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Banish These Words

By Karen Kelsky | October 26, 2012

Do not use the words “unique” or “burgeoning” in any of your job documents.

They are painfully overused.

The first is just trite.

The second is over-dramatic.

That is all.

Similar Posts:

  • Banish These Words, 2014
  • Banish These Words, 2016 Edition
  • I-Me-My
  • Adjectives Are Not Arguments, Part I
  • How To Tailor a Job Letter (Without Flattering, Pandering, or Begging)

Filed Under: Graduate Student Concerns, How to Get Grants and Fellowships, How To Write Academic Job Cover Letters, How To Write CVs, Landing Your Tenure Track Job, Major Job Market Mistakes, Strategizing Your Success in Academia, Teaching and Research Statements, Teaching Portfolios, Writing

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. clickclick says

    October 26, 2012 at 4:44 pm

    add: “black box.”

    Reply
  2. Rachel says

    October 26, 2012 at 7:01 pm

    How about “novel,” as in “novel approach” (particularly if it’s true and not a platitude)?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      October 27, 2012 at 10:47 am

      I almost always say to remove, except in the hard sciences where this seems to be a “term of art” when applied to methodologies. In the humanities and social sciences I find it to be another of the adjectives that just feel trite (as i describe more in the blog post, This Christmas, Don’t Be Cheap). In general, it’s a working principle of mine that adjectives detract from your credibility rather than increase it.

      Reply
  3. Claire J says

    October 27, 2012 at 3:25 am

    Yes m’am! Obeying right away m’am!

    Reply
  4. Stephanie says

    October 27, 2012 at 9:25 am

    “ground-breaking.”

    Reply
    • Karen says

      October 27, 2012 at 10:45 am

      Indeed.

      Reply
  5. Peep says

    October 27, 2012 at 11:10 am

    Regarding ‘novel’: what if one’s approach is new to the discipline? for example large historical scope vs. narrow case studies. How would you make this come across clearly without excessive over dramatic ‘volume’ ?
    [being a non-native speaker makes me always feel at lack of words, ending up in using too expressive words to compensate for the frustration]

    Reply
    • Karen says

      October 28, 2012 at 2:16 pm

      What people don’t seem to grasp is that if your approach is actually as novel as you think, just describing it as a “study of large historical scope” that allows for xx yy and zz insights will SHOW that it is novel and valuable, without your using cheap adjectives to say it.

      Reply
      • JENNA says

        July 22, 2013 at 4:21 pm

        Why would you say cheap words? Do you mean that if I am as a non native speaker use words that are more complex, it will sound cheap?

        Reply
        • Karen says

          July 23, 2013 at 12:10 pm

          This is nothing distinctive to non-native speakers, and indeed native speakers are just as likely—really more likely—to make this error of “cheap” adjectives. But basically adjectives that try to pump up the impact level are counter-productive, while factual descriptions are the most effective. “This is a completely original study that breaks new ground in an understudied field” is just filled with empty, breathless adjectives. While, “this study is the first in the field of xx to address yy from a zz perspective” stays entirely at factual claims, and is therefore highly persuasive to a search committee.

          Reply
  6. SH says

    October 28, 2012 at 7:00 am

    Enough said. I don’t even use them in my daily speech. And “ground-breaking.”

    But what about for fellowship applications?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      October 28, 2012 at 2:16 pm

      No exceptions.

      Reply
  7. Linda Freed says

    October 7, 2014 at 11:19 pm

    You are telling people what words not to use, and you used “basically”?

    Reply
  8. Anon says

    August 26, 2015 at 8:25 am

    What about using “major breakthrough” when referring to your own work? (postdoc application in the sciences)

    Reply
    • Karen says

      August 26, 2015 at 11:49 am

      If it’s a cure for cancer, etc., sure. If not, no. I can’t judge it for you–only someone senior, reputable and reliable in your field can judge.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. The Weepy Teaching Statement: Just Say No | The Professor Is In says:
    February 1, 2013 at 8:52 am

    […] paragraph deploys the worst adjective of all—"unique" (see the blog post "Banish These Words")— and then catapults us back into feeling- and striving-land.  While it is fine to refer to […]

    Reply
  2. Banish These Words, 2016 Edition | The Professor Is In says:
    June 16, 2020 at 1:17 pm

    […] I’ve already written about some of the most critical to banish from your vocabulary here, and here. Here is the newest set of words that need to […]

    Reply

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