avoid than words to include.

Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd-2/ 10 Reasons you’re Perpetually Single
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List of 125 Words and Phrases You Should Never Use in an Essay

about/around	Use "approximately" instead.
absolute best	"Absolute" is redundant—just use "best."
absolute worst	For the same reason as above, just use "worst."
absolutely	Eliminate unnecessary adverbs in academic writing.
absurd	Don't say something is absurd; show that it is by using logical argumentation.
actual	It is unlikely that the meaning of your sentence will be altered by deleting this usually redundant word.
add an additional	"Additional" is redundant—remove it.
all throughout	"All" is redundant.
almost	Specify the level of progress instead of using vague language.
alternative choice	Use either of these words but not both together.
amazing	Do not use emotive language in academic writing.
and etc.	This is grammatically incorrect—just use "etc."
area	Specify which area you are talking about.
as a matter of fact	This is colloquial language and inappropriate for an essay.
ask the question	Just use "question."
assemble together	Just use "assemble."
at a later time/date	The concept of time is implicit, so just use "later."
basic	Try deleting this word; nine times out of ten, it will make your sentence read better.
beautiful	Do not use emotive language in academic writing.
belief	Rephrase this using the verb "believe."
big, small, short, tall	Describe the exact size rather than using these words.
blend together	"Together" is redundant—just use "blend."
careful scrutiny	"Careful" is redundant—just use "scrutiny."
caused considerable confusion	Rephrase this using the verb "confuse."
certainly	Skepticism is a key academic value; certainty has no place.
close proximity	This is wordy; just use "near."
completely	Remove unnecessary adverbs.
connect together	"Together" is redundant—just use "connect."
cut down on	Use "reduce" instead of employing a figure of speech.
decrease in strength	Say "weaken" instead—it's more concise.
depreciate in value	The word "depreciate" already implies a value is being discussed, so delete "in value."
different kinds	"Different" is usually unnecessary in this phrase.
disagreeable	This is an emotional word, which should be avoided in academic writing.
disgusting	Use less emotive and more descriptive language.
due to	Use "because" instead.
during the course of	"The course of" is redundant—just use "during."
dwindle down	"Down" is redundant—just use "dwindle."
each and every	Use either "each" or "every."
equal to one another	"To one another" is redundant—just use "equal."
evolve over time	All evolution happens over time, so delete "over time."
exceptional	If something is exceptional, demonstrate how so using facts and allow your reader to reach their own conclusion.
fellow classmate/colleague	All colleagues and classmates are fellows, so there is no need to use that word.
filled to capacity	"To capacity" is redundant—just use "filled."
first and foremost	Choose one, don't use both.
first conceived	"First" is unnecessary.
first of all	"Of all" is redundant—just use "first."
fly through the air	"Through the air" is redundant—just use "fly."
for all intents and purposes	This phrase is a mouthful and usually redundant.
for the most part	Wordy; try "predominantly" instead.
for the purpose of	This concept can be expressed in fewer words than this.
foreign imports	All imports are foreign, so just say "imports."
former graduate	Once a graduate, always a graduate—"former" is inaccurate.
fuse/join/merge/mix together	The word "together" is redundant when used with any of these verbs.
future plans	All plans are for the future, so just say "plans."
gather together	The word "together" is redundant—just use "gather."
general public	"General" adds nothing—just use "public."
go on	This phrase is too casual in most contexts; use "continue" instead.
gorgeous	Overly emotive for academic writing.
here’s the thing	This phrase is too colloquial for use in academic writing.
hollow tube	Tubes are hollow by definition.
I might add	If you want to add something, just add it—no need to say you're doing so.
in my opinion	The whole essay is your opinion—focus on supporting your argument coherently.
in order to	"In order" is redundant—just use "to."
in spite of the fact	Too wordy—just say "although."
in the event of/that	This phrase is wordy; you can express the same concept with a two-letter word—"it."
incontrovertibly	Nothing is incontrovertible in academia. If you want to assert something, back it up.
integrate with each other	"With each other" is redundant—just use "integrate."
introduce the new	Just say "introduce."
irrefutable	Nothing is irrefutable in academic writing. This word will only make your reader question why you haven't backed up your assertion.
it seems like	Use "probably" instead.
joint collaboration	All collaborations are joint, so delete "joint."
kind of	This phrase is too casual for an essay.
knowledgeable expert	All experts are knowledgeable, so just use "expert."
look no further	Telling an academic to "look no further" tends to have the opposite effect.
made out of	Just use "made of."
major breakthrough	All breakthroughs are major, so delete "major."
may/might possibly	"Possibly" is redundant—just use "may" or "might."
meaningful	Meaningful in what sense? Use more specific language.
miraculous	Overly emotive for academic writing.
more or less	This phrase is imprecise; be more specific.
mutual cooperation	"Mutual" is redundant—just use "cooperation."
needless to say, it goes without saying	If it's truly needless to say something, don't say it at all.
never before	"Before" is redundant—just use "never."
new innovation/invention	All innovations and inventions are new, so delete "new."
now pending	"Now" is redundant—just use "pending."
on a regular basis	Wordy; try "frequently" or "regularly" instead.
originally created	"Originally" adds nothing here—just use "created."
past experience	"Past" is redundant—just use "experience."
period of time	All periods are "of time," so just use "period."
pick out	Somewhat colloquial; try "highlight" instead.
point out	Somewhat colloquial; try "emphasize" instead.
polar opposites	"Polar" adds nothing to the meaning of this phrase, so just use "opposites."
present an analysis/recommendation/conclusion	Instead of saying you will "present" an analysis/recommendation/conclusion, turn the nouns into verbs: "analyze/recommend/conclude."
present time	"Time" is redundant—just use "present."
prove	Instead of saying something is proven, focus on proving it.
reason why	"Why" is redundant—just use "reason."
refer/reply/revert back	"Back" is not needed in these examples—delete it.
repulsive	Overly emotive for academic writing.
ridiculous	Overly emotive for academic writing.
sensational	Exaggerated language like this feels out of place in an essay and usually has the opposite effect to that intended.
settles the debate	The objective of an essay is to contribute to a debate, not to settle it. This phrase comes across as arrogant and ignorant.
sickening	Overly emotive for academic writing.
and so on, and so forth	Adding "and so on" at the end of a list of examples looks either lazy or like you are trying to pad your essay.
something	Specify what "something" is.
sort of	Replace this with a more specific and formal qualifier.
stuff	Colloquial and vague; specify the stuff you are talking about.
stupid	Insulting people or ideas is rude and inappropriate; if you want to advance an alternative idea, do so using logic.
superb	"Boosters" like this feel out of place in an essay and overusing it will hurt your grades.
take a look at	Instead, use "examine."
talk about	Use "examine" or "discuss" instead.
the first step is to	Wordy; replace with a simple verb such as "start."
make it to	Use "reach" instead.
good, bad	These words risk being subjective.
thoroughly convincing	There is no need to use "thoroughly" here.
time and time again	This colloquial phrase can be deleted from most sentences without changing their meaning.
try to figure out	This is too colloquial for an essay—try a verb like "determine" instead.
unbelievable	This exaggerated, emotional language is not appreciated in an academic context.
undeniable	Saying this makes you look dogmatic.
very, quite, really, totally, actually	These overused modifiers look like padding—examiners hate them.
when it comes to	If you restructure the sentence, you can probably just use "when."
which is	Try deleting "which is" from the phrase "the emu, which is endemic to Australia," and you'll find that your sentence is equally coherent.
who is	Instead of saying "Karen Lee, who is an astronomer," just say "Karen Lee, an astronomer."
with absolute certainty	Saying "with absolute certainty" does not increase the certainty of anything, so work on your argument instead.
within that time frame	"Frame" is redundant—delete it.
without a doubt	Don't assert that something is certain; it is important to be open to new possibilities.

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20+ words to avoid writing in your essay.

Posted on March 13, 2018 by Jessica Velasco

4 Comments

Essays, assignments, admissions…

These words implicate the pain of students from all over the world, don’t you agree? They yet sound like a creepy snake whispering, “You shall not passsss!”

Most students hate writing essays. It’s difficult, time- and energy consuming, and challenging to complete them. A thesis, arguments, references, and conclusion are fundamental to every essay. But what makes yours stellar is words you use to convince readers. Words are your powerful weapon to prove critical thinking and knowledge of the topic. Words help you stand out in a crowd of other students writing about the same topics.

But here’s the problem:

Not all words are useful. Some are clunky and redundant , while others make your writing mumbling. Some you use for word count rather than meaning, and they make essays sound complicated yet empty.

For concise and meaningful writing, do your best to avoid these words and phrases in your admission essays.

1) Contractions

In essays, avoid abbreviations such as “ don’t ,” “ can’t ,” and “ won’t .” Academic works suppose using full words, so write them rather than contractions.

Set phrases enrich a language, but leave them for personal stories, blog posts, or fiction books. An admission essay is a task to check your skills of formal writing, not your ability to entertain or wow professors with flourished vocabulary. Stay clear and concise.

3-5) “ So on ,” “ etc ,” “ and so forth “

These run-on expressions demonstrate nothing but your inability to work with arguments, details, and examples. They scream, “I do not know what else to say!” Avoid them in your essays.

Phrases a la “ it’s an open secret ,” “ we all know ,” or “ sleep like a baby ” are clichés used so often that have lost relevance far long ago. They are a poor attempt to strike as clever, but such words sound false in sober fact.

7-11) “ Thing ,” “ stuff ,” “ good ,” “ bad ,” “ big “

The problem with these words is colloquiality and vagueness, inappropriate for academic language. It’s okay to use them in everyday talk; but when in essays, they sound too elementary and make admission officers think of your poor vocabulary. Do your best to master paraphrasing and synonymization for writing more sophisticated words in academic papers.

12) Slang, jargon, teen speak

Remember the audience. Even though admission officers might read Buzzfeed articles in spare time, they will hardly appreciate such writing style in your formal essay. Leave slang where it’s appropriate.

13) Rhetorical questions

Asking them, you assume that readers know the answer. But why then do they need this information? What’s its value? Rhetorical questions don’t expect explanations, which is inappropriate for academic writing. What seems evident to you might not be so for a reader, that is why you should provide clear statements in essays.

14-17) “ In terms of ,” “ needless to say ,” “ in conclusion ,” “ it goes without saying “

Parenthetic words bring no surplus value to your writings. They may serve as transitional phrases in informal works but become redundant when used in academic essays. Professors will consider it a trick to complete a word count rather than add value to your work.

Quoting and referencing are a must-have for academic essays, but this rule is about starting your work with a quote from a famous person. First, this trick is so overused that drives professors nuts; and second, they want to hear from you, not Hemingway, Musk, or Obama. It’s your essay, so its tone of voice and personality should be yours.

19-26) “ Very ,” “ quite ,” “ really ,” “ totally ,” “ already ,” “ fairly ,” “ actually ,” “ just “

All they are weak modifiers or redundant – ly adverbs with no meaning. When you need to write a 2,000-word essay, you might fight against the temptation to insert them; but the result will be poor because such words are irrelevant and bring no surplus value to the statements you use in essays. “ Very unique ,” “ really interesting ,” and “ quite enough ” have nothing to do with efficient academic writings.

27) Passive voice

Most educators ask students to avoid passive voice because this grammar construction 1) weakens wiring and 2) “ lacks explicit reference to who the actor is .” Use active voice to make all statements clear to readers.

When writing essays, let words be your allies. Use those powerful words to communicate your message to admission officers and overtake other students. Be concise, enhance your vocabulary, consider active verbs and clear sentence structure, and do not plagiarize ideas and texts from peers or online sources. Convey your skills and highlight strengths in your academic writings.

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4 Comments on “ 20+ Words to Avoid Writing in Your Essay ”

Pingback: What Words Are Excluded In A Word Count: Unveiling The Limits

what about if they essay is about a book?

Yeah, my essay is about a book and my teacher told me to still not have any weird words. like above.

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Academic writing
Taboo words in academic writing

Words and Phrases to Avoid in Academic Writing

Published on February 6, 2016 by Sarah Vinz . Revised on September 11, 2023.

When you are writing a dissertation , thesis, or research paper, many words and phrases that are acceptable in conversations or informal writing are considered inappropriate in academic writing .

You should try to avoid expressions that are too informal, unsophisticated, vague, exaggerated, or subjective, as well as those that are generally unnecessary or incorrect.

Bear in mind, however, that these guidelines do not apply to text you are directly quoting from your sources (including interviews ).

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Too informal, too exaggerated, too subjective, generally incorrect, other interesting articles.

Academic writing is generally more formal than the writing we see in non-academic materials (including on websites). It is also more formal than the ways in which we normally speak. The following words and phrases are considered too informal for a dissertation or academic paper.


A bit	The interviews were difficult to schedule	The interviews were to schedule
A lot of, a couple of	studies	studies
Isn’t, can’t, doesn’t, would’ve (or any other )	The sample	The sample
Kind of, sort of	The findings were significant	The findings were
Til, till	From 2008 2012	From 2008 2012
You, your (i.e., the )	can clearly see the results	can clearly see the results

Informal sentence starts

Some words are acceptable in certain contexts, but become too informal when used at the beginning of a sentence. You can replace these with appropriate transition words or simply remove them from the sentence.


Plus	the participants were in agreement on the third question	, the participants were in agreement on the third question
So	it can be concluded that the model needs further refinement	it can be concluded that the model needs further refinement
And	the participants were all over the age of 30	The participants were all over the age of 30
	we asked all the participants to sign an agreement	, we asked all the participants to sign an agreement

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Use the best grammar checker available to check for common mistakes in your text.

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Using vague terms makes your writing imprecise and may cause people to interpret it in different ways. Always try to be as specific as possible.


Stuff	People are concerned about their	People are concerned about their
Thing	The report presents many	The report presents many
	This topic has interested researchers for	This topic has interested researchers for

Academic writing is usually unadorned and direct. Some adverbs of frequency (such as always and never ) and intensifiers (words that create emphasis, such as really ) are often too dramatic. They may also not be accurate – you’re making a significant claim when you say something is perfect or never happens.

These terms do sometimes add value, but try to use them sparingly.


