Change a few words in your paper and sound more like an academic expert

I was recently helping a client revise his master’s thesis paper, and I realized that many of the changes we made involved replacing basic words with more academic vocabulary. Just by changing a few words, you can dramatically improve your paper. Below, find an incomplete list of words with their more academic-sounding counterparts.

better – more effective
said – noted, explained, stated, indicated, acknowledged
shows – indicates, demonstrates, identifies, displays
use – utilize
part – component
before – previously
try – attempt
way – method
gives – provides

Do you have any more examples? Feel free to include them in the comments section below.