How to Avoid Colloquial (Informal) Writing
Understand the difference between formal and informal English., Use appropriate punctuation., Avoid common colloquial words and expressions (colloquialisms), such as "cute" (use "adorable"), "yeah" (use "yes"), "how-do-you-do," and "movie" (use...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Understand the difference between formal and informal English.
Formal and informal writing are intended for different audiences.
For instance, an informal letter written to a friend seeks to create a friendly, conversational tone and may use contractions (e.g., "don't," "we'll," and "let's"), slang (e.g., "awesome" or "cool"), and informal grammar (e.g., "It's me, Susan" or "Who did you vote for yesterday?").
By contrast, a formal letter written to an employer should be free of colloquialisms and use proper grammar and punctuation.
Formal and informal English differ in diction and grammatical structures.
Informal English may include colloquialisms such as "contraption," "fire," "kid," "how come," and "quote" as a noun.
A formal writer might prefer "device," "dismiss," "child," "why," and "quotation." Informal writing may sound more like conversation, whereas formal writing may be more polished.
An informal style may make listeners feel more comfortable when you are speaking, but a formal writing style can make a good impression. , For example, American English employs a colon in a formal letter as in “Dear John:” but British English employs a comma.Limit parentheses, exclamation points, and dashes (prefer colons) in formal writing.
Avoid the ampersand (&); write out the word “and.” Punctuate your writing as you go along to reduce your risk of leaving out punctuation. , This includes slang such as "cool," "dude," and "humongous" as well as short forms such as "TV," "phone," and "fridge." Two good phrases to delete are "you know" and “you might be thinking.” You do not have the power to know your readers’ thoughts while they read your paper.
Another empty sentence is “Think about it.” Assume that your readers are already thinking about what they are reading, and state your point more clearly.
The adverb “pretty,” meaning “relatively," "fairly," or "quite,” is unacceptable in formal writing and is often unnecessary. , Formal writing should be as objective as possible.
Try to present a fair, balanced view of the issue on which you are writing.
Note that "balanced" does not necessarily mean devoting equal amounts of space to each side, since one side may be much stronger than the other.
This also means limiting first- and second-person pronouns.
The use of "you" and "your" can sometimes make your writing seem too personal or even emotional.
Avoid writing "We should all..." because when we use this phrase, we assume that everyone will act in the same way.
Another phrase to avoid is "I think that..."; instead provide compelling reasons for why you think so.
Also avoid saying that you like or love anything; instead focus on the reasons why you love it.
Instead of writing "I love Osmosis Jones because it teaches children about the human body," you could write, "Osmosis Jones is a powerful teaching tool that shows children how the human body works."
Clichés can make your writing unoriginal, but they can sometimes be fun in casual writing, especially as an original play-on-words called an anti-cliché.
Here are some clichés to avoid in formal writing:
Hercules was as strong as an ox.
I have to give an arm and a leg to find a parking spot during the holiday season.
It was as pretty as a picture. , Do not commence a letter by telling the recipient what you plan to do in the letter or begin an essay by telling the reader what the paper will discuss. "I am writing to you to ask you to. . . ." "This paper is going to talk about how. . . ."
Consider using more vivid words such as "beneficial," "deleterious," and "pleasant." Do not end a list with "etc." or "et cetera" in formal writing.
If those extra examples that you did not list are important enough that you felt the need to write "et cetera," you may want to consider including them.
Eliminate words such as "a few" or "enough" and discuss precise numbers and quantities. , Instead, choose strong verbs such as "tolerate" or "compose."
In particular, check your use of pronouns, such as "I" and "me" and "who" and "whom." Make sure that all of your verbs agree with their subjects.
A common mistake is to use a plural verb when a single verb is needed: "A group of these voters is concerned about global warming." Look for dangling participles (e.g., "Shaded by a palm tree, the waiter brought me a tropical drink"), split infinitives (e.g., "to boldly go"), and terminal prepositions (e.g., "Whom did you send the letter to?").
Avoid starting sentences with coordinating conjunctions such as "and" or "but"; use other types of transitions instead. , You can also rephrase the sentence to remove the pronoun.
Be sure to use "that" for things and "whom" for people (since this relative pronoun will always be the object). "This is the poem John wrote." "This is the poem that John wrote."
or "John wrote this poem". "These are the people we love most." "These are the people whom we love most."
or "We love these people the most". , Formal writing generally uses longer sentences: compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences.
You can develop two or more simple sentences into one of the previously listed sentence structures.
Long sentences add variety to your writing and can be particularly effective when paired with short sentences; the contrast grabs the readers' attention.
As the last sentence shows, you also can use a semicolon to join two simple sentences, provided that they are closely related to each other. -
Step 2: Use appropriate punctuation.
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Step 3: Avoid common colloquial words and expressions (colloquialisms)
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Step 4: such as "cute" (use "adorable")
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Step 5: "yeah" (use "yes")
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Step 6: "how-do-you-do
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Step 7: " and "movie" (use "film")
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Step 8: as listed below or labeled as such in your dictionary.
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Step 9: Delete emotion or opinion words.
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Step 10: Avoid clichés to be formal.Formal writing tries to use literal language that will not be misunderstood by any of the readers.
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Step 11: Avoid stage directions.
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Step 12: Avoid vague words such as "good
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Step 13: " "bad
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Step 14: " and "nice."
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Step 15: Avoid phrasal verbs such as "put up with" or "make up."
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Step 16: Use proper grammar.
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Step 17: Always include the relative pronoun in formal writing.
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Step 18: Develop short
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Step 19: choppy sentences into longer
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Step 20: more graceful sentences.
Detailed Guide
Formal and informal writing are intended for different audiences.
For instance, an informal letter written to a friend seeks to create a friendly, conversational tone and may use contractions (e.g., "don't," "we'll," and "let's"), slang (e.g., "awesome" or "cool"), and informal grammar (e.g., "It's me, Susan" or "Who did you vote for yesterday?").
By contrast, a formal letter written to an employer should be free of colloquialisms and use proper grammar and punctuation.
Formal and informal English differ in diction and grammatical structures.
Informal English may include colloquialisms such as "contraption," "fire," "kid," "how come," and "quote" as a noun.
A formal writer might prefer "device," "dismiss," "child," "why," and "quotation." Informal writing may sound more like conversation, whereas formal writing may be more polished.
An informal style may make listeners feel more comfortable when you are speaking, but a formal writing style can make a good impression. , For example, American English employs a colon in a formal letter as in “Dear John:” but British English employs a comma.Limit parentheses, exclamation points, and dashes (prefer colons) in formal writing.
Avoid the ampersand (&); write out the word “and.” Punctuate your writing as you go along to reduce your risk of leaving out punctuation. , This includes slang such as "cool," "dude," and "humongous" as well as short forms such as "TV," "phone," and "fridge." Two good phrases to delete are "you know" and “you might be thinking.” You do not have the power to know your readers’ thoughts while they read your paper.
Another empty sentence is “Think about it.” Assume that your readers are already thinking about what they are reading, and state your point more clearly.
The adverb “pretty,” meaning “relatively," "fairly," or "quite,” is unacceptable in formal writing and is often unnecessary. , Formal writing should be as objective as possible.
Try to present a fair, balanced view of the issue on which you are writing.
Note that "balanced" does not necessarily mean devoting equal amounts of space to each side, since one side may be much stronger than the other.
This also means limiting first- and second-person pronouns.
The use of "you" and "your" can sometimes make your writing seem too personal or even emotional.
Avoid writing "We should all..." because when we use this phrase, we assume that everyone will act in the same way.
Another phrase to avoid is "I think that..."; instead provide compelling reasons for why you think so.
Also avoid saying that you like or love anything; instead focus on the reasons why you love it.
Instead of writing "I love Osmosis Jones because it teaches children about the human body," you could write, "Osmosis Jones is a powerful teaching tool that shows children how the human body works."
Clichés can make your writing unoriginal, but they can sometimes be fun in casual writing, especially as an original play-on-words called an anti-cliché.
Here are some clichés to avoid in formal writing:
Hercules was as strong as an ox.
I have to give an arm and a leg to find a parking spot during the holiday season.
It was as pretty as a picture. , Do not commence a letter by telling the recipient what you plan to do in the letter or begin an essay by telling the reader what the paper will discuss. "I am writing to you to ask you to. . . ." "This paper is going to talk about how. . . ."
Consider using more vivid words such as "beneficial," "deleterious," and "pleasant." Do not end a list with "etc." or "et cetera" in formal writing.
If those extra examples that you did not list are important enough that you felt the need to write "et cetera," you may want to consider including them.
Eliminate words such as "a few" or "enough" and discuss precise numbers and quantities. , Instead, choose strong verbs such as "tolerate" or "compose."
In particular, check your use of pronouns, such as "I" and "me" and "who" and "whom." Make sure that all of your verbs agree with their subjects.
A common mistake is to use a plural verb when a single verb is needed: "A group of these voters is concerned about global warming." Look for dangling participles (e.g., "Shaded by a palm tree, the waiter brought me a tropical drink"), split infinitives (e.g., "to boldly go"), and terminal prepositions (e.g., "Whom did you send the letter to?").
Avoid starting sentences with coordinating conjunctions such as "and" or "but"; use other types of transitions instead. , You can also rephrase the sentence to remove the pronoun.
Be sure to use "that" for things and "whom" for people (since this relative pronoun will always be the object). "This is the poem John wrote." "This is the poem that John wrote."
or "John wrote this poem". "These are the people we love most." "These are the people whom we love most."
or "We love these people the most". , Formal writing generally uses longer sentences: compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences.
You can develop two or more simple sentences into one of the previously listed sentence structures.
Long sentences add variety to your writing and can be particularly effective when paired with short sentences; the contrast grabs the readers' attention.
As the last sentence shows, you also can use a semicolon to join two simple sentences, provided that they are closely related to each other.
About the Author
Evelyn Gray
Experienced content creator specializing in pet care guides and tutorials.
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