Always, never	Researchers argue that	Researchers argue that
Perfect	The solution to the problem	to the problem
Really, so, super	This theory is important	This theory is

Some words and phrases reveal your own bias. For instance, if you state that something will obviously happen, you are indicating that you think the occurrence is obvious – not stating a fact.

Expressing your opinion is appropriate in certain sections of a dissertation and in particular types of academic texts (such as personal statements and reflective or argumentative essays ). In most cases, though, take care when using words and phrases such as those below – try to let the facts speak for themselves, or emphasize your point with less biased language.


Beautiful, ugly, wonderful, horrible, great, boring	A review of the literature yielded many articles	A review of the literature yielded many articles
Obviously, naturally, of course	The results indicate	The results indicate

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Certain words and phrases are often used incorrectly, even by native speakers of a language. If you’re exposed to such mistakes often enough, you may start to assume they are correct – but it’s important that you don’t let them creep into your writing.

You should also bear in mind that some of these mistakes relate to things we all frequently mishear (for instance, we often think the speaker is saying would of instead of would have ).


Literally	The students did not understand	The students did not understand
Would of, had of	The study considered	The study considered

In general, you should also try to avoid using words and phrases that fall into the following categories:

Jargon (i.e., “insider” terminology that may be difficult for readers from other fields to understand)
Clichés (i.e., expressions that are heavily overused, such as think outside of the box and at the end of the day )
Everyday abbreviations (e.g., approx. , ASAP, corona, stats, info )
Slang (e.g., cops , cool )
Gender-biased language (e.g., firemen , mankind )
Generally unnecessary (e.g., redundant expressions that do not add meaning, such as compete with each other instead of simply compete)

Reflective reports and personal statements sometimes have a less formal tone. In these types of writing, you may not have to follow these guidelines as strictly. The preface or acknowledgements of a dissertation also often have a less formal and more personal voice than the rest of the document.

If you want to know more about AI for academic writing, AI tools, or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

Ad hominem fallacy
Post hoc fallacy
Appeal to authority fallacy
False cause fallacy
Sunk cost fallacy
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Sarah's academic background includes a Master of Arts in English, a Master of International Affairs degree, and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. She loves the challenge of finding the perfect formulation or wording and derives much satisfaction from helping students take their academic writing up a notch.

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College essay don’ts: 37 Things to Avoid In a college essay

Knowing what not to write about in a college essay is just as important as knowing what to write about!

This post is all about college essay don’ts , including college essay topics to avoid and how not to write your college application essays.

It’s so important to know what NOT to write about in your college application essay. Whether you’re crafting your essay for the Common App or writing shorter college-specific essays, you need to know how not to write a college essay.

Choosing the wrong topic for your college application essays could mean that you don’t get admitted to your dream school or you miss out on scholarship money.

Since you really only have one chance to get it right, you need to know what topics to avoid in your college admissions essays, general college essay don’ts, and what other pitfalls to avoid when writing your college essays.

Essay writing may feel overwhelming and stressful, but knowing what not to do will help you write a great college essay!

What not to write in your college application essay

So you know exactly what not do in college admissions essays, here are 37 college essay tips about college essay don’ts. Follow this advice to know what not to write about in your college essay!

1. Don’t restate the Essay prompt

Start your essay with a hook. Start with dialogue. Start by setting the scene.

Don’t start by restating the essay topic! The reader knows the essay prompts, so just start telling your story.

A great story will immediately grab the attention of the admission officers and make them want to keep reading!

2. Don’t try to be funny in your college admissions essay

There’s a good chance that what you think is funny may not be funny to the admissions officer. And even if your admissions officer thinks it’s funny, the dean of admissions may not agree.

Clever writing that naturally tells a funny story will get you further than trying too hard to make everyone laugh.

3. Don’t swear

You might not mind vulgar language, but many people do. It will come off as tasteless and crass. Simply put, curse words should not be part of your college admissions essay.

4. Don’t just tell the reader what you think

Tell the reader what you did, how you felt, how you changed—not just what you think. Admissions officers don’t want to read about what you think in the abstract.

They want to know what has happened to you in life, how that’s affected you, and what you did as a result.

Write an engaging, interesting story that shows the reader how you’ve grown and what you’ve learned.

5. Don’t try to Appear perfect

It’s okay that your life is messy and you don’t have it all together. It’s okay that you’re not super organized and you don’t know what you want to be when you grow up.

Your college essay doesn’t need to be about how awesome you are (really, it shouldn’t be!). It just needs to be about the real you. Remember, your personal essay for college should be just that—personal!

6. Don’t brag

Your achievements are all listed on your resume.

Writing about how great you are, how you saved the day, or how you’re a hero to others is not going to make a positive impression on the reader.

Leave the bragging to the people who wrote your letters of reference.

7. Don’t emphasize status

Avoid topics that emphasize your financial privilege. Voluntourism trips to aid people living in poverty in far-flung areas of the world is a key example of this.

Don’t write about going on a mission trip to a third world country to volunteer to help the less fortunate and how you learned how privileged you are. Just don’t.

8. Don’t lie

Don’t inflate your accomplishments. Don’t pretend to be someone you’re not.

If you write something dishonest in your essay, it won’t match the other parts of your application. If you were found to have been dishonest when writing your essay, you will not be offered admission at that college.

9. Don’t reveal too much

If you have faced personal challenges, like addiction, mental health struggles, or learning disabilities, those struggles are part of you. You should feel proud of overcoming them.

But your college admissions essay is not the place to share your most deeply personal experiences.

Some college admissions officers may read about your challenges and want to welcome someone with your tenacity and spirit to their campus.

Unfortunately, most admissions officers will read about your challenges and worry that you will face similar issues at their university.

Many colleges choose not accept applicants who have demonstrated past mental health issues. This might not seem fair, but it is reality. Don’t hide your true self or be dishonest, but carefully consider how much you want to reveal in your admissions essay about your private struggles.

10. Don’t write about illegal activities

It’s a safe bet that most colleges do not want to admit students who have a history of participating in illegal activities.

Even if you plan to talk about drug use, alcohol use, jail time, or committing crimes as a way to show growth and discuss lessons learned, illegal activities show a lack of maturity and questionable judgement.

Writing about criminal behavior will not reflect well on you as a candidate for admission. Illegal activities make bad topics for college essays.

11. Don’t summarize your resume

This is one of the biggest college essay don’ts! Your college essay is your opportunity to tell the college admissions office who you really are and what really matters to you.

Your resume already lists your activities, and your transcript details your grades. Your college essay isn’t the place to review these facts; it’s your chance to stand out by telling your story.

12. Don’t tell a general story

Be specific. In fact, be very specific. Focusing on the details of your story will help make your college essay unique so that it stands out.

A good college essay will tell a story that could only have been written by you—no one else.

Instead of telling a biopic story of your life, focus on one aspect of your life—your beliefs, a meaningful experience, a key event—that explains who you are and what matters to you.

13. Don’t write about cliché topics

Avoid writing about the sports victories and defeats. Winning a big game or losing a championship game might mean a lot to you, but sports are common topic and best avoided.

Don’t write about overcoming an academic setback or a romantic breakup.

14. Don’t write about something controversial

You don’t know who will be reading your college admissions essay, and they might not agree with your views on controversial topics.

Moreover, your reader might not appreciate how you approach a sensitive topic. You might appear close-minded and unempathetic.

The last thing you want to do is make the admissions officers reading your essay think you would bring discord to the campus community.

15. Don’t undervalue the small stuff

Great essays can be crafted from the small, personal details of daily life.

Don’t underestimate what interesting essays can be written about your morning routine, your favorite family recipe, your relationship with your sibling, or what you do on a snow day.

In fact, some of the most memorable, best essays have been about a random item, food, or daily routine.

16. Don’t go negative

Criticizing other people, your current school, or anything else will probably just make a bad impression on your readers.

Don’t whine about your life. Negativity says more about you and how you perceive the world around you than it does about anything else. Certainly don’t criticize the college you’re applying to!

If you do want to write about negative experiences you’ve had, quickly move on to discussing what you’ve learned or how you’ve grown as a result of those experiences.

17. Don’t be pompous

Never assume that you know better than your readers or that your approach is the only way.

Don’t tell your reader what they should think. Avoid making generalized value judgements.

18. Don’t go completely off topic

Don’t try to stand out by submitting a poem or creative writing sample.

Write a thoughtful, well-crafted essay about yourself, just like they asked for.

Show that you respect the school admissions committee’s request and can follow directions.

19. Don’t ignore the prompt

College admission essay topics are designed to allow you a lot of freedom in how you answer. Craft a story that tells something about you, within the framework of the prompt.

Just double check that your essay answers the prompt, to make sure you didn’t veer off topic as you wrote and edited the essay.

Also know that you can write about whatever you’d like to . In your essay writing process, if you find that the first prompt you chose isn’t working out, choose a different one and start again.

20. Don’t get the tone wrong

Your college admissions essay is not an expository essay, formulaic and devoid of warmth. Nor is it the right time for you to use all the fancy words you’ve been studying for the SAT.

Your college admissions essay should be engaging, show your personality, and sound like you—a teenager reflecting on your life thus far.

21. Don’t write a trite conclusion

If your essay has done its job, you shouldn’t need to sum it all up for the reader in a neat little final sentence.

If you have shown your reader what you’ve learned, how you’ve grown, or who you are, you don’t need to say it explicitly at the end of your essay.

The conclusion is often the hardest part of the essay to get just right, so don’t worry if it’s hard to find the perfect words. Take a break from writing it and come back in a few days to get a fresh perspective on what you’re trying to say.

22. Don’t wait until the last minute to Write

Start writing your college admissions essay weeks, if not months, before its due. Senior year is an incredibly busy time, so it’s a great idea to get started on your college admission essays as early as possible.

Leave plenty of time to think about what you want to say, revise and edit, and finalize the essay. You’ll be amazed at how your essay can improve if you allow ample time to work on it.

If you’re going to apply early decision or early action, consider starting to work on your main essay the summer after junior year, before your senior year even starts, or early in the fall of senior year.

23. Don’t ignore the word count

You don’t want to write too much or too little. Aim to be within a few words of the word limit. Express yourself clearly and concisely.

24. Don’t repeat your resume

When you’re writing your personal statement essay, don’t just repeat your high school resume.

Your personal essay is your chance to talk about an aspect of your personality or life experiences that can’t be found anywhere else in your college application.

The list of courses you’ve taken (and your grades) tell about your academic interests. So there’s no need to turn your essay into a list of your academic achievements!

Your extracurricular activities show what you’re interested in and how you use your time. If you want to discuss how your extracurricular activities have been formative experiences for you, focus on one particular example. Don’t re-list all your volunteer experiences!

Your personal statement essay should reveal something about you that doesn’t show up in the rest of your application.

25. Don’t write about an “example” topic

If you have read some amazing examples of college essays, and you’re thinking that you could write on that same topic, don’t.

Chances are, if your English teacher pointed out those examples, or you found them via a Google search, every other high school senior (and every school admission officer) has seen those essays too!

Instead, dig deep and write your own amazing personal statement !

26. Don’t copy and paste

It’s completely fine to use the Common App to submit your personal essay to every school on your list (as long as they accept the Common App, of course).

But for each college’s specific essays, tailor your essay to each school. Include specific details about each college that make you want to go there. And make sure your responses are appropriate to the culture of each college.

If you do copy and paste your essays, be sure the essay doesn’t refer to the wrong school!

27. Don’t overuse the thesaurus

Everyone gets stuck using the same words over and over again, and it’s fine to check a thesaurus when you’re writing.

But don’t use big words just in an attempt to impress the college admissions officers. Don’t use words you don’t really understand to try to sound smart.

For a great college application essay, write naturally in your own voice and let your true personality show.

28. Don’t plagiarize

If you’re submitting someone else’s college essay as your own, you’re giving up the chance to share your unique story with the admissions office.

You’re also risking an automatic rejection if you’re caught!

29. Don’t be fake

Use your essay to tell the admissions officers what you want them to know about you.

Don’t try to guess what the admissions officers would like for you to say or try to be someone you’re not.

Don’t invent a tragic event in your past, claim to have done hours and hours of community service you haven’t done, or exaggerate any aspect of your life.

Be authentic, write with your own voice, and craft an essay that stands out from the other applicants.

Simply take your time to craft a thoughtful essay that tells your personal story. Talk about your unique perspective on one specific experience in your life, using your authentic voice.

30. Don’t write a school essay

Your college admissions essay is not a five-paragraph expository essay that you would write for English class.

A winning college essay should have a beginning and an end, but the part in the middle should tell a good story, not make an argument in three points.

The expository essay style of writing might be what your English teacher wants, but it makes for bad college essays.

For a college application, a well-written essay will examine your personal growth, your unique experience in life, and the different perspectives through which you see the world. And you should do this by crafting an intriguing story about a specific moment or experience that was significant to you.

31. Don’t Avoid feedback

If you’re feeling stuck, feel free to ask someone else—a teacher, parent, family member, or friend—to read your essay. Getting feedback on your entire essay is the best way to get a sense of how admissions officers will respond to reading it.

Feedback does not mean that they tell you what to write or how to write it.

Feedback should mean getting input from someone else can help you learn where your essay veers off point or where you need to dig deeper to tell a better story.

32. Don’t skip editing

Please allow enough time to write AND edit your essay. Ideally, you will write a first draft of your essay, then edit it, then get feedback, then edit it again, then write a final draft (then proofread it—see below).

Expect to write at least three or four, and maybe many more, drafts of your college application essay. Your essay will improve with each round of editing.

The essay writing process can be time consuming, but in the end you’ll have a strong essay to share with college admissions offices, so it will be worth it!

33. Don’t overedit

What? Didn’t I just tell you to edit?

Yes, absolutely. Just be sure that after you’ve shown your essay to trusted readers and you’ve made your edits, your story still remains.

The essay should still have your voice and should tell the story you want to tell.

34. Don’t skip proofreading

After you make your edits and write a “final draft,” you might want to click send and submit your essay. But not so fast!

Take time to do a final proofread of your essay.

Better yet, ask a teacher, college counselor, or someone with excellent grammar and spelling skills to proofread your essay. Having a fresh set of eyes on your essay will help ensure it is error-free.

35. Don’t just rely on Spellcheck

It’s really important to have an actual person proofread your essay.

Spellcheck and other editing software won’t necessarily catch grammar errors, typos, or poorly structured arguments.

