To or Towards...?

Can 'to' be replaced with/used interchangeably with 'towards' in an essay to make myself sound more sophisticated or are there linguistical complications associated with using it everywhere? If so, what would be an example of an exception where only to can be used and not towards? Thanks.

Solution 1:

going to the river - the destination is definitely the river.
going towards the river - moving towards river but unsure whether river is the last destination or another place near the river.

Solution 2:

To and toward(s) cannot be used interchangeably as explained in the following extract:

• The preposition to is another common preposition of place. It is normally used with a verb showing movement and shows the result of the movement-- the place or person that the movement was toward or in the direction of. The preposition toward has a similar meaning, but it's not exactly the same: with toward, the direction of the movement is shown, but not the result.

A <====== to ====== B (B arrived at A)

A <==== toward ==== B (B is on the way to A)

A ====== to ======> B (A arrived at B)

A ==== toward ====> B (A is on the way to B)

Examples:

Jamil walks to work every day.

When I saw Jamil, he was walking toward his office.

They'll drive to San Francisco during the weekend.

They started driving toward San Francisco Friday afternoon, but they didn't arrive there until Saturday.

Yesterday Billy rode his bicycle to the park.

When Billy was riding his bicycle toward the park, he stopped at Joey's house.

Special Note:

To is actually more general than toward and can be used instead of toward. Toward cannot be used instead of to, however:

same:

When I saw Jamil, he was walking toward his office. / When I saw Jamil he was walking to his office

different:

Jamil walks to work every day. / Jamil walks toward work every day.

same:

When Billy was riding his bicycle toward the park, he stopped at Joey's house. / When Billy was riding his bicycle to the park, he stopped at Joey's house.

different:

Yesterday Bilyl rode his bicycle to the park. / Yesterday Billy rode his bicycle toward the park.

(www.eslcafe.com/grammar)