To make your writing free-flowing and easy to read – here are some words and phrases that are over-used; especially in academic writing. Some writers have a tendency to use the same wording over and over, which can be quite annoying for readers: It also shows the lazyness of the writer, who couldn’t bother to find an alternative word or phrase to express more accurate meaning.
ACCORDING TO: When writing research reports, dissertations and the theses, students and graduates over-use this phrase to introduce or present an argument. This is totally unnecessary as every academic knows that when graduates or students are putting forward an argument describing examples of research studies that were done and presented in various research reports, literature reviews and academic documentation; they are referring to groups of researchers, who quote data derived from physical experiments, questionnaire results or opinions drawn from interviews with participants.
Hence, it is totally unnecessary to write according to in front of every argument put forward by the researcher. Just quote the information you are presenting; putting the names of the researchers in front; e.g. Johnson, Pettifer, Dean et al (2020) … showed that … or you could write; James, Ottoman, van Rensberg (1995) stated that …. or studies have shown that … and you then quote the reference(s) at the end of the paragraph.
THROUGH: This word is very over-used. Alternatively, you can use by means of, by, via using, with the help of, with the assistance of etc.
AS A RESULT OF … Instead of over-using this phrase, you could substitute; because of, due to, consequently, which causes … therefore etc.
ONE: It is usually better to identify the person by name or designation, such as The Professor, James or the employee. This is particularly true in academic writing, where ‘one‘ is not acceptable, when referring to a participant, a particular person or The Professor.
You will soon be able to put various alternative words or phrases into your writing; and then because your thesis or dissertation is easier to read, you will immediately get on the good side of your professor or supervisor, who will probably then give you a better mark.
CHALLENGING: This is another over-used word that could be substituted by difficult, problematic, harmful etc. to convey more accurate meaning.
ARE THE ONES WHO … This phrase can be replaced by using a simple noun; e.g. the parents, the principal or just the person’s name.
Helpful Hint It is a good idea to write in active voice, rather than passive voice, whenever possible; especially when writing a thesis or a dissertation.
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