It’s always a good idea to trust the final proofread of your essay to a person, rather than technology.

36. Don’t submit your essay at the last minute

You never know when a website will get glitchy!

Don’t take a chance that the Common Application or an individual university’s website won’t act up at a crucial moment. Do your best to upload your college essay at least a day before it’s due!

The admissions process is stressful enough without adding in technical errors. Don’t risk missing the deadline by procrastinating!

37. Don’t submit an incomplete essay

When you’re in the Common App website or a specific college’s application portal, and you attach your admission essay, scan it quickly before hitting the submit button.

Be sure you attached the correct file or that the complete essay transferred when you copied and pasted it into the online form.

It won’t matter if you write a great essay if you don’t submit it correctly!

Final thoughts on college essay don’ts and what not to write in your college essay

Personal essays are a key part of the college application process. College admissions counselors, especially at smaller colleges, use college essays to learn more about the applicants applying for admission at their school.

An amazing college essay might not make up for bad grades or a lack of extracurriculars, but a poorly written essay may push your application into the reject pile. This is especially true now that test scores are usually optional.

Successful essays allow admissions officers to learn about your personal qualities, your take on global issues, and how you might contribute to campus life.

Writing a great college admission essay is the most important thing you can do to make a great impression on the admissions team.

After looking at so many college applicants, test scores, GPAs, and awards all blend together. It’s the personal essays that stand out when admission counselors are deciding which high school seniors will be accepted.

So, it’s worth taking your time to write the best college admissions essays you can.

By avoiding all these college essay don’ts, you’ll know what not to write in your college essay.

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Words to Avoid in Academic Writing

November 3, 2022 | Blog

Cheat sheet

No time to read? Here’s the short version:

Academic writing is comparatively formal. To improve the tone of your paper, avoid the following expressions, which are seen as out of place in academic writing:


	informal expressions
	vague expressions
	exaggerations
	opinionated or subjective expressions
	clichés
	fillers
	contractions
	the first or second person
	jargon
	gendered language	or when referring to people of all genders

Informal and colloquial writing

Academic writing is more formal than other kinds of writing. Some words or expressions that may be acceptable in emails, blog posts, or text messages are too informal for academic contexts and may come across as unsophisticated. Here are some informal and colloquial words to avoid in academic writing.


America	the United States, the US, the USA	The study focused on the United States.
bad	poor, negative	The results were poor.
big, humongous, huge	large, sizeable, significant	A significant amount of evidence supports this theory.
has got	has, must	The senator said that the government act.
get, got	receive	The writer received a prize for her work.
give	provide, offer, present	Table 5.2 provides evidence to support this conclusion.
good	optimal, strong, prime (or replace with a more descriptive adjective)	The findings were optimal.
kind of, sort of	somewhat, to some degree, in the category of	The scholar somewhat agreed.
till	until, to, through	The study will run from March until May.
show	demonstrate, reveal, illustrate	The interviews revealed a shared concern over safety.

Vague writing

Academic writing should be as precise as possible. Unambiguous language strengthens papers, while vague wording leaves too much to a reader’s interpretation. Whenever possible, prefer exact values—percentages, measurements, statistics—to broader terms. Here are some imprecise words to avoid in academic writing.


a bit	Specify the exact amount.	The experiment required 10 mg of catalyst.
a couple of/some	Specify the exact amount or replace with .	were surveyed.
a lot of, lots of	Specify the exact amount or replace with , , or .	The announcement received significant attention.
a ton	Specify the exact amount or replace with , , or .	The government spent $5 million on the project.
and so on	Either finish the thought, eliminate the phrase, or replace with a more specific phrase like or .	Civil engineers must consider load, terrain, weather and many other factors when designing a bridge.
anything, something	Specify the item(s).	The writer could be referencing anything. The writer could be referencing
nice	Specify the quality.	It was a colourful painting.
most	Specify the amount or replace with or .	scientists support the measure.
stuff, thing	Specify the item(s), or replace with or .	The report included lots of stuff. The report included .

Exaggerations

Academic writing should allow for reasonable doubt. While academic writers can be confident, they must acknowledge that their ideas and theories may be disproven. Avoid language that suggests absolute authority or knowledge.

Superlatives, such as largest and best , should be used only if they refer to provable facts (for example, describing a company as the largest in Europe) or if the writer is quoting another source (for example, saying that Rolling Stone ranked a certain recording as the best single of 2018).


always	Specify the amount or replace with the word .	The results were always the same. The results were .
definitely, absolutely	Eliminate or replace with , or .	The findings provide significant support for the proposed legislation.
every	Specify the amount or add a phrase to convey reasonable doubt, such as or .	Every species of this genus is found in the Brazilian Amazon.
never	Specify the amount or replace with the word .	Surveyed respondents never chose the fourth option. surveyed respondents chose the fourth option
none	Specify the amount or add a phrase to convey reasonable doubt, such as , , or .	.
proves, proof		This finding supports the hypothesis.

Too subjective or opinionated

In academic writing, arguments must be supported by evidence. Avoid words that imply conclusions based on the writer’s personal opinions; use objective language to support the main argument. Here are some subjective words to avoid in academic writing.


beautiful, wonderful, awful, ugly, hideous	Specify the quality as objectively as possible.	The composition was full of clashing movements. The building was artfully designed.
better	Replace with a more objective word or phrase.	The candidate had a more comprehensive plan to address climate change than his opponent.
clearly, naturally, of course, obviously, undoubtedly	Eliminate or replace with a more objective word.	The programmer wrote the application in Java. After the war, economic policy changed.
perfect, ideal, best	Replace with a more specific qualifier or the words or .	The applicant was a strong candidate.
should	Explain the rationale behind the recommendation.	Activists should study the protest. Activists the protest.

Clichés and colloquialisms

Clichés are overused expressions, while colloquialisms are those patterns of expression typical of informal speech. Besides making a paper appear too informal or conversational, they suggest that the writer doesn’t have a clear idea of what she’s trying to say. Replacing such phrases with more precise language will help improve the tone of your writing. Here are some clichés that are best avoided in academic writing.


a happy medium		The two sides reached compromise.
a stumbling block		The proposal encountered an obstacle when the opposing party mounted a negative press campaign.
above board		Unlike previous proposals, the resolution was legitimate.
at the end of the day, when all is said and done	or	, the new law did not impact the rural population.
get through	Replace with a more specific verb or use or .	The researcher had to read multiple texts.
in this day and age, in recent years	Specify the time period or use , , or .	, social media use has become prevalent amongst millennials.
think outside the box	Specify the idea or replace with words like and .	The economist was known to outside the box propose innovative ideas.

Some words or phrases are superfluous in academic writing, and sentences tend to be stronger when they are removed. These filler words are best avoided in academic writing.


literally	Eliminate entirely unless you mean ‘in a literal manner.’	The scientist had explored every option. The politician’s remarks were not intended to be interpreted .
really, too	Eliminate or specify the quality.	The results were revealing.
serves to, helps to	Eliminate entirely.	This quote illustrates the author’s primary argument.
so	Eliminate entirely or replace with a more specific word.	The poem is interesting because it uses an unusual rhyme pattern.
very, extremely	Eliminate the word or replace with .	Her testimony was useful. Her testimony was .

Contractions

Contractions are the result of combining two words into one word, with the omitted letters shown with an apostrophe. For example, don’t is a contraction of do not . Contractions give writing an air of informality, and careful writers avoid them in academic writing.


can’t, won’t, don’t, didn’t		The two substances did not react.
shouldn’t, wouldn’t		He would not support the vote.
it’s		a common misunderstanding.
I’d, I’ve, we’ve, she’s		incapable of deceit.

Language to consider carefully

First or second person.

The first person (I/we/my/our) is not always deemed acceptable in academic papers. Consult the style guide used in your field; while you may be able to use the first person in some sections, such as the Acknowledgements, you may need to amend this in the Methods and Results sections.

The second person (you/your) is almost never used in academic writing, though it may be appropriate in creative writing or personal communication. Remember that the second person also includes commands, such as add 10 ml to the solution . In most cases, the best way to avoid the second person is to restructure the sentence.

First person:

I/we/my/our

Replace with a third-person actor ( ) or rewrite the sentence passively.

I performed a regression analysis.

A regression analysis .

performed a regression analysis.

Second person: you/your

Restructure the sentence or replace with a neutral term like or .

You might think that this result is unlikely.

The result .

under the circumstances.

the result unlikely.

One aspect of academic writing that can prove particularly problematic is jargon. Academic writing is full of terms of art, and while these are often unavoidable, you should consider your audience when writing your text. It’s important to choose appropriate subject-specific terminology, of course, but remember that your ultimate goal is for as many readers as possible to read and understand your paper. To further that goal, introduce complex or industry-specific terms with clear definitions.


Aneuploidy	The presence of an abnormal number of chromosomes in a cell.	In this study, researchers reviewed the causes of aneuploidy, namely, the presence of an abnormal number of chromosomes in a cell.
Demurrer	A written response in which the defendant seeks dismissal of an allegation due to insufficient grounds.	The party against whom a complaint has been filed may object by demurrer—a legal document in which the defendant requests dismissal of an allegation due to insufficient grounds.

Gendered language

Replace gendered language with gender-neutral alternatives to avoid perpetuating gender bias.


man, mankind		The wheel is one of humanity’s earliest inventions.
professional designations that end in or such as or , – , such as , or – such as	Replace with gender-neutral words.	, , , ,
, in reference to women, such as	Replace with gender-neutral terms.	The reporter warned viewers of the approach of a vicious cold snap.

The drive to reduce bias and improve inclusion has led to the formulation of guidelines by many academic publishers. For detailed guidance on the types of language that we should avoid in academic writing, see our guide to inclusive language .

For much more detail on problematic terms and preferred alternatives, see the APA’s inclusive language guide , the AMA’s guide to advancing equity in writing , and the OXFAM guidance on inclusive language .

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The Most Important Words To Avoid in Academic Writing

Posted on September 21, 2023 September 18, 2023

Whether in high school or already attending college, you have many academic writing assignments ahead of you. You’ll write research papers, opinion pieces, argumentative essays, lab reports, thesis statements, analyses, and more. Improving your writing is a must if you want to be successful.

When writing an academic paper, you’re expected to use formal, academic language and write well-cited content . There are many words to avoid in academic writing. Follow the writing tips below to figure out which words not to use in a research paper and formal writing.

Personal Pronouns

You should avoid personal pronouns like “I,” “me,” and “my” in almost all academic writing. In most cases, your work will be research- or evidence-based. Inserting yourself reduces your paper’s credibility, as professors want ideas you can source.

Even most opinion pieces should not contain personal pronouns. Again, you’re arguing using research-backed logic, not your personal opinions.

You should also avoid using the word “you” or directly addressing your audience. Instead, use the word “one,” such as, “One must always . . .”

Cliches are phrases that have been so overused that they no longer feel fresh or unique. Some common examples of wordy cliches include “thinking outside the box” and “better safe than sorry.”

When you use a cliche, it makes it hard for your professor to take you seriously. The more cliches you use, the worse it gets. Cliches weaken any research you’ve done and your credibility as a writer.

Cliches often make your essays wordier than it has to be. Look for other ways to get your point across, and try to stick to your own voice as much as possible.

Contractions & Abbreviations

Contractions and abbreviations have their place in writing but never in academic writing. A contraction uses an apostrophe to shorten two words into one word. “Don’t” and “could’ve” are examples of contractions.

Abbreviations are shortened forms of words. Here are a few examples:

Dept. (department)
Univ. ( university)

Abbreviations are often used to shorten proper nouns and longer words.

Both contractions and abbreviations are informal and don’t fit with academic writing. Even if you have high-quality research and arguments, contractions and abbreviations can take away from the formality of your work. They also disrupt the flow of your writing and make it look clunky.

Weak Modifiers & Overused Adverbs

Weak modifiers and overused adverbs often seem helpful when you’re using them but do nothing to strengthen your points. A modifier is a word, phrase, or clause used to strengthen, clarify, or intensify meaning in a sentence. Weak modifiers do not add to the meaning of a sentence and can even detract from it. Examples include “merely,” “rather,” and “fairly.”

Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. Below is a list of words considered overused adverbs:

Professors consider weak modifiers and overused adverbs filler words because they add to the word count but not the meaning. You can often improve a sentence by taking out these words. If the sentence is still lacking in meaning, try a stronger adjective or verb.

Idioms are phrases that have a meaning that can’t be figured out by knowing the meaning of the individual words. Meanings are figurative, not literal. Idioms are usually only understood by members of a certain culture or speakers of a specific language.

Common English examples include:

“Raining cats and dogs”
“Under the weather”
“Once in a blue moon”

Idioms are best left to informal writing, as they can take away from the integrity of academic work.

There’s also a chance that a non-English speaker may read your work. While they may understand English, they likely won’t understand all the idioms.

Passive Voice

Understanding passive voice can be challenging. In a sentence, you will often have an actor and a receiver of the action. When you make the receiver the subject of a sentence and the actor the object, it doesn’t read well.

Consider these two sentences:

Active voice : Liam took Jakob to the movies.
Passive voice : Jakob was taken to the movies by Liam.

You’ll notice that in the active example, the first person mentioned is the one doing the action. The second person is the one receiving the action. It reads much more clearly than the second example.

It’s crucial to avoid passive voice when possible. You should even try to avoid passive voice in informal writing, as it almost always makes your writing awkward and difficult to read.

Transitional Words

Writers use transitional words to move from one idea to another. Some transitional words have a place in writing as they can connect two ideas. Transitional words like “however” serve a purpose in writing.

Some transitional words are unnecessary. Students often think they’re making transitions between ideas or paragraphs but are just adding filler content. Examples of unnecessary transitional words include “in conclusion” and “furthermore.”

When using a transitional word, ask if it’s necessary to understand your thought. If it isn’t, you should take it out.

Colloquial Terms

Colloquial terms are words and phrases that we use in everyday speech. Colloquial terms are often slang words and can overlap with idioms. Words and phrases like “kinda,” “y’all,” and “go nuts” are all colloquialisms.

Colloquialisms take away from the formality of scholarly writing. Your professor may even think you have a poor vocabulary.

For academic writing, stick to academic language. Otherwise, your writing suffers, and you may get lower grades. Don’t forget these writing tips.

