Avoid Contractions In Essays

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.

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.

In today’s text-speaking, emoji-using, open world, it’s commonplace to use contractions to mimic the spoken word. Let’s start with a brief discussion of when contractions are acceptable.

After all, who among us speaks formally all the time? When you’re writing conversationally, like a blog entry or an email to a friend or family member, you can let your writing reflect the way you speak.

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.

For example, “I’ve” is the contraction for “I have.” As you can see, the “h” and “a” have been omitted and the remaining letters of the two words have been connected by an apostrophe.

For a longer list of commonly used English contractions, see the post entitled Commonly Used Contractions.

In any professional writing that’s meant for an audience of your peers, contractions lessen the impact of your words and may lead to your ideas/research not being taken seriously. But if your intended audience is your professional colleagues, your professors, or a potential employer, take a formal approach and avoid contractions.

If you’re writing an essay or research paper, keep in mind that an informal, conversational writing style is pretty much GPA suicide. Originally posted 12/1/2015 and happily updated 10/28/2017.

On the formal end of the spectrum, you have the scholarly writing you do for classroom assignments, theses and dissertations, and publications.

Contractions are also generally avoided in business reports and journal articles.