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Writing Help from the PhraseBook for Writing Papers and Research in English
Style
English, as all languages, has variations of style, from the most colloquial to the most formal. Informally you may have a hunch, but in a paper, thesis or research report you put forward a hypothesis. While colloquial forms can sometimes be used for stylistic effect, in university and research writing more formal style is the norm, and this helps your writing to be taken seriously. Some examples of stylistic differences are given below:
| Colloquial or slang | Research style |
|---|---|
| all right | satisfactory |
| brainy | intelligent |
| ditto | ibid. |
| figure out | calculate or solve |
| hunch | hypothesis |
| info | information |
| kids | children |
| lab | laboratory |
| a lot of | many or a great deal of |
| maths GB or math US | mathematics |
| OK | satisfactory |
Avoiding bias
An important part of university and research writing is avoiding bias and prejudice, including gender bias. The use of he as a general reference to both sexes is now dated. In the example below, using the plural surgeons allows his to be replaced by the gender-neutral their.
| Example |
|---|
| Original A surgeon must be aware of his limitations. |
| Better Surgeons must be aware of their limitations. |
Avoiding clichés
The bottom line is that in this day and age it's a whole new ball game.
Clichés should generally be avoided in university and research writing, as they can devalue your work in the eyes of the reader.
| Examples |
|---|
| you know |
| you name it |
| the bottom line |
| at the end of the day |
| in this day and age |
| the name of the game |
| get your act together |
| a legend in his or her own lifetime |
| a whole new ball game |
| bet your bottom dollar |
| better late than never |
| over the moon |
| the be-all and end-all |
| it's not over till it's over |
As always in language, this is a guideline rather than a hard and fast rule: A whole new ball game may be an apt title for a recent discovery in Meso-American studies, but a poorly chosen phrase to describe the impact of your most recent work on the field.
Avoiding tautology
There is a consensus of opinion, backed up by previous experience, that we should not overexaggerate the positive benefits at this moment in time.
In your writing, beware of tautology, or unnecessarily repeating the same meaning in different words:
| Examples |
|---|
| adequate enough |
| advance warning |
| at this moment in time |
| blue in colour GB or color US |
| in close proximity |
| a consensus of opinion |
| divide up |
| few in number |
| in actual fact |
| join together |
| overexaggerate |
| past history |
| a positive benefit |
| previous experience |
| revert back |
Avoiding contracted forms
Contracted forms, though normal in speech, are usually avoided in university and research writing. Again, this is a guideline rather than a fixed rule: for example, you might use spoken forms when citing interview responses. A number of spoken forms and their formal written equivalents are given below:
| Spoken form | Formal written form |
|---|---|
| I'm | I am |
| it's | it is |
| who's | who is |
| we're | we are |
| you're | you are |
| they're | they are |
| I'll | I will or shall |
| he'll | he will or shall |
| gonna | going to |
| I'd | I had or would |
| you'd | you had or would |
| isn't | is not |
| ain't | am, is, are not or has, have not |
| aren't | are not |
| don't | do not |
| can't | cannot (see note) |
| didn't | did not |
| won't | will not |
Note: cannot is written as one word even in formal writing.
Alternatives to get
The results we got were all right.
Although get, got, gotten are very common in speech, in university and research writing you should generally use a word or phrase with a richer meaning, as forms with get are perceived as informal. A number of alternatives to get are listed below:
| Form with get | Formal alternatives |
|---|---|
| get | receive, obtain |
| become | |
| reach, arrive | |
| cause to, induce | |
| understand, comprehend | |
| get across | convey, communicate, make clear |
| get ahead | advance, progress |
| get along | be compatible |
| manage, fare | |
| get at | reach, gain access to |
| imply, suggest | |
| influence, corrupt, damage | |
| get away | escape, flee, leave |
| get away with | escape blame or penalty |
| get back | return |
| recoup, recover, regain | |
| get back at | avenge, retaliate |
| get back to | contact again |
| get by | manage, cope, fare, survive |
| get down | depress |
| write down, take notes | |
| swallow | |
| get down to | concentrate on, focus on |
| get even | avenge, retaliate |
| get in | insert, enter |
| arrive | |
| get into | become enthusiastically involved in, affect |
| get off | remove, detach |
| escape, be acquitted | |
| get on | fare, manage |
| advance, progress, succeed, continue | |
| be compatible | |
| get onto | contact |
| get out | leave, escape, evacuate, withdraw |
| get out of | avoid, evade, escape |
| benefit from | |
| get over | cross, pass |
| recover, overcome | |
| convey, communicate | |
| get round or around | circumvent, avoid, bypass |
| persuade, coax, win over | |
| get round or around to | deal with eventually |
| get the hang of | understand, learn |
| get through | succeed, complete, overcome |
| pass (a law or examination) | |
| use, consume, spend | |
| communicate, convey, make clear | |
| get to | annoy |
| get together | meet, gather, join, unite |
| get up | stand, climb |
| get-up-and-go | drive, ambition, energy |
| get your own back | revenge, retaliate |
| gotta | must |
| have got to | must |
| have got | have |
| haven't got | do not have |
| has it got...? | does it have...? |
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