10 Better Ways to Say “In Order To” In Formal Writing

“In order to” is a somewhat redundant phrase. In formal writing, it would help to use something that doesn’t use excessive words. This article will share with you some of the best ways you can write “in order to” for your academic writing papers and other formal needs.

The preferred ways are “to,” “with the intention of,” and “so that.” They work well because they get to the point and try to avoid redundancies. While some people still opt to use “in order to” in their writing, these options are always going to be a more concise fit.

To

“To” is a great replacement for “in order to.” In formal writing, it works well because it removes the redundant use of “in order.” “To” already establishes why you have decided to do something, so “in order” is not necessary (as it means the same thing).

“In order to” still sometimes comes up in academic writing. There isn’t anything strictly wrong with it, but many formal readers would prefer not to see it because it is redundant.

• We’re going to be exploring the rate of decay to figure out how long the life cycle of this plant might be.
• The experiment was held in controlled conditions to make sure that no outside factors were going to play a part in the outcome.
• I completed this in a controlled manner to ensure that nothing went wrong. There were too many potential problems here.

With The Intention Of

“With the intention of” makes your intentions clear from the beginning of your writing. This is a great way to engage the reader in a formal setting, showing them what you are trying to get out of you’re writing.

“Intentions” are good to establish early. The earlier you can write about them, the easier it is for a reader to follow along with your reasoning behind writing about certain things.

• We did what needed to be done with the intention of completing the task within the first few hours of the day.
• I thought about doing some more work for it with the intention of finishing it so that I could move on to the next project in no time.
• The team worked together with the intention of setting a record for the most completed projects in the span of one week.

So That

“So that” is a simple replacement for “in order to.” It allows you to explain why you might have decided to do something and what you’re expecting to get out of it.

This phrase works well formally, but you’ll also find it’s pretty common informally. That’s why it’s a good choice when you’re trying to use it and looking for a more versatile phrase.

• I did it this way so that it was much clearer what I wanted to get out of it. It helped me to streamline my project.
• This will need to be edited so that it is made easier for most of these people to read through. It’s all about user interaction.
• Some problems need to be ironed out so that it’s a better fit for more companies. Hopefully, that won’t take long.

So As To

“So as to” is a simple way to show how you want to do something. It allows you to show the reader what you intend to get out of the things you’re writing about. “So as to” sets up a good precedent for whatever you’d like to discuss.

“So as to” is also considered a bit of a redundant phrase. It’s similar to “in order to,” meaning that it can be used formally, but there are better alternatives.

• I completed the project quickly so as to spend more time working on some of the things that actually interested me.
• I made sure to get it done in record time so as to help get it back to my boss before they realized they needed it.
• We completed all of these experiments in the same way so as to ensure that nothing was left out and no variables affected anything.

With The Aim Of

“With the aim of” is a great way to show that you’re aiming to achieve something. It shows the reader why you might have made a decision in the way you did. Usually, you write this phrase before you have completed something.

In most academic papers, you’ll find that “aims” and “targets” are useful. It shows your readers what you’re trying to achieve. That way, they can follow your journey to figure out whether you managed to do the things you set out to achieve.

• We completed all of the reports early that day with the aim of impressing our boss enough to let us go home early.
• I made sure that it was going to be completed with the aim of showing everyone what was coming up in my presentation.
• The database was created for all of the employees with the aim of making their jobs slightly easier when it came to data entry.

In An Effort To

“In an effort to” is another good way of showing someone why you make certain decisions. It can give them an idea of why you thought it was good to go forward with certain things in your writing.

It’s worth noting that a lot of people treat “in an effort to” in the same way as “in order to.” It is redundant, as “in an effort” is already explained by the use of “to.” Still, it can work well in formal writing.

• I did all of this in an effort to impress my boss. I don’t think it worked out very well, but I’m glad I got a chance to put the effort in.
• In an effort to complete the tasks early, I set up my desk to make myself as efficient as possible. It worked quite well.
• In an effort to control the timings of the event, I made everyone follow an itinerary to make it easier for all of us.

For The Purpose Of

“For the purpose of” is a good way of showing someone what the purpose behind something is. It works really well when you’re trying to explain why you might have decided to do something in a particular way.

Using “purpose” here is similar to saying “effort” or “intention.” It helps your reader to follow along with why you’re making statements the way you are.

• These projects were completed for the purpose of finding out which team worked the best together. They were rewarded accordingly.
• It was all done for the purpose of completing the tasks that were laid out beforehand. It worked very well going forward.
• For the purpose of this experiment, I needed to make sure that every variable was controlled before I could move on.

With An Eye On

“With an eye on” is a good choice if you’re trying to show what things you might be considering. In academic writing, it’s likely that you’ll want to discuss your thought process and ideas based on the context of what you write.

“With an eye on” allows you to show your thought process. It shows the reader that you’ve actively thought about certain outcomes before deciding on any final moves.

• This was done with an eye on the changes laid out in front of me. It made it much easier for me to figure some things out.
• I completed all of this with an eye on the impact that it was having. I believe it’s allowed me to come up with my thesis.
• The issues came from the governmental differences with an eye on the things that were going to change from their disputes.

That One Might

“That one might” is a very formal phrase that you might be able to use in your writing. It works well to replace “in order to” as it gives someone a chance to understand why something has been done in a particular way.

• This was done in a way so that one might have a chance to complete it on their own moving forward.
• The user interface was created so that one might be able to control the different outcomes a little bit easier.
• I have compiled all of these reports so that one might review all of the employees that are available for certain roles.

So As To Achieve

“So as to achieve” shows what you’re trying to get out of your academic writing. It shows the reader what you want to “achieve,” which usually allows most papers to come full circle.

For example, most formal papers will have an introduction that sets up some kind of hypothesis. This hypothesis will usually want to be “solved” by the end of the paper.

If you have “achieved” the hypothesis, then it’s wise to use “so as to achieve” in some cases to show how you got there.

• This was done so as to achieve common ground with my fellow workers. It should be more than enough for us to see eye to eye.
• So as to achieve peace, there are some things that have to be brought forward by the government to show that they’re serious.
• I’m not going to be able to do this in a way so as to achieve the answers I’m looking for. I’ll have to work with what I’ve got.