Writing and speaking in English are much different.  Often
students learning English hear words and phrases in
conversation and assume they are acceptable in writing,
which is not true.  To improve your writing it is necessary to
learn how to write in a formal manner.  

Formal writing is important for academic and business
situations.

The following are tips on writing more formally:


  • Do not write in the first person
Formal writing should be in the third person.  
First person pronouns include I, my, we, our, us,  etc.

Example:              I believe dogs are better than cats.
Correction:           Dogs are better than cats.

  • Write out contractions in full

Error:                    Don’t, won’t
Correction:           Do not, will not

  • Write out numbers
Generally numbers below 10 are written and numbers above
10 can be shown as numbers.
Examples:        There are three children living in the house.
       The population of the town is 15, 000.

  • Do not abbreviate
The first instance of a word should be spelled in full, and
often it may be abbreviated afterwards.

  • Do not use clichés
Clichés are unoriginal and redundant.


Here is a list of informal words and their formal translations:
Informal
 Formal
 Example
So
 Very, Extremely
 The movie was so
good.
The movie was very
good
Of course
 Clearly,
Evidently
 Of course it had
rained.
Clearly it had rain.
Just
 Simply, Only
 There are just three
students today.
There are only
three students.
Kind of, Sort of
 Somewhat
 He kind of looks like
his brother.
He somewhat looks
like his brother.
Got to, Have to
 Must, Need to
 Ive got to finish my
project.
I need to finish my
project.
Used to
 Accustomed to
 I am used to the
cold
Business English
 

Formal Writing