Informal use of language
Aim for gender neutral or inclusive language. Click here for more information
Avoid slang and clichéd phrases as they can confuse your readers and destroy the formal tone of your writing. Click here for more information.
Do not use phrases like 'a lot of people' or 'words like ‘things’. Be more precise in explaining key ideas and concepts. Click here for more information
Avoid first person (‘I’, ‘we’) and second person (‘you’). The only exceptions are reflective writing (learning journals) and descriptions of research in some types of dissertation. Use third person (they, their, them, it) to make your writing objective and evidenced based. Click here for more information.
Do not use personal expressions as sentence openers, such as ‘I feel’, ‘In my opinion’, ‘I believe’, ‘I think’. Expressions such as ‘I believe’ state the obvious (obviously you believe it because you are the one writing it). Click here for more information
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