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  5. Style guide
  6. Common pitfalls and cliches

Common pitfalls and cliches

There are a few traps we all fall into from time to time. Below is a round-up of words or phrases to avoid where possible. There is a much more exhaustive list in our index.

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.

Cliches, jargon and idioms to avoid

At the end of the day

Back to the drawing board

Barking up the wrong tree

Hit the ground running

If you fancy

Take it to the next level

The best of both worlds

We have you covered / we’ve got you covered

Let’s circle back

Think outside the box

110 per cent

Note

We’re lucky to have a community of staff from all over the world. If you are not sure if a phrase is well understood, please ask a colleague.

Words that are often misused

  • Affect means to influence something. Effect as a noun means a result or outcome; effect as a verb means to bring about change eg We have effected changes that will affect our students.
  • Altogether is an adverb that means completely eg ‘He was altogether confused’. All together means in a group eg ‘We will gather all together in front of the Student Union.
  • Every day means daily, everyday means something is usual eg 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 eg ‘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.
  • Literally should not be used for emphasis.
  • 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’.

Words that are often overused

  • Agile – think of alternatives eg 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 – this is overused and is often not needed eg ‘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 eg create, provide.
  • Detail as a verb
  • Engage/engaging with – think of another way of explaining the relationship: eg working alongside, supporting etc.
  • Excellent – can be overused
  • Feed through into...
  • Fit-for-purpose
  • Innovative (unless the element described is a genuine innovation: eg technological developments)
  • It’s no surprise that...
  • Key
  • Kick-start
  • Major
  • Massive
  • Meanwhile
  • Ongoing
  • Pioneering – only use if something really is
  • State-of-the-art – again, only use if something really is
  • Ultimate
  • Utilise – use is fine
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