Formal and informal writing

What is the difference between formal and informal writing styles?

Informal writing:

Informal writing is the style you use when:

• Writing a letter, an email or a text to friends

• Writing a blog or in a diary

• Taking notes from readings or lectures.

Common features of informal language are:

• Use of the first person (I, me)

• Colloquialisms (informal language)

• Contractions (two words combined into one)

• Abbreviated language (shortened forms of words)

• Feelings and/or opinions.

Formal writing:

Formal writing is the style you use when:

• Writing academic essays

• Writing reports or work emails

• Writing job applications.

It has much stricter guidelines, which you need to follow in order to demonstrate that you have the ability to support your argument in a clear and concise way, and can present it in a professional manner.

Using an academic writing style

The ability to write well is important if you want to succeed in your studies and do well in your chosen field. You need to be able to express yourself clearly and accurately. This requires a formal writing style, a logical structure and language that is clear and precise.

Things you will need to avoid:

• Using first and second person pronouns (unless you are writing a reflective journal)

• Using colloquialisms (informal language)

• Using contractions (shortened forms of combined words)

• Using sexist language (gender specific language)

Using pronouns

A pronoun is a word that replaces a noun. Personal pronouns are those used to talk about people who have already been mentioned. The most common way of writing in an academic style is by using the third person. However, some assignments such as reflective reports require use of the first person. If you are in any doubt about which style to use, ask your teacher.

Colloquialisms

Colloquialisms are words and expressions used in everyday language such as:

• Reckon instead of suppose
• Gonna instead of going to
• How come? instead of why?

Idioms are also colloquialisms. Idioms are common expressions that mean something other than their literal meaning. Such as:

• "I’m over the moon"
• "It came from out of the blue"

This type of language is used more commonly when you’re with friends or people you know well. In academic writing a more formal style needs to be used in order to ensure that your argument or opinion is completely clear to anyone reading it.

Run on expressions such as etc. and and so on should also be avoided.

Contractions

Another type of colloquialism is the contraction, which is when two words are combined, leaving out certain letters and replacing them with an apostrophe. For example:

• Don’t instead of do not

• Can’t instead of cannot

• Haven’t instead of have not.

In academic writing, you should use the full form instead of a contraction.

Sexist and offensive language

The rights of women have changed dramatically over the past few decades. Written English has started to reflect those changes. It is no longer considered appropriate to refer to a female engineer or a male nurse. It is also unacceptable to refer generically to a doctor as him, a teacher as her, or a politician as him. Such usage is considered to be sexist language.

You can use acceptable non-sexist language by:

• Using passive voice

• Using plural formats

• Eliminating pronouns

• Switching to direct address

• Choosing non-sexist terms whenever possible.

An option of last resort is to use his or her, his/her, her or his, or her/his or even to alternate his and her throughout a text, though this path is stylistically awkward and usually unnecessary given the other options available to you.

Important note

Whether language is offensive depends entirely on the audience. If the audience or part of the audience views the wording as offensive, then the wording is offensive. 

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