1. Don'ts

Quite often students might be told about a number of "don'ts" in academic writing, things they should not include in their paper. Such recommendations may include, the following main features (Willkinson, Academic writing: some do's and don'ts, n.d.):

  • "Don’t use first person pronouns ("I", "we," "me," "us," "my," and "our"). Most readers know who is writing the paper, so you do not ever have to refer to yourself. Exceptions: some academic writing requires the use of first-person pronouns: reflection papers, ethnographic studies, etc. Tip: Never use the word “you”! 
  • Do not use contractions. This rule is stylistic and the goal is a “cleaner” paper. There are many exceptions to this rule and the best thing to do is check with the professor. Tip: “cannot” is one word and “a lot” is two words! 
  • Don’t use archaic terms. “Thus” and “alas” are not terms utilized in common English and should not be used in your academic paper! 
  • Don’t use slang. Though academic writing should use common English terms, it is not casual writing. 
  • Don’t use clichés. Be careful – clichés are easy to use. For example, “too little, too late” seems full of meaning, but it is considered vague and cliché in an academic paper. 
  • Don’t use qualifiers (“really,” “very,” “surely,” “often,” “hopefully,” “basically,”  etc.). These terms make your paper sound unsure and tentative. Delete these words for a stronger, more direct paper. Avoid overused “scholarly” phrases. Never write “In this paper I will …” You are writing the paper and will clearly do something. There’s no need to say you will do something – just do it!

Sources: Willkinson, Academic writing: some do's and don'ts, n.d. pdf accessible at https://uncw.edu/ulc/documents/academic-dos-and-donts.pdf