Many people believe they will sound smarter if they fill their writing with big words. In fact, the best writing is clean, simple, and pared down. Professional writers do not lean on ten-dollar words; they rely on strong sentence structure, original thinking, and clarity of expression. This is not to say that you should refrain from using a fancy word if it perfectly captures your meaning. But focus first and foremost on getting your meaning across to the reader, without worrying about how clever you sound.