When you start writing articles in English, you should use a more formal language. This needs more effort than just translation. The formal style of writing is very different from the informal style. Here in this article, we will introduce the key points of formal writing.
The formal writing style is a necessity for the conduction of a scientific assignment. “Writing in the formal language” is a requirement that students are often reminded of by their professors. You may need to use a more formal writing style when working on an English book, a research project, or academic articles. But what is the formal writing style? Is this just about using specific words and complex structures?
When you think about the concept of formal style in your mind, what comes to your mind? White shirts, high-level dialogue, discussions on the economic or political growth, formal meetings, and so on. But when you are a student and you here about formal writing style, it is not just about clothes and behavior, but about the other aspects of the word formal.
Formal Language vs. Informal Language
Writing and speaking in English may seem exactly the same, but there are differences in how you speak and write. When speaking in English, one is prone to more errors regarding choosing appropriate words, making sentences, and following grammatical rules. If you listen closely to a conversation, you will find that most speakers do not strictly adhere to the grammatical rules. But if we can get a general idea of what someone is trying to say, we will not notice their mistakes or try to correct them.
Academic writing brings scholarly reports, academic papers, and research projects to mind. In academic writing and conduction of a research project, you can’t use the same language you do when chatting with your friends. The first rule to keep in mind is that “there is no informal language in academic writings”. So when we talk about the characteristics of formal English writing and informal writing or speaking, we must consider some aspects:
- Your audience
- The main purpose of your writing
- Competence and skills of the audience
- Discussion topic
Here, the “formal/informal language” is the main issue of our article, and we intend to discuss how to write in a formal style. Also, we will make suggestions for you to use in order to be able to write in a more formal style.
Basics of Formal Writing
Writing is a necessary part of doing research. So as a researcher, you need to use the standards of formal writing. But in order to achieve this skill, you need to develop the following characteristics:
Ability to analyze information
Background and specific knowledge of the subject
Allocation of Time and effort to edit your work
Observing the requirements of the assigned tasks (style and type of task)
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