A manual for writers of research papers, theses, and dissertations, Ninth edition - Kate L. Turabian 2018

Choose the right word
Revising sentences
Research and writing

Another bit of standard advice is Choose the right word.

1. 1. Choose the word with the right meaning. Affect doesn’t mean effect; elicit doesn’t mean illicit. Commonly confused words are listed in many handbooks. If you’re an inexperienced writer, invest in one.

2. 2. Choose the word with the right level of usage. If you draft quickly, you risk choosing words that might mean roughly what you think they do but are too casual for a formal paper. Someone can criticize another writer or knock him; a risk can seem frightening or scary. Those pairs have similar meanings, but most readers would judge the second in each pair to be a bit loose for academic writing.

On the other hand, if you try too hard to sound like a real “academic,” you risk using words that are too formal. You can think or cogitate, drink or imbibe. Those pairs are close in meaning, but the second in each is too fancy for a paper written in ordinary English. Whenever you’re tempted to use a word that you think is especially fine, look for a more familiar one.

The obvious advice is to look up words you’re not sure of. But they’re not the problem; the problem is the ones you are sure of. Worse, no dictionary tells you that a word like visage or perambulate is too fancy for just about any context. The short-term solution is to ask someone to read your paper before you turn it in (but be cautious before accepting too many suggestions; see 7.10). The long-term solution is to read a lot, write a lot, endure a lot of criticism, and learn from it.