Useful English Word or Phrase to Boost Your English: On Paper

What does it mean?

On paper means something looks correct, achievable, or successful in theory or in writing, but may not work well in real life or practice.

Is it positive or negative?

It's neutral - it highlights a difference between how something seems and how it actually is.

When do you use it?

You use it when talking about plans, projects, or people that appear perfect in theory, but may fail in practice.

Examples

Example 1: The business plan looks great on paper, but I'm not sure how it will work when we launch.

Example 2: He was the perfect candidate on paper, but he performed poorly in the interview.

Question for you

Can you think of a plan that looked good on paper but didn't work out?

Are you looking for English speaking practice online?

Are you looking for English speaking practice online? Don't just look good on paper-sound fluent in conversation! I offer online English lessons using Teams, Google Meet, and Zoom for my high-quality classes. My English speaking lessons are perfect if you are not getting enough speaking practice and want to improve your spoken fluency, accuracy, and learn nice, natural vocabulary and expressions directly from a British native speaker. If you want to study English with a British native speaker online, you can find out more about lessons here. For another useful word, see saucy.