To recap, here are some phrases and words to avoid in academic writing:

Personal Pronouns: Putting yourself in a paper weakens your research-based evidence.
Cliches: Cliches are overused and aren’t formal enough for a college essay.
Contractions & Abbreviations: Shortening words is not appropriate for academic writing.
Weak Modifiers & Overused Adverbs: These words are unnecessary and may imply that you’re trying to pad your word count.
Idioms: Not everyone knows all idioms, especially non-English speakers.
Passive Voice: Passive voice adds unnecessary words and makes your writing difficult to understand.
Transitional Words: Certain transitional words aren’t needed, as they add nothing to your meaning.
Colloquial Terms: These words/phrases aren’t appropriate for the formal tone required by academic writing.

Before submitting your assignment, check for formatting and do some proofreading. You should also use a plagiarism checker. Even if you didn’t copy, you may sometimes unintentionally plagiarize . Check your school’s style guide because you will probably need to use APA or MLA. Quetext’s software can help you create citations at the click of a button, all for free.

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Avoid These Words and Phrases in Your Academic Writing

When writing an academic essay, thesis, or dissertation, your professor or advisor usually gives you a rubric with detailed expectations to guide you during the process. While the rubric will identify the major requirements for the paper, it will probably not tell you what words or phrases you need to avoid. Whether you want to earn a stellar grade on your next paper or you're hoping to get published in an academic journal, keep reading to discover words and phrases you need to avoid in your academic writing.

"A great deal of"

I encounter the phrase a great deal of in most academic papers that I edit. Avoid using this vague phrase, because your academic writing should be specific and informative. Instead of saying a great deal of, provide exact measurements or specific quantities.

"A lot"

Similar to the previous phrase (a great deal of), a lot is too vague and informal for an academic paper. Use precise quantities instead of this overly general phrase.

"Always"

Avoid using the word always in your academic writing, because it can generalize a statement and convey an absolute that might not be accurate. If you want to state something about all the participants in your study, use specific language to clarify that the statement applies to a consistent action among the participants in your study.

It is almost a cliché to tell you to avoid clichés, but it is an essential piece of writing advice. Clichés are unoriginal and will weaken your writing. In academic writing, using clichés will erode your credibility and take away from all the research and hard work you have put into your project.

What qualifies as a cliché? According to Dictionary.com , A cliché is an expression, idea, or action that has been overused to the point of seeming worn out, stale, ineffective, or meaningless. Your words should be original, carry meaning, and resonate with your readers, and this is especially important for academic writing. Most clichés have been used so frequently in so many different contexts that they have lost their meaning. To eliminate clichés, scan your paper for any phrases that you could type into an internet browser and find millions of search results from all different topic areas. If you are unsure if your favorite phrases are overused clichés, consult this Cliché List for a comprehensive list.

Contractions

Academic writing should be formal and professional, so refrain from using contractions. Dictionary.com offers the following advice regarding contractions: Contractions such as isn't, couldn't, can't, weren't, he'll, they're occur chiefly, although not exclusively, in informal speech and writing. They are common in personal letters, business letters, journalism, and fiction; they are rare in scientific and scholarly writing. Contractions occur in formal writing mainly as representations of speech. When you proofread your paper, change any contractions back to the original formal words.

Double negatives

Double negatives will confuse your readers and dilute the power of your words. For example, consider the following sentence:

"He was not unwilling to participate in the study."

The word not and the prefix un- are both negatives, so they cancel each other out and change the meaning of the sentence. If you want to convey that someone reluctantly participated in the study, express that clearly and explicitly.

"Etc."

The abbreviation etc. is short for the Latin word et cetera , which means and others; and so forth; and so on. Dictionary.com specifies that etc. is used to indicate that more of the same sort or class might have been mentioned, but for brevity have been omitted. I discourage writers from using etc. in academic writing, because if you are writing an academic paper, you are writing to share information or scholarly research, and you are not conveying any new information with the abbreviation etc. Instead of writing etc., explicitly state the words or list that you are alluding to with your use of etc. If you absolutely must use etc. , make sure you only use it if readers can easily identify what etc. represents, and only use etc. at the end of lists that are within parentheses.

"For all intents and purposes" and "for all intensive purposes"

These two phrases are often used interchangeably, but you should avoid both of them in your academic writing. Avoid the second phrase in all of your writing: For all intensive purposes is an eggcorn (a word or phrase that is mistakenly used for another word or phrase because it sounds similar). For all intents and purposes is generally a filler phrase that does not provide any new information, so you can usually omit it without replacing it.

An idiom is an expression whose meaning is not predictable from the usual meanings of its constituent elements. Idioms include phrases such as he kicked the bucket, and they are particularly problematic in academic writing, because non-native English speakers might not understand your intended meaning. Below are three of the idioms I encounter most frequently when editing academic papers:

All things being equal : All things being equal is usually an unnecessary or redundant phrase that you can simply omit without replacing with anything else.
In a nutshell : Instead of saying in a nutshell, use a more universal phrase such as in summary or in conclusion.
On the other hand : Idioms such as on the other hand are informal and will weaken your paper. Instead of writing the phrase on the other hand, consider using conversely.

In-text ampersands ("&")

Do not use ampersands in place of the word and in sentences. Most style guides dictate that you use an ampersand for parenthetical in-text citations, but you need to spell out the word and in your paper. An ampersand within the text of your paper is too informal for an academic paper.

"I think"

You do not need to include the phrase I think when explaining your point of view. This is your paper, and it should contain your original thoughts or findings, so it is redundant to include the phrase I think. Doing so will weaken your writing and your overall argument.

"Never"

Similar to the word " always, " avoid using the word never in your academic writing. Always and never will overgeneralize your statements. If you absolutely must use never in your academic writing, make sure that you specify that it applies only to the participants in your study and should not be applied to the general population.

"Normal"

Avoid using subjective terms such a normal in your academic papers. Instead, use scientific or academic terms such as control group or standard. Remember that what you consider normal might be abnormal to someone else, but a control group or standard should be objective and definable.

Passive voice

Passive voice is one of the most frequent issues that I correct when editing academic papers. Some students think passive voice provides a more formal tone, but it actually creates more confusion for your readers while also adding to your word count. As the UNC Writing Center explained , The primary reason why your instructors frown on the passive voice is that they often have to guess what you mean. Most style guidelines (APA, MLA, Chicago) also specify that writers should avoid passive sentences. Whether you're writing your first draft or proofreading for what feels like the hundredth time, you can change passive sentences by making sure that the subject of your sentence is performing the action.

One way to look out for passive voice is to pay attention anytime you use by or was. These two words do not always indicate passive voice, but if you pay attention, they can help you spot passive voice. For example, the following sentence uses passive voice:

"The study was conducted in 2021."

If your style guideline allows you to use personal pronouns, specify a subject and reword the sentence to say:

"We conducted the study in 2021."

If your style guideline dictates that you avoid personal pronouns, you can make the sentence active by saying:

"The researchers conducted the study in 2021."

There are exceptions to most writing tips, but not this one: You should never use profanity in your academic writing. Profanity is informal, and many people might find it offensive, crude, or rude. Even if you enjoy creating controversy or getting a rise out of your readers, avoid profane words that might offend professors or other readers.

Academic writing can feel overwhelming, but hopefully this list of words and phrases to avoid in academic writing will help you as you navigate your next big assignment. Although there are exceptions to some items on this list, you will grow as a writer if you learn to avoid these words and phrases. If you consult your professor or advisor's rubric, adhere to style guidelines, and avoid the words or phrases on this list, you might even have fun the next time you have to stay up all night to finish an academic paper.

Writing Help

Academic essays by adam kissel, words to use, words to avoid.

If your essay responds to a prompt, you are well advised to use the words and ideas in the prompt frequently throughout the essay. This shows that you have thought carefully about the prompt, that you are addressing it directly, and that you did not plagiarize. If there is no prompt, give your essay unity by continuing to use words that express the thesis.

Here are several words you should seldom use in academic essays, although they might be perfectly acceptable in certain contexts and in other kinds of essays:

(1) "totalizing" words such as always, never, everyone, all, every, everywhere, totally, absolutely , and so on. These words are hard to defend, because your readers tend to be good at finding exceptions.

(2) "conversational" words and phrases such as you know , I feel that, I'm trying to, what's up with , and so on. This guideline includes almost all slang and almost all contractions. Note, however, that an essay should sound "smooth" when it is read aloud.

(3) "judgmental" words such as stupid, dumb, awful, terrible, great, amazing , and so on, unless you explicitly defend your judgment. Some demeaning words such as dumb can almost always be specified better by using a less demeaning, more precise word.

(4) socially or culturally "unacceptable" words. In some settings, calling an adult female a "girl" is appropriate, but in other settings it is inappropriate. Context often makes all the difference. Writers of academic essays are often taught to write in "gender neutral" terms whenever there is no reason to write about males or females in particular, and more and more readers are requiring that this norm be followed.

(5) Recognize that your words can have ideological meanings that please or anger your readers: the rise of the term "Democrat Party" in place of "Democratic Party" might tempt you to write "Democrat Party" in an essay about politics, but this trend has been limited mainly to political conservatives, so your use of the term will go over very differently with different readers. Whenever there is a genuine question about what is appropriate, choose the less controversial term. An academic essay about something else is not the place to fight an unrelated social or political battle, tempting as it may be.

The section "Five Ways to Turn Off the Reader" under "What Makes a Good Essay?" gives further advice.

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Words that You Should Never Use in Essay

Every writer wants his essay to be a brilliant piece of writing not only free from grammatical and spelling errors but also free from redundant and boring words. Writing an essay is a complex process that requires brainstorming and editing. This article will give useful tips on how to write a good essay, and avoid the unnecessary boring words that spoil the positive impression of the writing.

Once your paper is ready, check it once more to make sure you do not have too many repetitions. Repetitive words should be replaced with synonyms. Thus you can achieve a stronger vocabulary part that will definitely add points to your writing. Besides, avoid plain words that are characteristic of daily speech rather than academic writing. Try to use more sophisticated vocabulary.

Some lexical units are considered to be the words to avoid in an essay or any other academic work. Whether you are a student who has to submit a project or an entrepreneur obliged to prepare a business document, you need to be aware of the words that should not be used in writing. Certainly, there are some exceptions. For example, you may use colloquial words or jargon in your text if it is allowed by the instructions. Though such situations occur rarely, it is better to know the words that should not be used in writing. For example, avoid such words in essay writing:

Think (you can replace it with argue, brainstorm, consider, suppose, find, analyze);
Big (replace with huge, immense, large, colossal, considerable, substantial, vast, gigantic)
Do (perform, accomplish, achieve, act, execute, finish, complete, conclude)
Very (this word amplifies the writing. You may find better solutions like immensely, inconsiderably. The word very could be used as an adjective with the meaning exact. For instance, “The very moment of the speech was brilliant”)
Good (superb, satisfactory, marvelous, excellent, exceptional, wonderful, favorable)
Bad (poor quality, sad, unacceptable, inferior, deficient, imperfect).
Interesting (one of the most boring words in English. Replace with fascinating, alluring, compelling, curious, impressive, engaging)
Thing (if you write about certain thing, it has a denomination. What is it: day, bag, literature, music, or sentence?)
Get (use: acquire, receive, gain, earn, obtain, score, win).
Nice (polite, brilliant, useful, superior, winning).

In addition, there is a list of the banned phrases that make our essay sound unprofessional. Try to avoid these phrases:

"In order to". You can just "write to".
"Due to the fact that". Use "because".
"Each and every". It is possible to use "each or every", but not the combination of both.
"Equally as". This phrase is grammatically incorrect. You can write "equally exceptional as" or "as exceptional as", but not "equally as exceptional".
"As to whether". Just use "whether".
"In terms of".
"Lots or lots of". Replace with many, tones, much.
"Kind of, sort of". Those phrases are good for informal conversations. But, try to avoid in academic writing.
"Point in time". This phrase is a tautology. Use "at this time" or "at this point".
"Nature". Usually this word is redundant. Person of a mild nature is just a mild person.
"Plus". Plus cannot be used as conjunction. Use "and" instead.
"Try and do". Write "try to do".
"So as to". Replace with "to".
"On account of". Use "because".
"Anything", "something", "nothing" and all words ending-thing. Try to avoid and give exact specification of an object.
"Really". Just omit in formal writing.
"What I mean to say". Write: "I suppose", "I consider", "my ideas is".
"The point I am trying to make". Omit this phrase and replace with "My point is"
"So on and so forth". Omit.
"Play a role". This is a slang phrase. Replace with "is" or "becomes".
"Nowadays", "in today’s society", "in today’s world", "at the present time". Use "today" or "now".
Avoid contractions. Instead of "haven’t" write "have not", instead of "can’t" write "cannot".
"As far as I am concerned". Omit this phrase.
"As a matter of fact", "all things considered". Omit.
"For the purpose of". Replace with "for".
"Because of the fact of", "by virtue of the fact". Omit this redundant phrase. Just write "because".
"In a very real sense", "in reality". Omit.

Remember these phrases and words and omit them in your writing! Use more sophisticated and impressive words to compose the good essay and score the highest grade!

To make sure that your work is coherent and clear, you need to pay attention to the words to avoid in academic writing.

Contractions Such contracted forms as “can’t,” “won’t” are regarded as the words to avoid in an essay as well as any other academic paper. When producing scholarly projects, full forms of words are to be utilized.
Idiomatic expressions Without doubt, set expressions make the language richer, but they should be left for blog posts, fiction stories, etc. As to the papers written in academic style, they should not include any words or phrases used just for entertaining readers. Clarity is what matters.
Hackneyed words The expressions like “it is as clear as a day,” “let’s face it” are the clichés that are applied so frequently that they have lost their pertinence. The use of these words is just a vain attempt to pretend to be smart.
Jargon and slang Mind the readers. It is clear that the members of the admission board read different funny articles. However, they will hardly approve the use of slang and jargon in admission essays. Remember that these lexical units are the words to avoid in writing admission or any other academic works.
Rhetorical questions By asking these questions, you show that the response is known to readers. In such a case why would they read your work? Rhetorical questions do not require any explanations what is unacceptable for scholarly writing since it demands complete clarity meaning each statement has to be explained.
Quotations Quotes also belong to the group called “words not to use in an essay.” Certainly, inserting quotations in the text and making references is essential. Nonetheless, your work cannot start with a quote written by a well-known person as your professor what to read your paper written in your own style.
Passive voice The majority of professors ask their students not to apply passive voice constructions for two reasons: 1. it makes writing weak, 2. it makes writing sound confusing. To make everything clear, active voice is to be used.

