The Rules of Formal Writing
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 and concluded.
Objective – State main points confidently and offer full support arguments. A formal writing style shows a limited range of emotions and avoids emotive punctuation such as exclamation points, ellipsis, etc., unless they are being cited from another source.
Full Words – No contractions should be used to simplify words (in other words use "It is" rather than "It's"). Abbreviations must be spelt out in full when first used, the only exceptions being when the acronym is better known than the full name (BBC, ITV or NATO for example).
Third Person – Formal writing is not a personal writing style. The formal writer is disconnected from the topic and does not use the first person point of view (I or we) or second person (you).
The following pronouns CAN NOT be used in formal style:
- First Person I, me, my, mine, we, us, our, ours
- Second Person you, your, yours, (y’all)
The following pronouns CAN be used in formal style:
- Third Person he, him, his, she, her, hers, it, they, them, their, theirs, its
Today, you should work with your partner to completely revise your paper to make sure it is in formal style. You and your partner should read through your paper completely and make revisions according to the requirements above. Remember, formal style will be graded thoroughly when you turn in this essay.
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