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:

  1. Think (you can replace it with argue, brainstorm, consider, suppose, find, analyze);
  2. Big (replace with huge, immense, large, colossal, considerable, substantial, vast, gigantic)
  3. Do (perform, accomplish, achieve, act, execute, finish, complete, conclude)
  4. 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”)
  5. Good (superb, satisfactory, marvelous, excellent, exceptional, wonderful, favorable)
  6. Bad (poor quality, sad, unacceptable, inferior, deficient, imperfect).
  7. Interesting (one of the most boring words in English. Replace with fascinating, alluring, compelling, curious, impressive, engaging)
  8. Thing (if you write about certain thing, it has a denomination. What is it: day, bag, literature, music, or sentence?)
  9. Get (use: acquire, receive, gain, earn, obtain, score, win).
  10. 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.

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.