The THESAURUS is right behind our favorite reference book, the DICTIONARY. We try to make it a habit to use an online dictionary and thesaurus when writing papers. See, for example, http://www.dictionary.com and http://thesaurus.reference.com/.

Go over your sentences and see if you can't find a more colorful or fresh way to say the same thing using an enlarged vocabulary.

"The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog." [If you ever took typing, you will remember this sentence!] How about:

The nimble sepia fox leapt over the slothful mongrel -- or

The spirited sorrel fox bounded over the supine pooch -- or

The mercurial dun fox vaulted over the apathetic mutt.

See? Look for opportunities to enliven your stolid, torpid prose!