Style: formal v. informal

Style: formal v. informal

It is important to distinguish between an informal and formal style when writing , for example.
Formal written texts feature:
- more complex sentences:
William Shakespeare was born on 26 April, 1564. William Shakespeare was an English poet. Shakespeare was a playwright.
→ Born on 26 April, 1564, William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright.
- more frequent use of the passive:
I think this is correct. → It is thought to be correct.
- an absence of contractions:
I’ve travelled a lot and it’s been exciting. → I have travelled a lot and it has been exciting.
- variation in the syntax, such as in the position of prepositions with relative pronouns:
Who are you speaking to? → To whom are you speaking?
- reported questions:
What is the time? → He asked me what the time was.
- emphatic forms:
These jobs not only gave me valuable experience, but they also helped me fund my travelling.→
Not only did these jobs give me valuable experience, but they also helped me fund my travelling.
Paul wrote the thesis. → It was Paul who wrote the thesis.
I was surprised by the result. → What surprised me was the result.
- formal negation:
I don’t know anybody. → I know nobody.
There weren’t many students in the class. → There were few students in the class.