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Jul 31, 2017 · Avoid Absolutes: Distracting & Easy to Disprove. @ ProofreadingPal. July 31, 2017. Writing Guides. I was tempted to call this “Always Avoid Absolutes,” but it made my brain hurt. In conversation, we throw around words like “never,” “unique,” “always,” and “completely” and think little of it. Wrong or right, they’re just ...
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- "A Great Deal Of"
- "A Lot"
- "Always"
- Clichés
- Contractions
- Double Negatives
- "Etc."
- "For All Intents and Purposes" and "For All Intensive Purposes"
- Idioms
- In-Text Ampersands
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.
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.
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....
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...
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 part...
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...
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 phra...
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 ...
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.
Feb 6, 2016 · 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. 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.
The paradox is, I’m suggesting that you never use the word ‘always’ and always avoid using the word ‘never,’ but it’s equally extreme to advise eliminating these words. After all, the very suggestion supports exactly what I’m advising against in the first place. I’d be guilty of attempting to exercise authority over your 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.
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 ...
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Nov 4, 2024 · 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.
