Phrasal verbs are accepted in spoken English, but they are often considered too formal for academic writing. Furthermore, phrasal verbs often have multiple meanings. Your aim is to write your article in a simple language to make your work clear and concise. Therefore, you should replace phrasal verbs with formal one-word alternatives.

Phrasal verbs you should avoid in academic writing

Some phrasal verbs are too formal for your research or report. The following word counter will share a few examples of such inappropriate phrasal verbs. Single verbs that can replace these phrasal verbs are included in brackets:

A lot (a lot)

Go up (rise or rise)

Include (contribute)

Find out (explore)

Have looked in (discovered)

Together (merged)

Explained for (explained)

Bring on (cause)

Cut out (delete, split, match)