- 3-minute read
- 14th September 2015
10 Overused Words (And Brilliant Alternatives You Never Knew You Needed)
Keep in mind when writing an essay that the person marking it will probably have to read dozens of similar assignments from your classmates.
One way to make sure your work stands out is to have it checked by a professional. Another is to vary your vocabulary. In this post, we offer alternatives for ten words commonly used in academic writing.
1. Also
The word ‘also’ is great for connecting two related sentences but you might need a few alternatives in a longer essay.
At the start of a sentence, words like ‘furthermore’, ‘moreover’ and ‘in addition’ can serve the same purpose.
2. Answer
This word is both a verb and a noun. When used as a verb (e.g. ‘to answer my research question’) you could also use terms like ‘address’ and ‘resolve’.
When used as a noun (e.g. ‘the answer to this dilemma’), good alternatives include ‘solution’ and ‘explanation’.
3. Bad/Good
Synonyms for the basic term ‘bad’ include ‘poor’, ‘inferior’, ‘negative’ and ‘deficient’.
Alternatives to ‘good’ include ‘satisfying’, ‘valuable’, ‘excellent’, ‘positive’ and ‘high-quality’.
4. Change
Possible replacements for the verb ‘change’ (i.e. the act of changing something) include ‘transform’, ‘modify’ and ‘adjust’.
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The nouns which accompany these words (i.e. the change made) are ‘transformation’, ‘modification’ and ‘adjustment’.
5. Describe
When referring to the work of others you might draw upon their written descriptions. Substitute words for ‘describe’ include ‘portray’, ‘characterise’ and ‘report’.
6. Explain
It’s common to say that you’re going to ‘explain’ something in your essay. Other options here include ‘clarify’, ‘elaborate’ and ‘account for’.
7. Important
If you want to identify some detail or idea as important, alternate possibilities you might use incorporate ‘significant’, ‘vital’, ‘critical’, ‘imperative’ and ‘essential’.
8. Said
This one is particularly important when quoting other sources. Instead of repeatedly saying ‘so and so said that’ to introduce a quotation, try using words like ‘stated’, ‘explained’, ‘argued’ or ‘claimed’.
9. Therefore
The word ‘therefore’ is used to introduce a conclusion based upon a premise or argument (e.g., ‘Because X, therefore Y’). Alternative terms include ‘consequently’, ‘accordingly’ or ‘as a result’.
10. Use
If describing an experiment you’ll need to identify the methods used. As well as ‘use’, terms which can be helpful here include ‘utilise’, ’employ’, ‘apply’ and ‘adopt’.
Of course, the best thing you can do if you’re struggling to find alternatives to common words is check a thesaurus. Just make sure you understand a word before using it, as many terms have more than one meaning!
