Language, Tone and Style: Formal and Personal Styles

Informal Writing Style

 Colloquial – Informal writing is similar to a spoken conversation.  Informal writing may include
slang, figures of speech, broken syntax, asides and so on.  Informal writing takes a personal tone
as if you were speaking directly to your audience (the reader). You can use the first or third
person point of view (I and we), and you are likely to address the reader using second person
(you and your).

 Simple – Short sentences are acceptable and sometimes essential to making a point in informal
writing. There may be incomplete sentences or ellipsis(…) to make points.

 Contractions and Abbreviations – Words are likely to be simplified using contractions (for
example, I’m, doesn’t, couldn’t, it’s) and abbreviations (e.g. TV, photos) whenever possible.

 Empathy and Emotion – The author can show empathy towards the reader regarding the
complexity of a thought and help them through that complexity.

Formal Writing Style

 Complex – Longer sentences are likely to be more prevalent in formal writing. You need to be
as thorough as possible with your approach to each topic when you are using a formal style. Each
main point needs to be introduced, elaborated and concluded.

 Objective – State main points confidently and offer full support arguments. A formal writing
style shows a limited range of emotions and avoids emotive punctuation such as exclamation
 points, ellipsis, etc., unless they are being cited from another source.

 Full Words – No contractions should be used to simplify words (in other words use "It is" rather
than "It's").  Abbreviations must be spelt out in full when first used, the only exceptions being
when the acronym is better known than the full name (BBC, ITV or NATO for example).

 Third Person – Formal writing is not a personal writing style.  The formal writer is
disconnected from the topic and does not use the first person point of view (I or we) or second
person (you).

When to Use Formal and Informal Writing

A formal writing style is not necessarily “better” than an informal style, rather each style
serves a different purpose and care should be taken in choosing which style to use in each
case.  

Writing for professional purposes is likely to require the formal style, although individual
communications can use the informal style once you are familiar with the recipient.

Note that emails tend to lend themselves to a less formal style than paper-based
communications, but you should still avoid the use of "text talk".

If in doubt as to how formal your writing should be, it is usually better to err on the side of
caution and be formal rather than informal.

Style and tone

Style and tone are often considered interchangeable and there are some blurry distinctions
between the two. But for our purposes, style refers to elements such as active versus passive
writing, varied sentence lengths, flow, variety of word use, and punctuation choices. Style gives
 your writing a type of personality when coupled together with tone. As with the audience and
format, it’s important that the style you choose matches with the intended purpose of your
message.

Similar in some ways to style, tone refers to the feeling your audience will get when they decode
your document. Here you would ask yourself if your tone is formal, informal, positive, negative,
polite, direct, or indirect. The purpose of asking yourself this question is to determine whether
the tone suits or otherwise enhances the purpose of your intended message.

Let’s begin by considering and thinking about the following scenarios.

Consider the following lines from business emails. How would you describe the tone of each
entry? What words, phrases, or other elements suggest that tone?

 “Maybe if the project leader had set a reasonable schedule from the beginning, we wouldn’t be
in this mess now.”
 “Whatever they’re paying you, it isn’t enough. Thanks for working so hard on this.”
 “I’m not sure what else is on your plate right now, but I need these numbers by this afternoon
—actually in the next two hours.”
 “I can’t remember when u said this was due.”
 “While I appreciate that your team is being pulled in a number of different directions right
now, this project is my department’s main priority for the semester. What can we do from our
end to set your group up to complete this by June?

Whether in a workplace or in our personal lives, most of us have received emails that we’ve
found off-putting, inappropriate, or, at a minimum, curt. Striking the right tone and being
diplomatic, particularly in business communication, can mean the difference between offending
your reader and building important professional relationships. And more immediately, it can
mean the difference between getting what you want and being ignored.

As with any piece of writing, considering audience, purpose, and type of information is key to

constructing business communication. Truly finessing your writing so that it works for you,
rather than against you, is key to forming strong professional relationships and being effective in
your own position.

Developing an appropriate business writing style will reflect well on you and increase your
success in any career. Misspellings of individual words or grammatical errors involving
misplacement or incorrect word choices in a sentence can create confusion, lose meaning, and
have a negative impact on the reception of your message. Which style you use will depend on
your audience, context, channel, and the purpose of the message (among other reasons).

Informal

Informal style is a casual style of writing. It differs from standard business English in that it often
makes use of colourful expressions, slang, and regional phrases. As a result, it can be difficult to
understand for an English learner or a person from a different region of the country. Sometimes
colloquialism takes the form of a word difference; for example, the difference between a “Coke,”
a “tonic,” a “pop,” and a “soda pop” primarily depends on where you live.

This type of writing uses colloquial language, such as the style of writing that is often used in
texting:
ok fwiw i did my part n put it in where you asked but my ? is if the group does not participate do
i still get credit for my part of what i did n also how much do we all have to do i mean i put in
my opinion of the items in order do i also have to reply to the other team members or what? Thxs

While we may be able to grasp the meaning of the message and understand some of the
abbreviations, this informal style is generally not appropriate in business communications. That
said, colloquial writing may be permissible, and even preferable, in some limited business
contexts. For example, a marketing letter describing a folksy product such as a wood stove or an
old-fashioned popcorn popper might use a colloquial style to create a feeling of relaxing at home
with loved ones. Still, it is important to consider how colloquial language will appear to the
audience. Will the meaning of your chosen words be clear to a reader who is from a different
part of the country? Will a folksy tone sound like you are “talking down” to your audience,
assuming that they are not intelligent or educated enough to appreciate standard English? A final
point to remember is that colloquial style is not an excuse for using expressions that are sexist,
racist, profane, or otherwise offensive.