Use your own tone and style when producing essays. Be specific and construct clear sentences. Avoid plagiarism! Can you use “you” in an essay? There are certainly the types of papers where you may use this pronoun, but it is better to clarify the issue with your professor before starting writing.

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8 Types of Words You Must Not Use in Your Essay

by Antony W

June 26, 2024

Academic writing is different from creative writing mostly because it’s formal. And although creativity is welcome in essay assignments, there are words and phrases that can cost you important marks if you use them in college assignments.

We know how hard writing essays can be, especially because you don’t have the opportunity to implement the elements of creative writing. Plus, it’s time and energy consuming because you have to do a lot of research, write a working thesis , build an outline, defend arguments , and have an impressive paper at the end of it all.

As challenging as essay writing can be, it’s not impossible. You can take your research and put it on the paper before the deadline elapse. However, the words you use to write is what will count towards enticing (convincing) your readers or boring them altogether.

To be clear, not words are useful in essay writing. While you can use idioms and self-made sayings and quotes in creative writing, essay writing requires a 100% forma approach. That’s why it’s important to avoid these words if you want your essays to read well.

Word to Avoid in Essay Writing

1. contractions .

By definition, contractions are a combination of words linked together with apostrophes. Since they shorten words, contractions tend to lower the number of words in written and spoken communication. As interesting as contractions sound when read verbally, they hardly have a place in formal academic writing. You can use them in college application essays to personalize your application, but they won’t be appropriate for other types of formal essays or research assignments.

Words such as “can’t” and “mustn’t” should not appear in your academic paper, even in the case where you have to write a persuasive essay in your own voice. You should write the words in full instead.

2. Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns are okay for college admissions essays, persuasive essay writing, and opinion essays but bad for everything else in academic writing.

Take argumentative essay writing , for example. A writer must academically reflect on arguments that correspond with their opinions and be 100% free from personal feelings. Given that they have to speak facts, which are practically difficult to explain in first person pronouns, you should avoid using words such as “I” and “We” in the essay.

To be clear, academic essays must never sound subjective. An essay that sounds subjective tends to be full of bias and sounds more like a narrative paper. As such you should avoid using personal pronouns in an essay unless otherwise instructed to do so.

3. Rhetorical Questions

People read academic essays because they’re looking for answers to the questions that they have. So asking questions is an essay makes your writing irrelevant to a great degree.

Here’s why:

Every time you ask a rhetorical question in an essay , you shift the burden to answer from the writer (you) to the reader (your audience). Unfortunately, the question itself doesn’t add value because they don’t provide any clue, information, or explanation. Not to mention that they’re so much irritating that they tend to easily draw attention away from the essay.

Keep in mind that what might seem obvious to you won’t be so for someone reading your essay. So instead of filling your writing with questions that will otherwise disinterest your audience, use rhetorical statements.

4. Quotes

There’s nothing wrong with starting an essay with a quote provided it’s relevant to the issue under investigation. To make sure your readers understand the quotation, you have to explain what the quote means and its significance in the essay.

You can also end an essay with a quote provided it’s relevant to the topic.

The problem comes in when you don’t know exactly how to use quotes in the essay.

From an academic writing standpoint, you should never include a quote that you’ve made up yourself. If you must include a quote in your work, make sure it’s from a well-known author whose work is academic worthy.

Second, don’t just copy the quotation to your writing. Explain what it is about and demonstrate how it’s significant to the topic you’re investigating. Also, you have to reference the quote so that your professor knows where you found it.

While the idea of using quotes in your work may seem Interesting, it’s best to avoid them entirely. Unless you strongly believe there’s a need to include a quote from Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Donald Trump, Hemingway, or Obama in your work, stick to a tone that presents your personality and thoughts.

5. Passive Voice

You should not use passive voice in an essay for the simple reason that it weakens your writing. Given its kind of grammar construction, passive voice lacks reference to who the subject (or actor) is and can make your content difficult to consume.

Use active voice in essay writing. It will make your statements clear to your reader and therefore make your paper easy and interesting to read.

6. Vague Words

How often do you mention words such as bad, good, thing, stuff, and big? We believe these are words you use in every day talk. However, they’re not appropriate for essay writing because they tend to make your work sound vague and elementary.

Once you finish writing your essay, re-read it, highlight the most all the inappropriate words or phrases, and then replace them with synonyms and phrases accepted in academic writing.

7. Slang

We can’t deny that jargon, teen speak, and slang have taken root in the society. However, Buzzfeed’s style of writing isn’t something your teachers will appreciate. You need to train yourself to write and speak in a formal language, for the sake of your essay assignment at least. Leave slang to where it belongs and stick to formal writing instead.

8. Idioms

Aren’t idioms good for enriching written works? Well, they’re but are too informal to be appropriate in academic writing. Remember, academic writing must be formal. Any idiom you include in the article breaks that rule and ruins your chances of scoring good grades.

About the author

Antony W is a professional writer and coach at Help for Assessment. He spends countless hours every day researching and writing great content filled with expert advice on how to write engaging essays, research papers, and assignments.

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Most Popular

13 days ago

Hospital nurse staffing and patient mortality, nurse burnout, and job dissatisfaction

Nurse-staffing levels and the quality of care in hospitals, words to avoid in academic writing.

“Very” creates an overstatement. Take the sentence, “She was very radiant.” Radiant is a powerful word already. Let it do its work alone without adding extra emphasis.

Words to use instead: genuinely, veritably, undoubtedly, profoundly, indubitably.

2. Of course

A reader is often unfamiliar with the material you are presenting. If you use of course , the reader may believe they are not smart enough or feel you are not explaining your material well enough. Simply present your case without fluff-language. If you feel you have to use “of course,” use the words below:

Words to use instead: clearly, definitely, indeed, naturally, surely.

It seems when we do not know how to describe an object or phenomena, we use “thing.” Writing, especially in the academic realm, is about being specific. Using “thing” does not provide any specificity whatsoever.

What to write instead: Discuss your subject directly. For instance:

“I loved the thing she did,” could be changed to, “I loved her salsa dancing on Friday nights by Makelmore Harbor.”

Do you know of a person, place, or phenomena that “always” does an action? “Always” is almost always not true.

What to write instead: Consider how often your subject does an action. Say someone at your work is consistently late, but is on time occasionally. Some people might write, “He is always late to work.” As an alternative, you could write, “He is late to work most of the time.” If you are writing a serious paper, consider going further and give exact numbers, such as, “He is late to work 88.6% of the time in the mornings, during the months of September, August, and May.”

Similar to “always,” do you know of any person, place, or object that “never” does a certain action?

What to write instead: Let us look at this sentence: “Maggie never lost her temper because she was a good girl.” A better way to approach this sentence would be to say, “Maggie rarely lost her temper, as she was brought up in believing that displaying her anger was the worst form of human expression.”

6. (Contractions) Can’t, won’t, you’ve…

When you are writing an essay, a research paper, or a review, you are presenting yourself as an expert or professional that wants to send your message across to an audience. Most readers are not wanting to be written to in a casual way. They expect we respect them and that respect is in the form of the language we use. Contractions show we are either lazy or are talking to a lower-level audience.

Instead of writing contractions, simply use the original form of the word.

Akin to “very,” it is not necessary to use and is a form of overstatement.

Words to use instead: extremely, remarkably, unusually, consequently, accurate.

Using “a lot” refers to a quantity, but it does not tell the reader how much exactly. Keep the idea of specificity in your mind when you write. It is better to state the exact amount or at least hand over an educated guess.

What to write instead:

Here is an incorrect sentence first: “I ate a lot of ice cream this morning.” The correct version: “I ate two dinner-sized bowls of ice cream this morning.”

It does not give an appropriate description of a subject. It is recommended to be more specific.

Words to use instead: commendable, reputable, satisfactory, honorable, pleasing.

What does “stuff” mean, anyways?

Words to use instead: belongings, gear, goods, possessions, substance.

This word is vague. It generally means “satisfactory,” but a reader cannot be entirely sure.

Words to use instead: admirable, cordial, favorable, genial, obliging.

A hollow word that does not add much value.

Words to use instead: precisely, assuredly, veritably, distinctly, unequivocally.

Sometimes, writers stamp “many” down on a page without realizing that it means almost nothing to a reader. If you want your audience to know about a quantity, why not state its specifics? But if you cannot provide the details, try these:

Words to use instead: copious, bountiful, myriad, prevalent, manifold.

14. In conclusion

Your readers know it is your conclusion by being the last paragraph(s) and that you are summarizing. There is no reason to state it is your conclusion.

What to write instead: Exclude cookie cutter phrases. Go straight to your summary and afterthought.

15. Firstly, secondly, thirdly…

Your readers knows where your first, second, and third body paragraphs are because they can count. You do not need to state the obvious.

What to write instead: Lead into your body paragraphs by beginning with a topic sentence that follows the concepts outlined in your thesis statement.

16. Finally/lastly

Your readers can see it is your ending point by being the last section in your paragraph(s). And even if the placement of your final point is not clear, there is no real reason to state that it is the last topic.

What to write instead: Write your transitions naturally, without plastic, pre-made phrases. Relate your transitions to the content that was before it.

17. Anything

“Anything” could be, well, “anything.” Specifics, specifics, specifics.

What to write instead: The common phrase, “It can be anything,” can be broken down into details that relate to your composition. Say you are writing about topics for poetry. Instead of stating that, “Poetry can be written about anything,” why not list some possibilities: “Your loneliness in a new city, a recent divorce, how an insect flies through wind filled with tree fluff, your disgust of politics in Buenos Aires, how you wished you could transform into a clock: all these topics and more are valid when writing poetry.”

18. Kind of

A casual version of saying:

“type of” “in the category of” “within the parameters of”

19. Find out

Imagine you are Sherlock Holmes. I bet when you finished a case, you would not say, “I found out the reason that….” No, you would be stately and expound, “I have examined , investigated, interrogated, discovered, realized that Mr. Shuman was tied counter-clockwise to the rope that was set by the food agency’s mole to convert a missionary to blasphemy.”

20. Various/variety

The fathers of ambiguity, these words does not relate to any concrete object, person, or phenomena. It is best to list the “various” or a “variety” of objects, people, or places you are examining in your piece of writing. But if you cannot come up with a proper list, you can insert one of the following words in place of various or variety :

What to write instead: discrete, disparate, diverse, multifarious, divergent.

Similarly, if you see any of these words in a paper, most likely it wasn’t written by a professional. Such works are better not to be trusted as reliable sources. Even the best essay writing services prove that knowledgeable writers avoid these constructions when completing tasks.

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Humanities ›
English Grammar ›

10 Words to Avoid in Formal Writing

An Introduction to Punctuation
Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia
M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester
B.A., English, State University of New York

Purists may tell you that many of the words in the list below aren't "really" words at all, but that's misleading at best. A few of the words are simply misspellings, and the rest are informal expressions or slang phrases that frequently appear in everyday speech (or vernacular ).

Nevertheless, according to the conventions of Standard English, all 10 of the following words should be avoided in reports, essays, research papers, and all other types of formal writing.

alot Alot (one word) is a common misspelling of a lot (two words). "[W]e all may write alot one day," says The American Heritage Guide to Contemporary Usage (2005), but for now "keep in mind that alot is still considered an error in print."
and etc. Because the abbreviation etc. (from the Latin et cetera ) means "and so on," and etc. is redundant. In any case, avoid using etc. in your essays: often it gives the impression that you simply can't think of anything else to add to a list.
anywheres Huck Finn can get away with saying, "There warn't a sound anywheres," but on formal occasions drop the terminal s . If anywheres appears anywhere in your dictionary, it's probably labeled "nonstandard" or "dialectal."
could of Don't confuse this nonstandard form with the contraction could've . Could of (along with should of and would of ) can and should be replaced by could have (and should have and would have ). As for coulda, shoulda, woulda , avoid dwelling on them—both in writing and in life.
hisself This alternative form of the reflexive pronoun himself is commonly heard in certain dialects, but in formal writing steer clear of hisself (and theirself as well—though both were regarded as good usage in Middle and Early-Modern English).
furtherest The comparative form of far is farther or further . The superlative form is farthest or furthest . Nothing's gained by combining the two forms.
irregardless This double negative ( ir- at the beginning and -less at the end) may not deserve Bryan Garner's label of "semiliterate . . . barbarism," but he's probably right that in print it "should have been stamped out long ago" ( Garner's Modern American Usage , 2009). Use regardless instead.
its' Its is a possessive pronoun (like his or her ). It's is a contraction of it is or it has . That leaves nothing for its' to do—so toss it.
let's us Let's us means "let us us." To avoid the repetition, write lets ("She lets us play in her yard") or let's ("Let's play in her yard") or let us ("Let us pray").
nohow If you have the know-how to write, you don't need to be told to avoid nohow . Instead, use in no way or not at all .
Allot, A Lot, and Alot
Characteristics of a Formal Prose Style
How to Use Italics
10 Tips for Finding the Right Words
What Is a Colloquialism?
An Introduction to Academic Writing
Padding and Composition
What is a Logical Fallacy?
What Is an Ampersand Symbol?
Justification (Typesetting and Composition)
Definition and Examples of Orthophemism
Double Plurals in English
Best Practices for Business Writing
Any Time vs. Anytime: How to Choose the Right Word
Levels of Usage: Definition and Examples
Biased Language Definition and Examples

Words To Avoid In Writing (Including Rules and Phrases)

Have you ever found it challenging to understand someone because of how they were writing?

Like a messy desk, untidy writing can cause problems when someone else needs to understand what you’ve written. Removing unnecessary words and phrases ensures that your message is as straightforward as possible for anyone who has to read it instead of just for yourself.

When you’re revising any piece of writing, there are certain words you want to remove to make your text tighter. These should help speed up the pacing of action and dialogue and make your work more polished and professional.

There isn’t a definitive list for every type of writing out there, but some words tend to be useless and should be omitted when doing revisions.

