Formal vs Informal: Choosing the Right Register

Informal: We looked into it. Formal: An investigation was conducted.

Notice

  • Informal: We looked into it. → Formal: An investigation was conducted into the matter.
  • Informal: Prices went up a lot. → Formal: There was a significant increase in prices.
  • Informal: The team messed up. → Formal: The team made a number of errors.
  • Informal: This is a big problem. → Formal: This represents a considerable challenge.

Rule

Formal register typically combines nominalisation, passive voice, more precise/Latinate vocabulary, and avoids phrasal verbs and contractions. Recognising when to shift from conversational to formal register — and back — is a core C1 skill for reports, essays, and professional communication.

Practice

  1. Formalise: ‘We found out that sales went down.’
    Answer: It was discovered that there was a decline in sales.
  2. Formalise: ‘The boss put off the meeting.’
    Answer: The meeting was postponed by the manager.
  3. Identify two features of formal register in this sentence: ‘A comprehensive analysis of the data was undertaken.’
    Answer: Nominalisation (“analysis”) and passive voice (“was undertaken”).
  4. Why avoid phrasal verbs like ‘look into’ in formal writing?
    Answer: They read as conversational; formal writing prefers single-word Latinate equivalents like ‘investigate’.

Connect

Practise spotting register mismatches in formal texts.

Try Error Correction →

CEFR: Writing — select a style and register appropriate to the reader.

Azizul Hakim
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