Formal writing appears nearly every year in DSE, especially in paper 2 writing and paper 3 Integrated skillls. However, many students lose a lot of marks in this point as they fail to use the language in the correct formal tone. Let Wall Street English teach you how to write a formal passage.
1. Avoid using first-person pronouns
“I”, “my”, “we”, “us” are the common first-person pronouns that we must avoid using in formal writing. These expressions are unnecessary and will make the sentences wordy, thus becoming less persuasive. Therefore, we should delete these expressions or replace them with passive voice.
e.g.
I believe that active video games are beneficial for youngsters.
→ Active video games are beneficial for youngsters.
→ It is believed that active video games are beneficial for youngsters.
2. Avoid using contractions
”It’s“, ”isn’t”, “I’m” are the contractions that we might use on a daily basis. These contractions are more convenient to use. However, we should never use contractions in formal writing.
e.g.
It’s my pleasure to be invited as the guest today.
→ It is my pleasure to be invited as a guest today.
3. Normalization
Normalization refers to the process of transforming verbs into nouns to make the passage more persuasive.
e.g.
Athleisure has emerged as the new mainstream fashion style that reflects the changing lifestyle of people.
→ The emergence of athleisure reflects the changing lifestyle of people.
4. Avoid using phrasal verbs
A phrasal verb combines a normal verb with an adverb or a preposition to create an entirely new verbal phrase. We should replace these phrasal verbs with a noun to make the sentence less wordy and more formal.
e.g.
We must deal with the problems by starting the campaign.
→ We must handle the problems by launching the campaign.
The above are the common ways to transform informal writing into formal writing. Do remember not to make the above mistakes!
