: Re: Are contractions antithetical to academic writing? This question is very specific to academic writing: I used the contraction "don't" instead of "do not" in some of the papers. Some of the

@Phylliss352

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Contractions are, by their very nature, informal, as they tend to be more frequently used for speech than writing. However, you don't necessarily always have to avoid them: although the APA Style Guide recommends avoiding them for academic writing, other style guides, e.g. Chicago Manual of Style, recommend using them, for when "used thoughtfully, contractions in prose sound natural and relaxed and make reading more enjoyable". The best advice would be to use them when not using them would sound strange or unnatural. As always, however, stick to what is recommended to you in your setting.

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