Formal academic register is precise, objective and controlled. It avoids slang, contractions, vague words and exaggeration. Compare “The ending is well good” with “The ending is highly effective.”
Choose exact verbs: suggests, implies, conveys, undermines, reinforces. Make comparisons logical: “Her results were better than those of last year's students”, not “better than last year's students”.
Formal does not mean pompous. The aim is to communicate complex ideas clearly to an educated reader.
Worked example
Fix the comparison: “Her results were better than last year's students.”
- Results are being compared with students.
- Compare results with results: “those of”.
Answer:Her results were better than those of last year's students.
Key words
- register
- the level of formality
- objective
- based on evidence, not feelings
- logical comparison
- comparing like with like
Practise this
New questions every time.
Common Core-referenced: L.11-12.1a