formal and informal writing

• Middelbare school

Match the expressions on the left with the paragraphs on the right.

Yours sincerely,

Yours,

I was wondering if I could ask you a favour?

 I regret to advise you that ...

Signing off (informal letter)

Giving bad news (formal letter)

Asking for help (informal letter)

Signing off (if you begin with a name, formal) 

Use Informal Writing When:

• Writing to a friend
  
• Sharing a story or writing a personal blog
  
• Writing creatively
  
• Instructed to do so (if in school)
  
• Writing dialogue and conversations
  
• Writing an outline

-> If you are unsure of whether to use informal or formal writing, it’s generally the rule of thumb to start out writing formally. Then, when you make the connection and you see how the other side responds, you can ease up on the formality.

I have requested some information.

1. Informal
2. formal

Yo, how are ya doin mate

1. Formal
2. informal

Match the expressions on the left with the paragraphs on the right.

Dear Sir,

Please contact me if you have any further questions.

Dear Peter,

I would be grateful if you could ...

Closing (formal letter)

Asking for help (formal letter)

 Beginning (informal letter)

Beginning (formal letter)

Hey, how are you doing?

1. formal
2. informal

Match the formal expressions (right side) with the informal expressions (left side) .

Big

Better

Change 

Call of

Put off

Put forward

But  

And 

Postpone 

Superior to

Propose 

Cancel

While 

Transform

As well as

Large

Match the sentences with formal or informal.

Hello Sabrina,

Dear Mrs Collins,

I'm writing to find out about ...

 I look forward to hearing from you.

 I apologise for not getting in contact with you ...

See you soon.

I'm not happy about ...

Sorry, I haven't written for ages, but ...

Formal 

Informal

I am writing to enquire about ...

 I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with ...

Informal writing includes the following:

• Can use first person, second or third: You can use any type of pronouns, including “I”
  
• Can use slang: The use of everyday language and slang terms can be used, such as “It was cool that…”
  
• Active voice: Sentences tend to be written with a subject acting on the verb, such as “We chilled the drinks and went out to the sea” instead of “The drinks were chilled…”
  
• Personal emotional tone can be detected: Since the writing is personal, it can include feelings and the sharing of emotions
  
• Contraction and abbreviation: It’s okay to use “can’t” instead of “cannot” or “it’s” instead of “it is”
  
• Empathy: You can put yourself in the shoes of your audience and address their problems directly. This shows the author as coming from a place of understanding their situation.
  

Formal writing tends to include the following:

• Long and complex sentences: Sentences tend to be compound and contain commas to link two ideas or use transitions like “Furthermore” and “To exemplify,”
  
• Does not use contractions: Would use “cannot” instead of “can’t”
  
• Objective: Does not offer personal opinions
  
• Doesn’t use colloquial language: You won’t see any slang or common everyday vocabulary
  
• Diverse vocabulary words: Vocabulary is of a higher level
  
• Use of words that are subject-specific: For example, if you are writing about biology, you’d use words like “epithelial cells” instead of “skin cells”
  
• Use of third person: Does not use first person pronouns like “I” or “me”
  

Use Formal Writing When:

• Writing professionally (reaching out to a client or prospect)
  
• Academic writings (essays, research papers, etc.)
  
• Job applications (resume writing, CVs, and cover letters)
  
• Reaching out to someone you do not know