Here are ten commandments to improve your writing.

Don’t use too many adverbs

Adverbs—those words that often end in -ly—are helpful but should be used sparingly. If a verb is not strong enough to convey the meaning you are trying to express, use a stronger verb instead of adding an adverb.

Don’t use too many prepositional phrases

Prepositions are words that often pop up before nouns and pronouns. Fortunately, there are ways to rid your writing of these phrases. If you can eliminate phrases like “towards the end” or “from the middle,” or any other prepositional phrase from your sentence, it will instantly become shorter and more easily understood by most people.

Don’t use ambiguous modifiers

A squinting modifier is a misplaced sentence element that could modify either the phrase that precedes it or the one that follows it because of its unclear location in the sentence. Move their positions to make them clear to your readers.

Don’t use vague pronoun references

When pronouns are used, they should always have something to “stand” on, which means no pronoun should be used without a clear antecedent (a noun – person, place, or thing). Making sure that pronouns do not go without a reference is a matter of paying attention to your writing so as not to confuse the reader.

Don’t use Comma Splices

To splice means to join or connect. Writers often use a comma to join two independent clauses or sentences together in place of a semicolon, period, or coordinating conjunction.

Don’t use Run-on Sentences

Run-on sentences consist of two or more complete sentences incorrectly connected without proper punctuation or coordinating conjunction. An easy way to identify whether run-on sentences are present is by noticing an abrupt transition in writing and then finding the error in speech construction.

These errors can either be long or short sentences depending on the length of each clause in the sentence and how much time it would take you to correct them. Regardless of their size, both types of run-ons need to be fixed before considering correct punctuations.

Don’t use inflated sentences

Clean up your prose by minimizing superfluous language that serves nothing but to distract and confuse. This helps deliver more accurate, straightforward text that reflects precisely what you want to say in a much more efficient way.

Don’t use excessive sentences

Shakespeare has rightly said, “Brevity is the soul of wit.” Use that as guidance by never using ten sentences when two will suffice. Avoid overusing words such as “that,” “just,” and “very” in your work because it will only make reading more difficult for the reader.

Don’t use “could of” instead of “could have”:

“Could have” is always acceptable; “could of” never is. Writers probably make this grammar error because when we speak, the contraction “could’ve” sounds an awful lot like “could of.”

Don’t use Tautologies

Tautologies are phrases that have identical meanings. For example, “Can you jump?” and “Can you jump up and down?” Both sentences mean the same thing. You can have a lot of fun with these kinds of phrases. Often, like non-tautology phrases, they add emphasis or leave out extraneous information: dilapidated ruins, close proximity, added bonus, large crowd. The list goes on and on!

Now that you know which grammar mistakes you should avoid, here is a list of words for a quick scan that might work as your cheat sheet when proofreading or editing:

All the time. This is a redundant phrase, and avoid it all the time.

About. Don’t use this word to estimate because it does not specify anything. Use the word ‘approximately’ instead. Or even better, use a range.

Absolutely necessary or absolutely essential. The words “necessary” or “essential” themselves express the urgency of that matter. Avoid the redundant absolutely.

Add an extra/an additional. The words extra or additional work as a tautology here. Avoid them to tighten your phrasing.

Each and every. Don’t use filler words like “each and every” day. Use compact words, such as daily instead.

As yet. This is an example of a filler that you don’t need in your sentences.

In order to. Eliminate the excess verbiage ‘in order to’ and use ‘to’ instead.

Basically, actually, totally, completely, absolutely, literally, actually. All these filler words are basically, actually, totally, completely, absolutely, literally, actually useless and frustrating to read.

Some. This is an ambiguous word. Add specifications like something, someone, somewhere, somebody instead.

Very, really, quite, rather, extremely. These filler words are really, very, quite, rather, extremely frustrating to read.

At the end of the day, at this point of time, at this present time. These are empty phrases that don’t add value to your piece. Use specific words like “ultimately”, “now”, “today”, etc., instead.

‍ Simply, pretty, just. You don’t need these vague words. Don’t use them often, pretty please. ‍

As a matter of fact. This is an empty phrase that you do not need. ‍

For all intent and purposes, for the most part. Empty phrases. Use those sparingly. ‍

Fly through the air, sit down, jump up. You can write fly, sit or jump instead. The rest is already intended.

‍ Sort of, kind of. Empty phrases. You sort of kind of don’t need them to write. ‍

Probably. You are probably too smart to use such an empty word.

As a rule. As a rule, you should avoid such vague phrases at all costs. ‍

Frequently. Rhis is an example of a vague phrase that you should not use often.

With regard to, in reference to. These are prepositional phrases that do not add much to your writing. ‍

Due to the fact, in fact. Avoid using these.

‍ I believe/I think/ in my opinion. This might be hard, but your opinion rarely matters in professional writing.

‍ Needless to say. If it is needless to say something, do not say it. ‍

It is important to note that. It’s important to note that your writing should be clean and precise.

‍ During the course of. During the course of this article, we have learned what to use and what not to use. This is another example of a redundant phrase that you should avoid while writing.

In an essay titled Politics and the English Language , George Orwell gave out a few pointers.

Here they are:

Never incorporate a metaphor, simile, or other figures of speech.
Never go for a long word when a short one can do.
If there is a scope to cut a word out, always cut it out.
Always use an active voice.
Never use a foreign phrase, a jargon word, or a scientific word, as your reader might not be aware of those.

There you have it: keep your writing simple, brief, active, free of clichés, and to the point. Follow this advice, and you are golden!

Tomas Laurinavicius

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Words to Avoid in Essay for Effective Writing

Table of Contents

Essays require a lot of thought and are a great way to have a voice in whatever you are discussing. However, a word or phrase can make or break an essay.

This article provides a guide on words not to use in an essay . Avoiding these words will make all the difference.

An essay is a specific kind of academic writing that must demonstrate the ability to express ideas clearly and efficiently (and convincingly). An effective way to demonstrate critical thinking and knowledge is by using appropriate words.

When you’re writing an essay, you should avoid using words that make your writing unclear and less effective. It is essential to use appropriate words in your article, as a sloppy or poorly written piece may confuse or annoy readers.

Avoid these words and phrases in your essays for concise and meaningful writing.

1. Contractions

Contractions are typically used to shorten words. Not writing in contractions can be difficult at first because your writing may sound too formal. However, this is a good thing because your essay will have a polished look and be taken more seriously by your reader.

Using total words instead of contractions also shows that you are a more advanced writer. Words like ‘ don’t, shouldn’t, isn’t ‘ should be wholly avoided in your essay.

Idioms are words that have specific meanings and are typical in informal writings. These words are not suitable for essays as they might confuse people who aren’t familiar with their meanings.

Phrases like ‘ Get a taste of your own medicine’ might not make sense to some readers. You might want to choose words that are easy to understand.

3. Rhetorical questions

Rhetorical questions are without grammatical or structural significance and are often used for conversational purposes.

When used in essay writing, they make your paper seem immature, disorganized, and unprofessional. Questions like ‘ do we want our planet to survive ‘ don’t require a logical answer. It is best to avoid them.

4. Passive Voice

Passive voices do not explicitly identify who the actor in a sentence is. It is best to avoid them in your essay as they seem less professional. Instead, use an active voice to make your points and make a clear connection with your audience.

5. Unnecessary Words

You must keep a consistent tone and use concise and appropriate words when you write an essay. If your comments start to become repetitive and the reader has to read through multiple passages repeatedly, you may want to revise the essay.

Avoid using words that add no meaning to your writing. Unnecessary words and phrases tend to make your essay sound inauthentic and fake, which could be the first shot at turning away readers. For example:

Instead of : This research serves to explain

Use : This research explains

6.Too Subjective Words

You might want to give your opinion about a specific subject, which is great in certain types of essays (such as personal statements). In other cases, describing the information in a way that seems more subjective than objective should be avoided.

Using words like “ I think ” and “ I believe ” would seem like you are trying to claim the scope of the argument. In most cases, it is better to use words like “ It seems ,” or “ It is reasonable to believe “.

Clichés are tedious and overused words. It can be a pain to read someone else’s writing filled with clichés. Avoiding these words in your essay will increase your chances of impressing your readers and improving your grade. Furthermore, clichéd phrases can quickly break the flow of your essay and make it seem as if you are falling back on old grounds.

8. Slang and Jargon

Slangs and jargon are among the top words you should avoid in any writing project.

They often confuse and alter the context of your statement and appear silly and unprofessional. Focus on phrases that serve the purpose of your writing without affecting its tone and progression.

9. Too Exaggerated Words

Avoid using words that are too exaggerated so as not to sound overbearing. It would be best to avoid words like “ sure ,” “ absolutely ,” “ obviously ,” “of course,” “absolutely,” “perfectly,” or adjectives like “brilliant,” “wonderful,” and “terrific.” These words are used for emphasis but are often dramatic. They will indeed sound out of place in your essay.

10. Too Sophisticated

It is essential to avoid using excessively sophisticated words that may come across as a certain level of “sophistication” to the reader. Words like “annihilating,” “blitzkrieg,” “dead space,” “prophetically,” and “silent maestro,” which are too over the top, should be avoided.

Stick to words that are simple and precise. The words you choose can contribute to how your essay is received.

person writing on brown wooden table near white ceramic mug

Remember that your essay is not just a piece of writing, but it also serves as an example to the reader. Be conscious of the tone. Language choices can be significant, so don’t be too informal, serious, or ambiguous .

Keep the tone of your essay appropriate. The use of vocabulary can be a good test for a high-quality composition. This article should guide you on the words not to use in an essay .

Pam is an expert grammarian with years of experience teaching English, writing and ESL Grammar courses at the university level. She is enamored with all things language and fascinated with how we use words to shape our world.

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Home / Book Editing / Words to Avoid in Writing: Weak Words to Find, Cut, and Replace

Words to Avoid in Writing: Weak Words to Find, Cut, and Replace

When you're writing your book, it is common to include a lot of words that you don't need. This doesn't mean you are a bad writer, because everyone does this.

Additionally, there are so many words that are unnecessary, and many authors don't even know it. As you gain experience writing, you will find that these words feel stale, and there are better words to replace them.

Thankfully, using the advice in this article, you can turn weak phrases into good writing and become a better writer in the process.

So what do you do about all of these words, and how can you find them?

The different types of words to cut
A list of specific words you should avoid
How to find and replace these words

Note: in this article, we will be using ProWritingAid and Atticus as software examples to get this job done. These are our best recommendations for a proofreading software and a writing software, respectively. However, much of this can also be done in almost any writing program you use. It just might take a little longer. Some of these links may also be affiliate links.

Types of Words to Cut

While we do provide a list of the most common words to look for, there are whole categories of words that you should avoid in your writing, unless you have a specific reason to use them.

Adverbs are words that usually end in “–ly”. They can be helpful, but should not be overused. Adverbs are a good example of “telling, not showing”, when there is a better action verb or descriptor to convey the same information.

To Be Verbs

To be verbs include the words was, is, are, were, etc. While these verbs are certainly necessary, they often act as a big signpost that a better verb could be used.

For example, instead of saying “John was tired,” you could say, “John rubbed his eyes,” or, “John collapsed in his chair.”

Once again, to be verbs provide a clue that you are telling instead of showing.

To be verbs are also a potential sign of passive voice. For example, instead of saying “the ball was thrown by John,” you could say “John threw the ball.”

Prepositional Phrases

A prepositional phrase is a short phrase that ends with a noun, phrases that often increase the length of the sentence.

An example could be, “at the store,” or, “near the middle,”. There are usually better ways to phrase these sentences.

Run-on Sentences

While a little harder to spot using a find and replace feature, run-on sentences are sentences that go on for too long. There are two kinds of run-ons: fused and comma splices. A fused sentence consists of two independent clauses fused together with no punctuation; a comma splice has two independent clauses joined together by a comma.

To fix them, you must either insert a coordinating conjunction, separate them into two separate sentences with a period, or use a semi-colon.

Some tools, such as the Hemingway app , as well as a report in ProWritingAid , will help you identify potential run-on sentences.

Nominalizations

Nominalization are verbs or adjectives that are turned into a noun, when it would be better to keep them as an adjective or verb.

Examples include words like collection, analysis, slowness, intention, accuracy, disagreement, or suggestion.

For example, the phrase, “she performed an analysis,” would usually be better off said, “she analyzed.”

Tautologies

Tautologies are words and phrases that mean the same thing, meaning you can cut one of the words.

Examples include things like “evening sunset”, or “autobiography of her life.” In these examples “evening” and “of her life” mean the same thing as “sunset” and “autobiography” respectively. You don't need both.

Excessive Dialogue Tags

Dialogue tags are necessary when constructing good dialogue, as they inform the reader who is speaking.

However, if you have a conversation between two people, putting a dialogue tag at the end of every single piece of dialogue becomes excessive. Sooner or later, the reader will know who is speaking, and the tags begin to slow down the pacing.

Therefore, when you have two people talking, include the dialogue tags at the beginning of the conversation, but remove them as the conversation progresses.

Overused Words

We all have these, and it is different for every author. There are words that you rely on more than others. These could be words like grin, sigh, suddenly, etc.

Get to know your own personal writing style and identify the words you use as a crutch. ProWritingAid can help with this, as they have a tool that quickly identifies your most-used words.

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Specific Words to Avoid

Now that we've covered some of the basic categories of words to avoid, let's look at individual words that should be a big warning sign for you.

Feeling and Thinking Words

These are words like felt, feel, think, thought, wonder, ponder, understand, realize, or believe.

All of these words are usually unnecessary, and they are signs that you are telling, not showing. There are usually better verbs to use, or you can rephrase the sentence to show more.

This way, you are not distancing yourself from the viewpoint character. You can get directly inside their head, instead of describing what they are feeling.

Example: instead of saying “I thought the food tasted horrible,” you could say, “Yuck! That food made me gag.”

“Then” is a commonly used word to transition in a sequence of events. It is overused and can sound basic. Try rearranging your words, and use “and” instead.

Example: instead of “I tripped on the dance floor, then fell flat on my face, then everyone laughed at me,” say, “I tripped on the dance floor, fell flat on my face, and everyone laughed.”

Words like breathe, breath, inhale, exhale, etc. are words frequently relied on by authors to show an internal character emotion. I know for myself that I relied far too heavily on “let out a breath I didn't know I was holding” in my early books.

This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it can get overly repetitive. Instead, change it up by finding another way to show what caused that character to breathe differently.

Example: instead of “David rushed around the corner and I inhaled sharply,” use, “David rushed around the corner, a manic look in his eye, and my body tensed.”

Shrug, Nod, Smile, Reach

These are common words used by authors over and over again. While this doesn't make them bad, you want to make sure there isn't a more accurate and specific way of describing the situation.

Sometimes, a smile is just a smile, and you don't need a more specific word or phrase, but sometimes you've used it too often, and you need a better way of saying it.

Example: instead of, “He reached for the hammer,” use, “He lunged for the hammer.”

Really, Very

Really and Very are heavily used in writing but are almost always inferior. In almost every situation, there is a stronger adjective that will describe the situation more accurately (the exception, of course, is when a character might use them in dialogue).

Example: instead of, “the giant was very big,” use, “the giant towered over me.”

Just is a word, similar to “very” or “really” that can be easily deleted. It is unnecessary in most situations, and often doesn't even need a replacement.

Example: instead of, “he just wants to be loved,” say, “he wants to be loved.”

“That” is a necessary word, but is often overused. There are many instances when you can remove the word and maintain the meaning of the phrase.

Example: instead of “Dave told Jason that that explosion was deliberate,” say, “Dave told Jason the explosion was deliberate.”

Overused -ly Adverbs

Adverbs should be reduced in general, but there are some that are overused more, including: totally, completely, absolutely, literally, definitely, certainly, probably, actually, basically, virtually.

All of these words add nothing to the sentence, and you can usually remove them. An action word makes a better replacement.

Example: instead of “the drawer was completely full of socks,” say, “the drawer was full of socks.”

“Thing” and “It” are vague words that don't accurately describe what you're talking about. When possible, replace these words with a more specific word to describe the object you are referring to.

The exception for “it” occurs when you have already used the object's name in a sentence, in which case you can use “it” as the correct pronoun going forward.

Example: Instead of, “Bring me that thing,” say, “Bring me that book/smartphone/food/etc.”

Start, Begin

Words like start, begin, began, and begun are often unnecessary, as you can just describe the action instead, with the “starting” of that action already implied.

Example: instead of, “she began to run,” say, “she ran”.

“There was” is a common way to start a sentence, and can be easily replaced by a more descriptive action.

Example: instead of, “there was a cat scratching at the door,” say, “a cat scratched at the door.”

“Up” and “down” are often unnecessary words, since the direction is usually implied by other words in the sentence. Analyze whether you need these words, and delete if necessary.

Example: instead of, “she sat down on the carpet,” say, “she sat on the carpet.”

“Have got” is a tautology, meaning that both words mean the same thing. Instead, you can just use “have”.

Additionally, “got” is not a useful word overall, and you can usually find a better word to use instead.

Example: instead of, “she got to her feet,” say, “she leapt to her feet.”

“Literally” is a word that is often used out of context, in a situation where it is not meant to be taken…literally. Make sure that when you use this word, that it means what it says.

There are exceptions, like when a character is supposed to talk that way, but generally you should avoid it.

Example: instead of “The sun was so hot, John was literally melting,” you can remove the word “literally” or replace it with a word like “practically”.

“About” is a vague word that doesn't specify anything. You can use words like “approximately” or provide a more specific range instead.

Example: instead of “the wall was about 10 feet high,” say, “the wall was between 10 and 12 feet high.”

Filler Phrases

There are a lot of filler words and phrases that can be entirely cut from your manuscript. These words and phrases include:

Each and every
In order to
At the end of the day
As a matter of fact
For all intents and purposes
For the most part
With regard to
In reference to
Needless to say
It is important to note that
During the course of
When it comes to
Due to the fact

All of these phrases are empty, add no new meaning to the sentence, and should be avoided.

Example: instead of, “At the end of the day, it is important to note that, as of yet, we have not found a cure for the common cold,” say, “We have not yet found a cure for the common cold.”

Sort of, Kind of

These two phrases are used often in spoken language, but are unnecessary in writing. They are empty phrases that mean nothing and you can easily eliminate them.

The meaning can shift slightly when you eliminate it, so make sure that there isn’t a better way to say it, or that it means what you want it to say.

Example: Instead of “The meeting progressed kind of on schedule,” say, “The meeting progressed on schedule.”

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How to Cut These Words From Your Book

The best tool to cut an unnecessary word from your creative writing is a standard Find and Replace feature. While you can access this in Microsoft Word, Google Docs, and others, I’m going to be using Atticus , which uses a special system built specifically for writers.

In Atticus , you can access the Find and Replace feature by selecting the More Tools button on the top right, then selecting the icon that looks like a magnifying glass.

Then, you have a number of options.

You can select whether to search through a single chapter or the whole book
Input the word you are searching for into the Find section
You can select whether to match the whole word or match the case
Scroll through the Previous and Next copy of that word
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Once you have inputted your word into the “Find” field, you can then see how many times that word appears in each chapter, as shown in the chapter menu.

Simply Find and Replace, or Find and go through them one by one to ensure the change is what you want.

If the Find and Replace feature isn’t enough, you can use a program like ProWritingAid (which also integrates with Atticus).

ProWritingAid is better than Find and Replace for some types of word searches, such as overused words that you might not know you are overusing, or cases of passive voice and filler phrases.

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When I’m not sipping tea with princesses or lightsaber dueling with little Jedi, I’m a book marketing nut. Having consulted multiple publishing companies and NYT best-selling authors, I created Kindlepreneur to help authors sell more books. I’ve even been called “The Kindlepreneur” by Amazon publicly, and I’m here to help you with your author journey.

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40 Useful Words and Phrases for Top-Notch Essays

To be truly brilliant, an essay needs to utilise the right language. You could make a great point, but if it’s not intelligently articulated, you almost needn’t have bothered.

Developing the language skills to build an argument and to write persuasively is crucial if you’re to write outstanding essays every time. In this article, we’re going to equip you with the words and phrases you need to write a top-notch essay, along with examples of how to utilise them.

It’s by no means an exhaustive list, and there will often be other ways of using the words and phrases we describe that we won’t have room to include, but there should be more than enough below to help you make an instant improvement to your essay-writing skills.

If you’re interested in developing your language and persuasive skills, Oxford Royale offers summer courses at its Oxford Summer School , Cambridge Summer School , London Summer School , San Francisco Summer School and Yale Summer School . You can study courses to learn english , prepare for careers in law , medicine , business , engineering and leadership.

General explaining

Let’s start by looking at language for general explanations of complex points.

1. In order to

Usage: “In order to” can be used to introduce an explanation for the purpose of an argument. Example: “In order to understand X, we need first to understand Y.”

2. In other words

Usage: Use “in other words” when you want to express something in a different way (more simply), to make it easier to understand, or to emphasise or expand on a point. Example: “Frogs are amphibians. In other words, they live on the land and in the water.”

3. To put it another way

Usage: This phrase is another way of saying “in other words”, and can be used in particularly complex points, when you feel that an alternative way of wording a problem may help the reader achieve a better understanding of its significance. Example: “Plants rely on photosynthesis. To put it another way, they will die without the sun.”

4. That is to say

Usage: “That is” and “that is to say” can be used to add further detail to your explanation, or to be more precise. Example: “Whales are mammals. That is to say, they must breathe air.”

5. To that end

Usage: Use “to that end” or “to this end” in a similar way to “in order to” or “so”. Example: “Zoologists have long sought to understand how animals communicate with each other. To that end, a new study has been launched that looks at elephant sounds and their possible meanings.”

Adding additional information to support a point

Students often make the mistake of using synonyms of “and” each time they want to add further information in support of a point they’re making, or to build an argument. Here are some cleverer ways of doing this.

6. Moreover

Usage: Employ “moreover” at the start of a sentence to add extra information in support of a point you’re making. Example: “Moreover, the results of a recent piece of research provide compelling evidence in support of…”

7. Furthermore

Usage:This is also generally used at the start of a sentence, to add extra information. Example: “Furthermore, there is evidence to suggest that…”

8. What’s more

Usage: This is used in the same way as “moreover” and “furthermore”. Example: “What’s more, this isn’t the only evidence that supports this hypothesis.”

9. Likewise

Usage: Use “likewise” when you want to talk about something that agrees with what you’ve just mentioned. Example: “Scholar A believes X. Likewise, Scholar B argues compellingly in favour of this point of view.”

10. Similarly

Usage: Use “similarly” in the same way as “likewise”. Example: “Audiences at the time reacted with shock to Beethoven’s new work, because it was very different to what they were used to. Similarly, we have a tendency to react with surprise to the unfamiliar.”

11. Another key thing to remember

Usage: Use the phrase “another key point to remember” or “another key fact to remember” to introduce additional facts without using the word “also”. Example: “As a Romantic, Blake was a proponent of a closer relationship between humans and nature. Another key point to remember is that Blake was writing during the Industrial Revolution, which had a major impact on the world around him.”

12. As well as

Usage: Use “as well as” instead of “also” or “and”. Example: “Scholar A argued that this was due to X, as well as Y.”

13. Not only… but also

Usage: This wording is used to add an extra piece of information, often something that’s in some way more surprising or unexpected than the first piece of information. Example: “Not only did Edmund Hillary have the honour of being the first to reach the summit of Everest, but he was also appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire.”

14. Coupled with

Usage: Used when considering two or more arguments at a time. Example: “Coupled with the literary evidence, the statistics paint a compelling view of…”

15. Firstly, secondly, thirdly…

Usage: This can be used to structure an argument, presenting facts clearly one after the other. Example: “There are many points in support of this view. Firstly, X. Secondly, Y. And thirdly, Z.

16. Not to mention/to say nothing of

Usage: “Not to mention” and “to say nothing of” can be used to add extra information with a bit of emphasis. Example: “The war caused unprecedented suffering to millions of people, not to mention its impact on the country’s economy.”

Words and phrases for demonstrating contrast

When you’re developing an argument, you will often need to present contrasting or opposing opinions or evidence – “it could show this, but it could also show this”, or “X says this, but Y disagrees”. This section covers words you can use instead of the “but” in these examples, to make your writing sound more intelligent and interesting.

17. However

Usage: Use “however” to introduce a point that disagrees with what you’ve just said. Example: “Scholar A thinks this. However, Scholar B reached a different conclusion.”

18. On the other hand

Usage: Usage of this phrase includes introducing a contrasting interpretation of the same piece of evidence, a different piece of evidence that suggests something else, or an opposing opinion. Example: “The historical evidence appears to suggest a clear-cut situation. On the other hand, the archaeological evidence presents a somewhat less straightforward picture of what happened that day.”

19. Having said that

Usage: Used in a similar manner to “on the other hand” or “but”. Example: “The historians are unanimous in telling us X, an agreement that suggests that this version of events must be an accurate account. Having said that, the archaeology tells a different story.”

20. By contrast/in comparison

Usage: Use “by contrast” or “in comparison” when you’re comparing and contrasting pieces of evidence. Example: “Scholar A’s opinion, then, is based on insufficient evidence. By contrast, Scholar B’s opinion seems more plausible.”

21. Then again

Usage: Use this to cast doubt on an assertion. Example: “Writer A asserts that this was the reason for what happened. Then again, it’s possible that he was being paid to say this.”

22. That said

Usage: This is used in the same way as “then again”. Example: “The evidence ostensibly appears to point to this conclusion. That said, much of the evidence is unreliable at best.”

Usage: Use this when you want to introduce a contrasting idea. Example: “Much of scholarship has focused on this evidence. Yet not everyone agrees that this is the most important aspect of the situation.”

Adding a proviso or acknowledging reservations

Sometimes, you may need to acknowledge a shortfalling in a piece of evidence, or add a proviso. Here are some ways of doing so.

24. Despite this

Usage: Use “despite this” or “in spite of this” when you want to outline a point that stands regardless of a shortfalling in the evidence. Example: “The sample size was small, but the results were important despite this.”

25. With this in mind

Usage: Use this when you want your reader to consider a point in the knowledge of something else. Example: “We’ve seen that the methods used in the 19th century study did not always live up to the rigorous standards expected in scientific research today, which makes it difficult to draw definite conclusions. With this in mind, let’s look at a more recent study to see how the results compare.”

26. Provided that

Usage: This means “on condition that”. You can also say “providing that” or just “providing” to mean the same thing. Example: “We may use this as evidence to support our argument, provided that we bear in mind the limitations of the methods used to obtain it.”

27. In view of/in light of

Usage: These phrases are used when something has shed light on something else. Example: “In light of the evidence from the 2013 study, we have a better understanding of…”

28. Nonetheless

Usage: This is similar to “despite this”. Example: “The study had its limitations, but it was nonetheless groundbreaking for its day.”

29. Nevertheless

Usage: This is the same as “nonetheless”. Example: “The study was flawed, but it was important nevertheless.”

30. Notwithstanding

Usage: This is another way of saying “nonetheless”. Example: “Notwithstanding the limitations of the methodology used, it was an important study in the development of how we view the workings of the human mind.”

Giving examples

Good essays always back up points with examples, but it’s going to get boring if you use the expression “for example” every time. Here are a couple of other ways of saying the same thing.

31. For instance

Example: “Some birds migrate to avoid harsher winter climates. Swallows, for instance, leave the UK in early winter and fly south…”

32. To give an illustration

Example: “To give an illustration of what I mean, let’s look at the case of…”

Signifying importance

When you want to demonstrate that a point is particularly important, there are several ways of highlighting it as such.

33. Significantly

Usage: Used to introduce a point that is loaded with meaning that might not be immediately apparent. Example: “Significantly, Tacitus omits to tell us the kind of gossip prevalent in Suetonius’ accounts of the same period.”

34. Notably

Usage: This can be used to mean “significantly” (as above), and it can also be used interchangeably with “in particular” (the example below demonstrates the first of these ways of using it). Example: “Actual figures are notably absent from Scholar A’s analysis.”

35. Importantly

Usage: Use “importantly” interchangeably with “significantly”. Example: “Importantly, Scholar A was being employed by X when he wrote this work, and was presumably therefore under pressure to portray the situation more favourably than he perhaps might otherwise have done.”

