“Will be used” is one of the most overused phrases in academic writing, research proposals, and technical documents. It’s vague, passive, and tells the reader nothing about how or why something is being used. Replacing it with a more precise verb almost always makes your writing clearer and more professional.
Why “Will Be Used” Falls Flat
The phrase has two problems working against it. First, it’s passive voice, which buries the actor. “A questionnaire will be used to collect data” doesn’t tell the reader who is doing what. Second, “used” is one of the least specific verbs in English. It could mean operated, applied, administered, analyzed, or dozens of other actions. As UCLA’s scientific writing guide puts it, you should choose precise words with unmistakable meanings and avoid anything clouded, ambiguous, or vague.
Swapping in a stronger verb forces you to say what you actually mean, which is the whole point of clear writing.
Direct Synonyms for General Contexts
When you simply need a drop-in replacement and the sentence structure stays the same, these work across most writing contexts:
- Employed: “A mixed-methods approach will be employed.” Common in research proposals and formal reports.
- Applied: “Statistical corrections will be applied to account for multiple comparisons.” Works well for methods, techniques, and frameworks.
- Adopted: “A longitudinal design will be adopted.” Best when describing a deliberate choice of strategy or approach.
- Implemented: “The new protocol will be implemented across all sites.” Fits when something is being put into action for the first time.
A note on “utilized”: the CDC’s style guide warns against it five times and lists it among its top 10 jargon words. “Utilize” technically implies making the most effective use of something in a way not originally intended (you can utilize a baseball bat as a doorstop), but in practice, “use” or a more specific verb is almost always the better choice.
Stronger Replacements for Research Writing
In a research proposal or methods section, you can usually replace “will be used” with a verb that describes the actual action being performed. This eliminates vagueness and often converts the sentence to active voice at the same time.
For data and analysis, consider verbs like analyze, examine, calculate, classify, detect, measure, assess, and evaluate. Instead of “SPSS will be used to analyze the data,” write “We will analyze the data in SPSS” or even “We will calculate response frequencies and run regression models in SPSS.” Each step up in specificity gives the reader more information without adding clutter.
For equipment, tools, and instruments, verbs like operate, deploy, calibrate, and test are more descriptive. “A spectrophotometer will be used to measure absorbance” becomes “A spectrophotometer will measure absorbance” or, in active voice, “We will measure absorbance with a spectrophotometer.” Notice how the sentence gets shorter and sharper each time.
For treatments, interventions, or clinical procedures, administer, deliver, assign, and introduce carry more meaning. “The drug will be used in Phase I trials” says less than “The drug will be administered to a small group to identify possible side effects and determine proper dosing.”
Converting to Active Voice
“Will be used” is passive by construction. The simplest upgrade is often just flipping the sentence so the subject performs the action. Purdue University’s writing lab demonstrates the difference: a passive sentence like “the soundtrack will have been completely remixed by the sound engineers” becomes “the sound engineers will have completely remixed the soundtrack.” The active version is more concise and easier to follow.
Here’s what that looks like in practice:
- Passive: “Interviews will be used to gather qualitative data.”
- Active: “We will conduct interviews to gather qualitative data.”
- Passive: “A control group will be used for comparison.”
- Active: “A control group will serve as the baseline for comparison.”
- Passive: “Machine learning algorithms will be used to classify the images.”
- Active: “Machine learning algorithms will classify the images.”
Some style guides in the sciences still prefer passive voice to keep the focus on methods rather than researchers. Even in those cases, replacing “will be used” with a precise verb (“will be employed,” “will be administered,” “will be deployed”) is an improvement.
Choosing the Right Synonym by Context
The best replacement depends on what is being used and for what purpose. A quick reference:
- A method or framework: employed, applied, adopted, followed
- A tool or instrument: operated, deployed, calibrated
- A dataset: analyzed, examined, processed, interpreted
- A statistical test: performed, conducted, run
- A treatment or drug: administered, delivered, assigned
- A technology or system: implemented, integrated, deployed
- A criterion or standard: applied, enforced, followed
“Will” vs. “Shall” vs. “Must” in Formal Documents
If you’re writing contracts, policy documents, or regulatory text, the verb before “be used” matters just as much as replacing it. Legal writing experts note that “shall” has become so corrupted by misuse that it can mean “must,” “should,” “will,” “may,” or simply “is.” The modern recommendation for legal and regulatory writing is straightforward: use “must” for obligations, “will” for future actions or statements of fact, and “may” for permission. So “the equipment shall be used only by trained personnel” is clearer as “only trained personnel may operate the equipment.”
Picking the right verb of authority and the right action verb together makes formal documents both legally precise and readable.