Avoid Contractions In Essays

In other words, don’t use contractions in any academic writing unless you’re directly quoting someone or in a passage that contains contractions. Expert, and her exact words were, “I’ve never seen these results before,” then that is EXACTLY how you write it—just as she said it.

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If you are engaged in formal writing, I would suggest that you avoid using all contractions.

This includes cover letters, résumés, theses, essays, etc.

A rhetorical question is one in a written text where the writer assumes the reader knows the answer, or where the writer goes on to answer the question in the text.

Such questions are inappropriate for academic writing: readers might not know the answer and the point being made could be more strongly and clearly expressed as a statement.

Because the use of contractions seems more informal, you should avoid them in any instance in which you want to portray a professional, respected image.

However, some types of text benefit from the inclusion of contractions.

Try to complete the sentence properly; do not use these if you can avoid them; for example: 4.

Do not use rhetorical questions A rhetorical question is a question for which no answer is expected.

Do not use contractions Contractions are the words formed from two abbreviated words, such as "don't", "can't" and "won't". They do not provide the exactness needed in an academic setting (Fowler & Allen, 1992). Avoid using run-on expressions Run on expressions include phrases such as 'and so forth', 'and so on' or 'etc'.

Do not use colloquial vocabulary Colloquial vocabulary includes words and expressions that are used in everyday spoken language.