Formal

In business writing, often the appropriate style will have a degree of formality. Writers using a
formal style tend to use a more sophisticated vocabulary—a greater variety of words, and more
words with multiple syllables—not for the purpose of throwing big words around, but to enhance
the formal mood of the document. They also tend to use more complex syntax, resulting in
sentences that are longer and contain more subordinate clauses. That said, it’s still critically
important to ensure the words you use are precise, relevant, and convey the appropriate and
accurate meaning! This writing style may use the third person and may also avoid using
contractions. However, this isn’t always the case.

Positive language

Unless there is a specific reason not to, use positive language wherever you can. Positive
language benefits your writing in two ways. First, it creates a positive tone, and your writing is
more likely to be well-received. Second, it clarifies your meaning, as positive statements are
more concise. Take a look at the following negatively worded sentences and then their positive
counterparts, below.

Examples:

Negative: Your car will not be ready for collection until Friday.
Positive: Your car will be ready for collection on Friday.

Negative: You did not complete the exam.

Positive: You will need to complete the exam.

Negative: Your holiday time is not approved until your manager clears it.
Positive: Your holiday time will be approved when your manager clears it.
Avoid using multiple negatives in one sentence, as this will make your sentence difficult to
understand. When readers encounter more than one negative construct in a sentence, their brains
have to do more cognitive work to decipher the meaning; multiple negatives can create
convoluted sentences that bog the reader down.

Examples:

Negative: A decision will not be made unless all board members agree.

Positive: A decision will be made when all board members agree.

Negative: The event cannot be scheduled without a venue.

Positive: The event can be scheduled when a venue has been booked.

So what is professional writing anyways?

If you answered “it depends,” you are correct.

Audiences have expectations and needs and your job is to meet them. Some business audiences
prefer a fairly formal tone. If you include contractions or use a style that is too casual, you may
lose their interest and attention; you may also give them a negative impression of your level of
expertise. However, if you are writing for an audience that expects informal language, you may
lose their interest and attention by writing too formally; your writing may also come across as
arrogant or pompous. It is not that one style is better than the other, but simply that styles of
writing vary across a range of options. The skilled business writer will know their audience and
will adapt the message to best facilitate communication. Choosing the right style can make a
significant impact on how your writing is received.

If you use expressions that imply a relationship or a special awareness of information such as
“you know,” or “as we discussed,” without explaining the necessary background, your writing
may be seen as overly familiar, intimate, or even secretive. Trust is the foundation for all
communication interactions and a careless word or phrase can impair trust.

If you want to use humour, think carefully about how your audience will interpret it. Humour is a
fragile form of communication that requires an awareness of irony, of juxtaposition, or a shared
sense of attitudes, beliefs, and values. Different people find humour in different situations, and
what is funny to one person may be dull, or even hurtful, to someone else.

Formal and informal language

What is the difference between formal and informal language?

Formal and informal language serve different purposes. The tone, the choice of words and the
way the words are put together vary between the two styles. Formal language is less personal
than informal language. It is used when writing for professional or academic purposes like
university assignments. Formal language does not use colloquialisms, contractions or first person
pronouns such as ‘I’ or ‘We’.

Informal language is more casual and spontaneous. It is used when communicating with friends
or family either in writing or in conversation. It is used when writing personal emails, text
messages and in some business correspondence. The tone of informal language is more personal
than formal language.

Examples of formal and informal language are shown below:

Contractions

Informal:    The improvements canʼt be introduced due to funding restrictions.

Formal:      Improvements cannot be introduced due to funding restrictions.

Informal:    I donʼt believe that the results are accurate.

Formal:      The results are not believed to be accurate.

Informal:    The research project wonʼt continue next year.

Formal:      The research project will not continue next year.

Phrasal verbs

Informal:    The balloon was blown up for the experiment.

Formal:      The balloon was inflated for the experiment.

Informal:    The patient got over his illness.

Formal:      The patient recovered from his illness.

Informal:    The results of the study were mixed up.

Formal:      The results of the study were confused.

Slang/Colloquialisms

Informal:    The mob was very rowdy during the protest against cuts to university funding.

Formal:      The crowd was very rowdy during the protest against the cuts to university funding.

Informal:    Lecturers still count on students to use correct grammar and punctuation in essays.

Formal:      Lecturers expect students to use correct grammar and punctuation in essays.

 
Informal:    It was raining cats and dogs.

Formal:      It was raining very heavily.

First person pronouns

Informal:    I considered various research methods for the study.

Formal:      Various research methods were considered for the study.

Informal:    We believe the practice is unsustainable.

Formal:      It is believed the practice is unsustainable.

Informal:    During the interview, I asked students about their experiences.

Formal:      During the interview, students were asked about their experiences.

Acronyms

TAFE           Technical and Further Education

ANZAC        Australian and New Zealand Army Corps

QANTAS      Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services

 
Initialisms

UTS             University of Technology Sydney

ISO              International Standards Organisation

OECD          Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development

The first time an acronym or initialism is used in an essay, it is acceptable to write the name in
full with the acronym or initialism in brackets after it. Every subsequent time it is used the
acronym or initialism can be used on its own. Commonly known acronyms such as ANZAC and
QANTAS do not need to be written in full. If an acronym or initialism needs to be made into a
plural, add a small ‘s’ to it without an apostrophe.

Do not use the acronyms 'ATSI' or 'TSI' to refer to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
This must be written in full. Always capitalise the word 'Indigenous' when referring to
Australia's Indigenous peoples.

(Attribution: The above material is taken from Diplomacy, Tone, and Emphasis in Business

Writing in the Writing Commons and is used under a CC-BY-NC-ND 3.0 Unported license.)

https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/professionalcomms/chapter/4-1-style-tone/