Be wary of synonyms for "because"

Tip: Rarely go searching for a synonym for "because." "As" is the most egregious violation I see.

Example: "We use third-party research as it provides the most information."
Fix: "We use third-party research because it provides the most information."

I thought I'd start simple. I find this problem much more frequently in business writers than in my college-level writing students. I suspect this is because business people get tired of using the same words too often, and let's face it: they like words and phrasings that make them "sound smarter." However, words and phrases that we think make us sound smart often produce obscure, convoluted sentences.

I'd like to emphasize this tip because I think causation is one of the most overlooked and underrated elements of writing, particularly on the sentence level. Readers like causation; they understand causation: "Because of A, then X." This is one of the simplest thoughts, and your writing should always embrace simplicity.

When you use words that readers don't automatically associate with causation (like "as"), your readers will likely miss the causation that you intended. At the very least, they'll probably miss it on the first go-round, and that means you're expecting them to go back and reread the confusing string of words you just wrote. As I tell my writing students, "Readers are stupid and lazy." Why should they go back to reread something? Instead, they will likely think that the writer can't write well or doesn't know what he or she wants to say. And they will use their few precious reading minutes to find something else.

The bottom line here is a good chestnut: don't worry so much about repeating words, particularly if that word is hard to replace effectively and/or that word is critical to the meaning of the sentence. ("Because" fits both of those categories.) Certainly don't go find a word that has at least 7 meanings, according to dictionary.com. You almost guarantee that your reader won't be able to determine which of those meanings you intend.