Summarising

You’ve almost made it to the end of the essay, but your work isn’t over yet. You need to end by wrapping up everything you’ve talked about, showing that you’ve considered the arguments on both sides and reached the most likely conclusion. Here are some words and phrases to help you.

36. In conclusion

Usage: Typically used to introduce the concluding paragraph or sentence of an essay, summarising what you’ve discussed in a broad overview. Example: “In conclusion, the evidence points almost exclusively to Argument A.”

37. Above all

Usage: Used to signify what you believe to be the most significant point, and the main takeaway from the essay. Example: “Above all, it seems pertinent to remember that…”

38. Persuasive

Usage: This is a useful word to use when summarising which argument you find most convincing. Example: “Scholar A’s point – that Constanze Mozart was motivated by financial gain – seems to me to be the most persuasive argument for her actions following Mozart’s death.”

39. Compelling

Usage: Use in the same way as “persuasive” above. Example: “The most compelling argument is presented by Scholar A.”

40. All things considered

Usage: This means “taking everything into account”. Example: “All things considered, it seems reasonable to assume that…”

How many of these words and phrases will you get into your next essay? And are any of your favourite essay terms missing from our list? Let us know in the comments below, or get in touch here to find out more about courses that can help you with your essays.

At Oxford Royale Academy, we offer a number of summer school courses for young people who are keen to improve their essay writing skills. Click here to apply for one of our courses today, including law , business , medicine and engineering .

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Frank Bruni

Jd vance is smoother — but no better — than donald trump.

By Frank Bruni

Mr. Bruni is a contributing Opinion writer who was on the staff of The Times for more than 25 years.

I’m ashamed of myself.

During stretches of Tuesday’s vice-presidential debate, I found myself admiring — sort of — JD Vance. I awarded him points for unflappability, wishing Tim Walz could mimic that composure and tap a well of confidence as deep. I envied his crispness, willing Walz to state his case as clearly and cleanly.

Vance’s answers seemed to have commas, semicolons and colons in all the right places, while Walz’s herky-jerky statements were linked (or not) by ellipses. The paper-grading professor in me gave Vance a high mark, Walz a barely passing one.

But the 2024 election isn’t an essay contest. Nor is it a beauty pageant, with the debates functioning as the interview segment. It’s a morality play. It’s about fundamental values. And Vance’s are rotten, no matter how much oratorical perfume he sprays on them, no matter how eloquently he diverts you from the stench.

The hell of the debate matched the hell of this presidential campaign, in which there’s a temptation — a pull — to evaluate performance, parse communication or dissect policy, employing criteria that we attentive citizens have used across the decades. But such assessments are utterly beside the point. The race for president pits a Democratic ticket with many shortcomings against a Republican ticket with no scruples whatsoever, decency against indecency, respect for the democratic process against unfettered ambition, and psychological stability (Kamala Harris) against a spectacular lack thereof (you know who).

In that context, it’s pointless, even reckless, to dwell on Walz’s visible nervousness during the debate or his many missed opportunities .

Yes, he failed to nail Vance appropriately and effectively for spreading the dangerous calumny — or is it cookery? — that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating other people’s pets. Yes, that suggested a discouraging limit to Walz’s political skills.

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IMAGES

33 Words not to use in your Essay (2024)
8 Types of Words Not to Use in an Essay (And Why You Shouldn’t)
🐈 What words not to use in an essay. 164 Phrases and words You Should
💌 Words not to use in formal writing. Words to Avoid in Academic
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Words and phrases you shouldn't use in an essay

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COMMENTS

164 Phrases and words You Should Never Use in an Essay—and ...
Use: "This essay will introduce the idea that…". Not: "This essay will introduce the new idea that…". Joint collaboration. Use: "This paper describes a collaboration between…". Not: "This paper describes a joint collaboration between…". Knowledgeable expert. Use: "Kotler is an expert in the field of marketing.".
Words and Phrases to Avoid in your College Essays
10. Grammatical Errors, Fragments, and Run-on Sentences. When your college essay draft is complete, make sure to proofread it thoroughly. And have a teacher or talented writer proof it again for you. Avoid any spelling and grammatical errors, but also avoid fragments and run-on sentences.
33 Words not to use in your Essay
I'll break these 33 words up into three sets: Set 1: Exaggerated Words not to use in an Essay. Set 2: Assertive Words not to use in an Essay. Set 3: Emotional Words not to use in an Essay. One major place where many students fall down is that they don't realize that the ideal essay writing format is very different from other writing styles.
125 Words and Phrases You Should Never Use in an Essay
Use "approximately" instead. absolute best. "Absolute" is redundant—just use "best." absolute worst. For the same reason as above, just use "worst." absolutely. Eliminate unnecessary adverbs in academic writing. absurd. Don't say something is absurd; show that it is by using logical argumentation.
20+ Words to Avoid Writing in Your Essay
7-11) "Thing," "stuff," "good," "bad," "big". The problem with these words is colloquiality and vagueness, inappropriate for academic language. It's okay to use them in everyday talk; but when in essays, they sound too elementary and make admission officers think of your poor vocabulary. Do your best to master paraphrasing ...
Words and Phrases to Avoid in Academic Writing
The following words and phrases are considered too informal for a dissertation or academic paper. Taboo. Example. Alternative. A bit. The interviews were a bit difficult to schedule. The interviews were (difficult/somewhat difficult) to schedule. A lot of, a couple of. A lot of studies.
College essay don'ts: 37 Things to Avoid In a college essay
Follow this advice to know what not to write about in your college essay! 1. Don't restate the Essay prompt. Start your essay with a hook. Start with dialogue. Start by setting the scene. Don't start by restating the essay topic! The reader knows the essay prompts, so just start telling your story.
Words to Avoid in Academic Writing
Here are some imprecise words to avoid in academic writing. Vague word (s) Replacement (s) Example. a bit. Specify the exact amount. The experiment required a bit 10 mg of catalyst. a couple of/some. Specify the exact amount or replace with many, several, a number of.
The Most Important Words To Avoid in Academic Writing
You should avoid personal pronouns like "I," "me," and "my" in almost all academic writing. In most cases, your work will be research- or evidence-based. Inserting yourself reduces your paper's credibility, as professors want ideas you can source. Even most opinion pieces should not contain personal pronouns.
3 Types of Words and Phrases to Avoid in Academic Writing
Instead of using these phrases to avoid in academic writing, shown in the left column, try the replacements in the center column to make sure your text is strong. You may not think small changes like these make much of a difference, but they do—the examples with an add up to 43 words, while those with a add up to just 28. In a long paper ...
Avoid These Words and Phrases in Your Academic Writing
Avoid the second phrase in all of your writing: For all intensive purposes is an eggcorn (a word or phrase that is mistakenly used for another word or phrase because it sounds similar). For all intents and purposes is generally a filler phrase that does not provide any new information, so you can usually omit it without replacing it.
Writing Resources
Here are several words you should seldom use in academic essays, although they might be perfectly acceptable in certain contexts and in other kinds of essays: (1) "totalizing" words such as always, never, everyone, all, every, everywhere, totally, absolutely, and so on. These words are hard to defend, because your readers tend to be good at ...
Words to Avoid in an Essay
Certainly, there are some exceptions. For example, you may use colloquial words or jargon in your text if it is allowed by the instructions. Though such situations occur rarely, it is better to know the words that should not be used in writing. For example, avoid such words in essay writing: Think (you can replace it with argue, brainstorm ...
8 Types of Words You Must Not Use in Your Essay
Words such as "can't" and "mustn't" should not appear in your academic paper, even in the case where you have to write a persuasive essay in your own voice. You should write the words in full instead. 2. Personal Pronouns. Personal pronouns are okay for college admissions essays, persuasive essay writing, and opinion essays but bad ...
Words to Avoid in Writing
Instead of writing contractions, simply use the original form of the word. 7. So. Akin to "very," it is not necessary to use and is a form of overstatement. Words to use instead: extremely, remarkably, unusually, consequently, accurate. 8. A lot. Using "a lot" refers to a quantity, but it does not tell the reader how much exactly.
10 Words to Avoid in Formal Writing
Nevertheless, according to the conventions of Standard English, all 10 of the following words should be avoided in reports, essays, research papers, and all other types of formal writing. alot. Alot (one word) is a common misspelling of a lot (two words). " [W]e all may write alot one day," says The American Heritage Guide to Contemporary Usage ...
15 Clunky Phrases to Eliminate From Your Writing Today…and How to Crack
Use words instead of phrases where possible. Weed out unnecessary repetition ("9am in the morning", for instance, should just be "9am" because the "am" bit tells you that it's in the morning). Use the "Ctrl + F" function on your word processor to take you straight to instances of the phrases we've discussed in this article.
Words To Avoid In Writing (Including Rules and Phrases)
Avoid them to tighten your phrasing. Each and every. Don't use filler words like "each and every" day. Use compact words, such as daily instead. As yet. This is an example of a filler that you don't need in your sentences. In order to. Eliminate the excess verbiage 'in order to' and use 'to' instead.
Overused Words: Why and How to Avoid Them in Your Writing
Strategy #1: Determine which words you commonly overuse, and find them in your writing [Ctrl+F]. If you notice that certain words, such as important or interesting, get commonly recycled in your writing, try using the find-text tool [Ctrl+F] once you've drafted the document or a paragraph, entering the word into the search bar, to scan your ...
Words to Avoid in Essay for Effective Writing
Avoid using words that are too exaggerated so as not to sound overbearing. It would be best to avoid words like " sure ," " absolutely ," " obviously ," "of course," "absolutely," "perfectly," or adjectives like "brilliant," "wonderful," and "terrific.". These words are used for emphasis but are often dramatic.
Words to Avoid in Writing: Weak Words to Find, Cut, and Replace
Tautologies. Tautologies are words and phrases that mean the same thing, meaning you can cut one of the words. Examples include things like "evening sunset", or "autobiography of her life.". In these examples "evening" and "of her life" mean the same thing as "sunset" and "autobiography" respectively. You don't need both.
Words NOT to Use in an Essay and Replacement Options : r/studytips
Here they are: 1. Using informal language. For instance, you cannot use words like "cool," "okay," "so," yeah/nope," "stuff," "kinda," "gonna," "pretty sure," and others of that kind. In general, this rule applies to slang words, contractions (don't, I'm), and sometimes separable transitive phrasal verbs ...
40 Useful Words and Phrases for Top-Notch Essays
4. That is to say. Usage: "That is" and "that is to say" can be used to add further detail to your explanation, or to be more precise. Example: "Whales are mammals. That is to say, they must breathe air.". 5. To that end. Usage: Use "to that end" or "to this end" in a similar way to "in order to" or "so".
Transition Words and Phrases Examples
Transition words are words that help writing move smoothly from one topic to another without confusing the reader. Words like however, next, or in conclusion prepare the reader by signaling that the topic is shifting. Transition words can introduce new or contrasting ideas, show cause-and-effect relationships, and form other connections between ...
Kate Martin Had 1-Word Reaction To Caitlin Clark Winning ...
The No. 1 overall pick in this year's WNBA Draft, Clark averaged 19.2 points, a league-leading 8.4 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game, helping the Fever reach the playoffs for the first time since ...
JD Vance Is Smoother
Do not use normal appraisals for an abnormal election. ... But the 2024 election isn't an essay contest. Nor is it a beauty pageant, with the debates functioning as the interview segment. It's ...
Cover All Your Job Search Bases With A Winning Cover Letter
A good cover letter, like a well-polished resume and some sterling professional references, is an important part of your job search toolkit. While they may not be as ubiquitous as they used to be, many businesses still ask for them so it's wise to keep that cover letter writing muscle strong. For our latest Career Corner blog, we've put together some tips to help you craft a compelling ...

164 Phrases and words You Should Never Use in an Essay—and the Powerful Alternatives you Should

Vague and Weak Words

Why You Shouldn’t Use VAGUE Words in Essays

VAGUE Words and Phrases You Shouldn’t Use in an Essay

Flabby Words and Expressions

Why Should Flabby Words be Removed from an Essay?

Flabby Words and Expressions You Shouldn’t Use in an Essay

Words to Avoid in an Essay: Redundant Words

Why You Shouldn’t Use Redundant Words in Essays

Redundant Words and Phrases You Shouldn’t Use in an Essay

Colloquial Expressions and Grammar Expletives

What are Grammar Expletives?

Why Should Colloquial Expressions and Grammar Expletives be Removed from an Essay?

Words and Phrases You Shouldn’t Use in an Essay

Nominalization

Should normalization be Removed from an Essay?

normalization You Shouldn’t Use in an Essay

Words and Phrases to Avoid in your College Essays

What you Should Avoid

4. Slang and Abbreviations

5. Vague or Elementary Words

6. Run-On Expressions

7. Filler Words or Weak Modifiers

8. Exaggerated Words

9. Unnecessary Words

10. Grammatical Errors, Fragments, and Run-on Sentences

How to Write Essay Titles and Headers

101 Standout Argumentative Essay Topic Ideas

Writing a Standout College Admissions Essay

33 Words not to use in your Essay

Set 1: Exaggerated Words not to use in an Essay

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List of 125 Words and Phrases You Should Never Use in an Essay

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Translation

JLV College Counseling

1) Contractions

3-5) “ So on ,” “ etc ,” “ and so forth “

7-11) “ Thing ,” “ stuff ,” “ good ,” “ bad ,” “ big “

12) Slang, jargon, teen speak

13) Rhetorical questions

14-17) “ In terms of ,” “ needless to say ,” “ in conclusion ,” “ it goes without saying “

19-26) “ Very ,” “ quite ,” “ really ,” “ totally ,” “ already ,” “ fairly ,” “ actually ,” “ just “

27) Passive voice

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College essay don’ts: 37 Things to Avoid In a college essay

What not to write in your college application essay

1. Don’t restate the Essay prompt

2. Don’t try to be funny in your college admissions essay

3. Don’t swear

4. Don’t just tell the reader what you think

5. Don’t try to Appear perfect

6. Don’t brag

7. Don’t emphasize status

8. Don’t lie

9. Don’t reveal too much

10. Don’t write about illegal activities

11. Don’t summarize your resume

12. Don’t tell a general story

13. Don’t write about cliché topics

14. Don’t write about something controversial

15. Don’t undervalue the small stuff

16. Don’t go negative