What to avoid

To make sure our writing is as clean and concise as possible, please familiarise yourself with the words and phrases to avoid where possible.

General rules

English is full of idioms and strange turns of phrase, many of which dilute the meaning and impact of a phrase or sentence. International audiences may not understand all of these.
Unless you’re writing for a very specific audience, don’t assume everyone will understand business, clinical, technical etc idioms.
We use a lot of acronyms in Higher Education that take some getting to know, so be mindful of this if someone is new.

Affect means to influence something. Effect as a noun means a result or outcome; effect as a verb means to bring about change e.g. 'we have effected changes that will affect our students.'
Altogether is an adverb that means completely e.g. 'he was altogether confused.' All together means in a group e.g. ‘we will gather all together in front of the Student Union.'
Every day means daily, everyday means something is usual e.g. an everyday occurrence
Impactful – Is the impact good or bad?
Less – Use less when writing about something that can’t be counted or doesn’t have a plural e.g. ‘less money’, ‘less time’. Use fewer when writing about something that can be counted eg ‘fewer students’.
On to should be used rather than onto.
More than should be used rather than over, which is a colloquialism.
Past vs last – Rather than ‘last 10 years’, please use ‘past 10 years’.

Agile – Think of alternatives e.g. adaptable, ready for anything.
Also – Overused and can often be removed from a sentence without changing the meaning.
Amazing – Too many superlatives can make copy sound fake.
At the heart of.
Basically – Overused and can often be removed from a sentence without changing the meaning.
Both – Overused and is often not needed e.g. ‘Both undergraduates and postgraduates live on the Mile End campus’.
Cutting-edge – Only use if something really is. Avoid using it the rest of the time.
Deliver – We use this a lot. Try to alternate it with more human-sounding alternatives e.g. create, provide.
Detail as a verb.
Engage/engaging with – Think of another way of explaining the relationship, e.g. working alongside, supporting etc.
Excellent – Can be overused.
Feed through into.
Fit-for-purpose.
Groundbreaking.
Iconic.
Innovative – Unless the element described is a genuine innovation e.g. technological developments).
It’s no surprise that.
Key.
Kick-start.
Literally.
Major.
Man, mankind – Say human and humankind instead.
Massive.
Meanwhile.
Ongoing.
Pioneering – Only use if something really is.
Presently.
State-of-the-art – Again, only use if something really is.
Ultimate.
Utilise – Use is fine.