Rules of Formal Writing

There are certain things that can be done in spoken English or in written English in
newspapers, magazines, or lecture notes or web pages which are not appropriate for
formal writing.
Formal English follow rules of grammar very strictly. Sentences tend to be longer and
more complex. The vocabulary tends to be elevated, using big words and avoiding
colloquial or slang vocabulary. It avoids split infinitives and prepositions at the end of
sentences.
In formal English you have to be aware of the followings:
1. Don´t be sloppy with your English,- don´t write something like “the rabbits
were drastically reduced by the drought”. Write about what is actually being
reduced: “the number of rabbits was drastically reduced by the drought.”
2. Use sophisticated transitions like “in addition” and “consequently”, rather than
“and”, “but”, “or”.
3. Don´t use “OK”. Use a full word instead, “satisfactory” or “acceptable·, for
instance.
4. Avoid using abbreviations such as etc, and i.e. Write them out longhand, such
as “for example”.
5. Avoid contractions, from your possessives using “of the” constructions, for
instance “the teenagers of today” instead of “today´s teenagers”.
6. Avoid using dialogue in a formal essay. Instead of writing that the kid told me,
“I am happy with my new school”, write that the kid told me that he was happy
with his new school.
7. Don´t use verb contractions like “we´ll” or “he´d”.
8. Don´t use exclamation points or question marks, unless you´re quoting
something which requires one.
9. Don´t begin sentences with numerals,- write out numbers as a full word if you
have to start a sentence with one.
10. Don´t start a sentence with “and”, “also”, “but”, “so”, “or”, “even so”. Instead
use “In addition”, “However”, “Hence”, “Consequently”, “Alternatively”,
“Nevertheless”.
11. Don´t start a sentence with “Therefore”. Instead write, for example, “We
therefore…”
12. Don´t start a sentence with “Then” or “Now” unless it is a command.
13. Don´t use “got”. Instead use “obtained”.
14. If you can, try to use the passive voice for some of the time when describing
your results. Using “we” in every sentence is a bit boring.
15. List things properly using “and” between the last two items.
16. You cannot have a paragraph that is just one sentence.
 Tips for academic essays

1. Use a more formal one-word verb if it sounds more appropriate than its
phrasal and equivalent.
2. Avoid using a personal or conversational style. Therefore, try not to use
words like I, me, my, you, we, us and our. Though these words are widely
used in informal writing and in spoken English, they´re generally thought to
be too personal and too casual for formal academic writing.
3. Avoid words or phrases used mainly in normal conversation as they´re
usually not suitable for use in academic writing. Dictionaries often identify
these words with the label “informal”. In your essay, use a more formal
equivalent. Here are some examples: avoid “kids”, use “children”. Avoid “a
lot of”, use “much,many”.
4. Never use colloquial English or slang. Colloquial English is a type of informal
English, and it includes words such as “gonna” or “wanna”, and phrases
such as “ain´t nothin” and “dead as a doornail”. Dictionaries usually mark
colloquial words and phrases with a label like “colloq”. Because colloquial
English and slang are usually spoken rather than written, they´ll make your
academic writing sound too conversational and so less credible.
5. Although it´s usual to contract words in spoken and informal written
English, it´s better to avoid using any contractions in your academic essay.
6. Avoid abbreviating words in academic writing. Don´t say “yrs” instead of
“years” or “i.e.” instead of “for example”.

It’s usually easy to decide if a word is informal or formal. Informal words are those
common, ordinary and familiar words that people use every day, whereas formal
words tend to be the more “serious” and less frequently used words. Often, formal
words are longer than informal words. Single-word verbs are also usually more formal
than their phrasal verb equivalents.

For instance, saying something is enormous is formal, but saying it’s whopping is
informal. Phrases like on the one hand or as indicated above are formal, but phrases
like by the way or that reminds me are informal. Note that some informal words are
more formal than other informal words. The informal verb understand, for example, is
more formal than the informal verb get. However, both are less formal than the formal
verb comprehend.