What to Avoid in Formal Writing
Writing formally (for academic essays, business letters, resumes, etc.) doesn't mean trying to sound smarter or using bigger words--you don't want your voice to sound unnatural. Formal writing is more about avoiding certain things: cliches, colloquial expressions, contractions, and commonly misused words.
Cliches
A cliché is a phrase, expression, or idea that has been overused to the point of losing its intended force or novelty, especially when at some time it was considered distinctively forceful or novel.
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since the beginning of time since the dawn of time as luck would have it beat around the bush best foot forward dead as a doornail |
easier said than done calm before the storm slept like a log spitting image wrong side of the bed in a nutshell |
Colloquialism (Slang)
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we are talking like gonna loser I mean hanging out yeah |
guys cops broke (referring to money) cool or hot (not referring to temperature) stash put someone down |
Contractions
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don’t can’t weren’t we’re |
Isn’t he's she's It’s (you can use the possessive pronoun its) |
Commonly Misused Words
There vs their 
I am going there tomorrow / It is their car.
Our vs are They are similar to our family.
Affect vs effect verb: The writing affected me / You affect your writing / Life affects your writing.
noun: the Doppler Effect, the effects of the storm.
Were vs where They were going to the place where they go every year.
Than vs then You write better than me/First we dance and then we sing.
Click here to see more commonly misused words.
Practice
Click here to determine whether these paragraphs are too formal, too informal, or just right.
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