Formal Academic Language

Choices to make your writing more formal

Avoid Contractions

isn't = is not The analysis didn't yield any new results.

don't = do not The analysis did not yield any new results.

even better to use a more formal structure:

not any = no The analysis did not yield any new results.
The analysis yielded no new results.

not much = little The government didn't allocate much funding for the program.
The government yielded little funding for the program.

not many = few The problem doesn't have many viable solutions.
The problem has few viable solutions.

Avoid Common Words That Carry Little

Meaning
get = obtain, receive The company will soon get raw materials from a new supplier.
The company will soon obtain raw materials from a new supplier.

thing = so many possibilities! Many things need to be considered.

Many factors need to be considered.

do = make, create, conduct (research) Test subjects often do similar things at this point in the experiment.
Test subjects often exhibit similar behavior at this point in the experiment.

Use Formal Verbs Instead of Phrasal Verbs

bring up = raise Situations such as these bring up important issues.
hand in = submit Situations such as these raise important issues.
look into = investigate
talk over = discuss Once countries use up their supplies of fresh water, we may see new types of conflict.
get on with = continue Once countries exhaust their supplies of fresh water, we may see new types of conflict.
use up = exhaust
make sure = confirm

Avoid Overusing Colloquial Expressions

above board = legitimate
get through it = survive
easier said than done = more difficult in practice
explore every avenue = investigate every alternative
Before they approve the new director, HR needs to make sure that his references are above board.
Before they approve the new director, HR needs to confirm that his references are legitimate.
Application of these options is easier said than done.
Application of these options is more difficult in practice.