User:Swpb/writing guidance
Misplaced formality
[edit]Wikipedia needs to appeal to a wide range of native and non-native speakers, many of whom are time-poor. Writing plain English is a good way to achieve this. Many writers want to write text with an air of authority, and use longer-than-necessary and/or old-fashioned forms in the hope of appearing more formal. In most cases, you'll get your point across more effectively by avoiding the following words and phrases (suggested replacements appear after the arrows):
- whilst —> while
- amongst —> among
- upon —> on
- within —> in (unless you really need to stress "insideness")
- in order to and in order for —> just to and for (very occasionally, the "in order" is required to avoid ambiguity, and of course the negative requires all words: "in order not to", and "so as not to" )
- hitherto —> until now
- thereupon —> then
- notwithstanding (yuck) —> despite or another construction
- utilise —> use (scientists should get this ugly duckling out of their system)
- prior to —> before
- the majority of —> most (unless "more than 50%" is intended)
- multiple —> many (unless you mean "having or involving several parts, elements or members", especially when it's not always the case, e.g., multiple occupancy, multiple birth; but not "cited in multiple articles")
- due to the fact that —> because