Cambridge class: formal - informal

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 5

Cambridge writing

Four things will be assessed:

1 Content

2 Communicative achievement         -correct form (letter, essay, report, review, proposal)

                                                                           -appropriate register (colloquial - formal)

3 Organisation

4 Language

Register

We are going to change an informal note into a formal complaint:

You will learn 8 ways to create a formal register

Let's first look at:

'They’d given the room to someone else even though I’d reserved and paid for it beforehand. I was furious!'

Make more formal: use an understatement for 'I was furious!'

Now let's change:

They did offer us another room, but it was right on the top floor – no telly, no phone. 

Vocabulary: make more formal
Alternative for: 'another room'

More formal: use formal linking words.

'Although' instead of 'but',

'Neither-nor' instead of 'No - no'

They did offer us another room, but it was right on the top floor. Although...

Use full forms and complete sentences

also use neither / nor

More formal way of saying 'No telly, no phone': There was ...

Now let's look at the  sentence:

… Anyway, the long and the short of it is I’ve sent them a letter and told them that if I don’t get my money back I’ll be taking them to court.

No idiomatic language. Another phrase for 'the long and the short of it':

Make more formal: 'If I don't get my money back, ...'

Make more formal: 'I’ll be taking them to court'

Use inversion (should) instead of 'if'.
Rephrase 'If I receive no satisfaction':

No contractions!

NOT:  I'll be forced to ...

BUT:  I will be forced to ...

Now make the following sentences more formal:

The room was absolutely freezing!
Use an understatement:

I'll pick you up from the station.
Non-idiomatic English:

The waiter hadn't cleared the tables.
Use a passive: