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Blog / Can You Use Contractions in Academic Writing? 23 Real Examples
Can You Use Contractions in Academic Writing? 23 Real Examples
Short answer: in academic writing, avoid contractions. Write "do not," "cannot," and "it is" in full. Most university style guides, and most instructors, treat contractions as informal. Some modern style guides (including APA) allow occasional contractions, but writing the full form is never wrong, so it is the safe choice. The examples below are real sentences that people sent to Proofread Bot.
The corrections are written in formal, academic English, so contractions are spelled out in full. Where a contracted or colloquial form is common in everyday writing, it is shown underneath as the informal version.
1. Common contractions and their full forms
✓ You should not go to school today.
Informal: You shouldn't go to school today.
✓ You cannot go to school today.
Informal: You can't go to school today.
✓ Do not forget to buy milk.
Informal: Don't forget to buy milk.
✓ He will be strong.
Informal: He'll be strong.
✓ I have an idea.
Informal: I've got an idea.
✓ We had not been to the bar in a while.
Informal: We hadn't been to the bar in a while.
✓ I should have thought about going to college when I was younger.
Informal: I should've thought about going to college when I was younger.
Note that cannot is written as one word. "Can not" is used only in rare cases where "not" belongs to the following phrase ("You can not only read but also write").
2. Contractions that are wrong in any register
✓ She should have received an A.
✓ I could have studied more, but I decided not to.
✓ I would stay away.
✓ I cannot believe these facts.
"Should of," "could of," and "would of" come from mishearing should've, could've, and would've. They are never correct. Writing the full form, "should have," removes the problem entirely.
3. Missing apostrophes in contractions
If you do use contractions in informal writing, the apostrophe is not optional.
✓ I did not do anything.
Informal: I didn't do anything.
✓ I cannot do that with my fingers.
Informal: I can't do that with my fingers.
✓ I am not a robot.
Informal: I'm not a robot.
✓ Let us go to the beach.
Informal: Let's go to the beach.
✓ We will have the best projects!
Informal: We'll have the best projects!
4. Slang and non-standard forms
✓ He is not coming to the party.
✓ She has no shoes.
✓ I am going to leave.
✓ You all know that I will do that.
✓ Let us leave.
Informal: Let's get out of here!
✓ I have to go; I will see you later.
Informal: I have to go, see you later!
✓ In any case, I will see you tomorrow.
Informal: Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow.
"Ain't," "gonna," "wanna," and "y'all" are part of many spoken varieties of English, but they do not belong in academic or professional writing.
What about dialogue and quotations?
When you quote someone directly, or write dialogue in fiction, keep their contractions: changing a quotation would misrepresent it. The rule applies to your own prose.
Beyond contractions: other informal habits
- Addressing the reader as "you." Instead of "You can see that…," write "This shows that…" or "One can see that…"
- Vague intensifiers. Replace "really," "pretty," and "very" with a precise word: not "really important" but "essential."
- Phrasal verbs. Formal equivalents often read better: "investigate" for "look into," "increase" for "go up."
- Abbreviations such as "w/," "plz," and "&". Write "with," "please," and "and."
Proofread Bot can flag contractions and informal phrasing when you need a formal register. For related mistakes, see your or you're, its or it's, and redundant words in academic writing.