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Informal

Unit 2

Analysis

1. The subject matter: What is the text about? Give the gist of it.

2. Specify the genre of the piece. What are its characteristic features? Can they be found in the given interview?

For example, you may use the following:

Style and language.

The language may be simple/primitive/(too) complicated/(too) bookish/pretentious/expressive/ emotional/unemotional/picturesque/flowery/dull/colourless.

Style is the distinctive way in which a writer uses language to inform or promote an idea. In addition to word choice, a writer's style consists of three basic components: sentence structure, degree of detail or description, degree of formality.

Note: bookish words - literary and formal in tone as opposed to colloquial and informal

Find examples of lexical and syntactical peculiarities of formal and informal style in the given text.

Find stylistic devices in the text and explain their role (epithets, metaphors, inversion, interrupted speech, syntactical parallelism, lexical repletion, contrast etc).

4. What is the aim of the piece? Is it well achieved?

Helpful Hints

An informal writing style shows a level of familiarity and personality that sets it apart. Meanwhile, formal writing most often takes place on serious topics in a direct and succinct way.

Informal

Colloquial – Informal writing takes on the characteristics of a spoken conversation. Informal writing includes things like slang, figures of speech, broken syntax, etc. It also takes on a personal tone whereby you speak directly to your audience. You can use first OR third person point-of-view, and you’re likely to address the reader using second person pronouns (e.g. you, your).

Simple – Short sentences are acceptable and sometimes essential to making a point in informal writing. Thus, there may be incomplete sentences or ellipsis to make points. Also, try to save your “five dollar words” for a more formal setting. If you use any industry jargon, explain it.

Contractions/Abbreviations – Words can be simplified using contractions (e.g. you’re, couldn’t, it’s) and abbreviations (e.g. TV, photos) whenever possible.

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

Formal

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 on and concluded.

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

Full Words – No contractions or abbreviations to simplify words.

Third Person – Not a personal writing style, the formal writer is sort of disconnected from the topic to make observations.

When we speak, or write informally, we often use multi-word verbs but this is not appropriate in formal writing. Here are some examples of multi-word verbs: call up, give in, catch on, turn up, set up, look up, take in (deceive),call on (visit), look at, go into (a problem), come by (a book), ask for. Multi-word verbs are very common in spoken English as they are less formal than single verbs. In contrast, single verbs can sometimes sound quite pompous in everyday speech. Compare:

I asked for another appointment. / I requested another appointment.

Now compare these pairs of verbs:

In formal writing, we use single verbs. This is an important element in achieving the correct style in academic writing. An essay with good ideas might well be marked down if the style is inappropriately informal.