Cohabitation

Use this cheat sheet to recognize things to avoid when writing formal documents.

|Avoid |Replace with |
|The ampersand symbol: & |The word “and” |
|Yeah |Yes |
|Slang words and colloquialisms, such as “cool” and “dude” (see additional |More formal language |
|colloquialisms cheat sheet below) | |
|Contractions, e.g. “can’t,” “don’t,” “won’t,” etc. |The words’ full forms: “cannot” for “can’t,” “do not” for “don’t”|
|Personal pronouns: “You should sleep eight hours each night”; “I think |Impersonal pronouns: “One should sleep eight hours each night”; |
|Professor James is correct.” |“Professor James is correct.” |
|Starting a sentence with coordinating conjunctions (“and,” “so,” “but,” |Compound sentences or transitional adverbs, such as |
|“or”) |“additionally,” “therefore,” “alternatively,” and “nevertheless” |
|Clichés or overused phrases (“as strong as an ox,” “as pretty as a picture,”|Literal descriptions |
|“bought for a song,” etc.) | |
|Starting a letter or document by giving commands or telling what the paper |An intro to your topic: “Global warming can now be described as a|
|will discuss