| Taboo | Example | Alternative |
|---|---|---|
| A bit | The interviews were a bit difficult to schedule | The interviews were (difficult/somewhat difficult) to schedule |
| A lot of, a couple of | A lot of studies | (Many/several/a great number of/eight) studies |
| Country names | A researcher in America | A researcher in (the United States/the US/the USA) |
| Isn’t, can’t, doesn’t, would’ve (or any other contraction) | The sample isn’t | The sample is not |
| Kind of, sort of | The findings were kind of significant | The findings were (somewhat significant/significant to some degree) |
| Til, till | From 2008 till 2012 | From 2008 (until/to) 2012 |
| You, your
(i.e. the second-person point of view) |
You can clearly see the results | One can clearly see the results
The results can clearly be seen |
| Taboo | Example | Alternative |
|---|---|---|
| Beautiful, ugly, wonderful, horrible, good, bad | A review of literature yielded many good articles | A review of the literature yielded many relevant articles |
| Naturally | The participants naturally wanted to know | The participants wanted to know |
| Obviously, of course | The results obviously indicate | The results clearly indicate |
You can replace these with appropriate transition words or simply remove them from the sentence.
| Taboo | Example | Alternative |
|---|---|---|
| Also | Also, the participants were in agreement on the third question | (Moreover/Furthermore), the participants were in agreement on the third question |
| So | So it can be concluded that the model needs further refinement | Therefore it can be concluded that the model needs further refinement |
| And | And the participants were all over the age of 30 | The participants were all over the age of 30 |
| Besides | Besides, we asked all the participants to sign an agreement | Additionally, we asked all the participants to sign an agreement |
| Taboo | Example | Alternative |
|---|---|---|
| Stuff | People are concerned about their stuff | People are concerned about their (belongings/possessions/personal effects) |
| Thing | The report presents many things | The report presents many (details/findings/recommendations) |
| Something | ||
| A long time, a while | This topic has interested researchers for a long time |
This topic has interested researchers for more than 30 years |
| Taboo | Example | Alternative |
|---|---|---|
| Has got/have got | This dissertation has got four chapters | This dissertation has four chapters |
| Serves to, helps to | This chapter serves to explain | This chapter explains |
| Taboo | Example | Alternative |
|---|---|---|
| Bad | A bad result | A (poor/negative) result |
| Big, humongous | A big sample | A (large/sizable) sample |
| Get | This model gets attention | This model receives attention |
| Give | This chapter gives an overview | This chapter (provides/offers/presents) an overview |
| Good | A good example | A (useful/prime) example |
| Show | The below figure shows | The below figure (illustrates/demonstrates/reveals) |
| Taboo | Example | Alternative |
|---|---|---|
| Always, never | Researchers always argue that | Researchers (frequently/commonly/ typically) argue that |
| Perfect, best, worst, most (or any other superlative) | The perfect solution to the problem | (An ideal solution/one of the best solutions) to the problem |
| Very, extremely, really, too, so (or any other intensifier) | This theory is extremely important | This theory is (important/critical/crucial) |
| Taboo | Example | Alternative |
|---|---|---|
| Literally | The students were literally dying to participate | The students were (dying/very eager) to participate |
| Would of, had of | The study would of considered | The study would have considered |
The majority of this information comes from https://www.scribbr.com/academic-writing/taboo-words/