❌ STOP using these words in your ESSAYS! ❌

Every single year in mock exams season, teachers see the same terrible words that drives them crazy. Worse still, students end up doing badly and wondering where they went wrong.

Is your vocabulary holding you back? Here are the 10 WORST WORDS that TEACHERS HATE. Read the list.

Are you guilty of using any of them? 🤔

WORST 10 WORDS TO AVOID:

🚫 1. “A lot”

It’s terrible - too vague and informal!
✅ Use: many, numerous

🚫 2. “Stuff” / “Things”

This word is meaningless.
✅ Use: ideas, themes, symbols

🚫 3. “Really” / “Very”

This is what teachers call a “filler” word – it means nothing.
✅ Use: extremely, profoundly

🚫 4. “Nice” / “Good”

This is poor, low-effort vocabulary.
✅ Use: benevolent, virtuous

🚫 5. “Shows”

This phrase is OVERUSED!
✅ Use: implies, conveys

🚫 6. “I think”

AVOID using “I” statements when you’re analysing.
✅ Use: The writer implies…

🚫 7. “Happy” / “Sad”

This is too simplistic.

✅ Use: content / melancholic

🚫 8. “Nowadays”

Student’s hearts are in the right place using this word to talk about today. Unfortunately, it’s a terrible choice of word.
✅ Use: In contemporary society

🚫 9. “A bit”

This is too informal.
✅ Use: somewhat

🚫 10. “Basically” / “Literally”

We use it when we speak but it’s a “filler” word – it means nothing.
✅ Use: There’s no suggestion here. Just don’t use it!

GCSE LANGUAGE PAPER 1 & 2 MASTERCLASS:

✨PS: Every Sunday I run live GCSE Classes for Language Paper 1 & 2 Exams - and we work on expanding our VOCABULARY plus also writing top tier GCSE Essays - join us here: https://www.firstratetutors.com/masterclass

Here’s what my student who joined last year and got GCSE Grade 9 in her exams said: