How to Avoid Colloquial Language

Hi, it's Lisa here from Capstone Editing.

In this video,

I'll explain how to improve
your academic

writing by avoiding

colloquial language.

Colloquial language is appropriate to

a characteristic of conversational speech

or informal writing.

Academic writing
requires a formal time characterized by

careful language choices to convey your
ideas to to readers as precisely

as possible.

Colloquial language, on the other hand,
doesn't satisfy this need

for exactness of expression.

In fact, on the other hand
is a great example.

It's perfectly acceptable for speech,
but if I saw it in a postgraduate thesis

I was editing, I would change it to a more
appropriate and formal term like

—'conversely.'"

Pam Peters, who wrote the Cambridge guide

to Australian English
usage, says that "'Colloquial language

undermines the serious effect you want
to have on the reader.'"

She advises
that your writing should not appear

casual, imprecise, or gloss over details.

So, to create the best impression when
writing academically, it's recommended to

find formal equivalents for any
colloquialisms you might be tempted to

use.

Okay, so what do you need to avoid?

Some types of colloquial language are
obviously inappropriate for use in

academic writing, such as slang.
For example, 'till' instead of 'until.'

And phrases like 'my bad' or 'cool.'

However, there are some other types of
colloquial language that also need to be

avoided, that are less obvious.
Which I'll explain.

Clichés are a form of colloquial language,
A cliché is an expression that is an

expression that has been overused to the
extent that it loses its

original meaning or novelty.

For example,
'time will tell' and 'as luck

would have it.'

These expressions are commonly used in
speech, but for formal writing they

lack both the specificity and meaning
required to lend accuracy to your writing,

and the originality to make
your writing more interesting.

Instead, you could use phrases like
'become clear over time'

and 'fortunately.'

Idioms also need to be need to be avoided.
An idiom is a word or phrase that is not

taken literally.

Some examples are 'a drop in the ocean'
and 'cut to the chase'

These expressions are extremely common
in speech,

but they pose important problems
in academic writing.

First, as with clichés, these expressions
lack specificity of meaning.

Second, and even more, problematically,

because idioms cannot be

understood literally, using them risks

misinterpretation of your meaning by
readers, without the necessary language

skills.

Fillers also need to be avoided in
academic writing.

For exmple, 'very,' 'so' and 'even.'

It's common to use filler words
to add emphasis and rhythm in speech.

However, such words are unnecessary
in academic writing, and

detract from its effectiveness.

Now that you know the types of
colloquial language that need to be

avoided in academic writing,
the next step is to make sure that you

always find an effective and accurate,
formal equivalent to replace them with.

To ensure you're getting your meaning
across, precisely and effectively.

You'll always be able to
find a suitable formal equivalent to any

colloquial expression, just by consult—
consulting a good dictionary and

conducting a Google search.

For example,
to find a formal equivalent of 'a drop in

the ocean,'
a simple Google search for 'define a drop

in the ocean' produces the
definition: A very small amount compared

with what is needed or expected.

Remember though, that a Google search for
a definition will return results from

several online dictionaries, some of which
are better than others.

Try to use only respected online
dictionaries such as The Merriam-Webster,

the Oxford Dictionary,
the Oxford Learner's Dictionary,

the Macmillan dictionary, the Collins
Dictionary

or the Cambridge
dictionary.

I hope you found this video
helpful. If you have, it would be great if

you would subscribe to the Capstone
Editing YouTube channel for other videos,

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with your friends and colleagues.

Thanks for watching.