At Paperpal, we understand this limitation presented by generic dictionaries which is why we designed this contextual synonym checker for researchers, keeping in mind scholarly literature and academic vocabulary. Figure 2: Contextual synonyms suggested on Paperpal for Web Figure 3: Contextual synonyms suggestion in Paperpal for WordĪ general-purpose dictionary lacks information about whether and how a word has been used in broader academic vocabulary and how a word ranks in terms of its popularity in the academic corpus. As a researcher, all you need to do is select a word Paperpal then automatically searches through high-impact articles to see how that word has been used in previously published manuscripts/academic corpus, ranks the results, and presents you with multiple relevant academic word choices for your target word. Upon selecting a word, our sophisticated algorithm retrieves contextually relevant synonyms for that word from a large multidisciplinary corpus of published research papers and ranks them based on frequency and usage. Our contextual academic synonym checker is a proprietary, one-click solution, which is integrated into Paperpal for Word and Paperpal for Web. We have therefore integrated a solution for this tedious problem right into our AI-based academic editing tool. Make the mistake of using “inopportune, unseasonable, untimely, incomplete, immature, early on, etc.” and you are certain to get a reviewer comment on word choice! What then could be a solution?Īt Paperpal, we live by the motto of helping every researcher write better. Which of the synonyms would you use for “premature” within the academic context in a reproductive biology paper? Making the right choice: Contextual synonyms in Paperpal Figure 1: Synonyms for premature (left: right: ) Now multiply this by 100 and you can immediately see how finding appropriate academic synonyms could be frustrating for already busy researchers. And based on the number of hits for that word, you may either choose to use that synonym or search for another one.Ĭonservatively, assuming it takes about 3 tries (dictionary search + corpus search) to find the right synonym for a given word and each search takes about 5 minutes, it adds up to a ridiculous amount of time and effort spent just finding one set of synonyms to use in a research paper. However, could you be certain that the synonym you chose is preferred in academic writing and literature and that it is widely accepted in the academic English vocabulary? Perhaps, like most researchers, you may diligently search for that specific synonymous word in an academic corpus like Google Scholar, PubMed, Web of Science, etc. A dictionary/thesaurus is usually the best place for this task.Īt first glance, it seems like a simple task, right? Now, imagine having to search for the synonyms of 100 words in a 5,000-word research paper that you are drafting.
A thought experimentĬonsider the following sentences that establish the importance of a research topic:Īll the above phrases present the same idea but with different word choices. Inevitably, this leads to the issue of redundancy and monotony in academic vocabulary and literature. Authors, therefore, are limited when it comes to introducing a lot of word choice variations in their papers.
Moreover, research papers, across most journals and subject areas, are largely rigid in their vocabulary expectations. A global English readership, a niche audience-mainly comprising fellow researchers-and the need for a formal and academic tone are some of the hurdles one may face. Unlike fiction and general writing, drafting a research paper in English could present some hurdles for researchers with English as a second language. This is because English remains the lingua franca of the global research community, whose main modes of academic outreach are research papers and journal articles. 1 While general academic words are usually learnt through exposure to academic texts, 2 navigating the world of global scholarly literature and academic discourse necessitates a certain level of proficiency in English. Academic vocabulary refers to the words and phrases used in academic contexts, such as scholarly articles, reports, and lectures/seminars.
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