Formal
Writing

Both school and the workplace require the avoidance of conversational speech in formal documentation. Conversational speech is a casual choice of words that might be used when talking to someone, but might be either misunderstood in writing or not taken seriously. The spontaneous nature of conversation is simply too casual to be transferred to the formal writing process. Some examples of conversational writing are easy to identify, such as "Hey, there" and "Oh boy!" Others might not be quite as easy, depending on the experience of the writer.

It should be assumed that all writing exercises in a university setting are to be completed with correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization, and that chat-speak is considered unprofessional. The following additional rules, terminology, and links may help you hone your formal writing skills:

Some Rules For Formal Writing

• Write out contractions: They are instead of they're.
• In research papers, do not write questions and then answers: instead, provide content directly without inviting the reader to question your authority as the paper writer. (There is one exception: the actual research question. Ask your professor about this, as it could be either in question or statement format.)
• In research papers, do not use first person: I, me, myself we, us, or our.
• Never assume that the reader knows or remembers questions you have been asked to answer. Provide completeness in your papers and provide logical subheadings that explain the content in a few words.
• Write in full sentences unless you are writing lists, in which case fragments are fine (as long as you are consistent).
• Do not write run-on sentences. This is important for good writing anyway, but a typical component of conversation.
• Avoid cliches, metaphors and similes, personification, and other creative writing devices.
• Avoid adjectives and phrases that are only used for emotional purposes, such as "there were terrible problems."
• Avoid exclamation points. These add unnecessary emotional content.
• Do not start sentences with connecting words such as And, Or, So, or But. If the word is truly necessary, then the previous sentence should not have ended before and, or, so, or but. (However is an acceptable beginning of a sentence; use this instead of But.)
• Do not start sentences with words that have no value, such as Well.
• Do not quote from fiction or current culture. Not everyone will understand the connections.
• Avoid writing I think and other first-person interjections whenever possible: "It is important" is stronger than "I think it is important."
• Avoid "In conclusion" to start your conclusion. Caveat: In longer papers you will likely have a subheading indicating the conclusion; however, it is weak to write this in the last paragraph, as the reader knows it is the end anyway.
• If the words you write have a different meaning when taken literally, you need to rewrite.

Terminology

1. Chat-speak: The use of minimal characters to enable quick texting or social media messages; may include emoticons and/or acronyms. Also called chat slang, chat talk, and chat lingo.
   Example: R u there :) ROTFL.
2. Cliché: A common saying. It may or may not include metaphors or other creative literary devices.
   Example: He is one in a million. This indicates the man must be one person out of a million, but does not say for what purpose.
3. Metaphor: A direct comparison of two things.
   Examples: The project was a bear; they were drowning in debt. If taken literally, the project is a large furry mammal and is swimming in water.
4. Personification: The juxtaposition of human personality onto something that is not human.
   Example: The final project was cursing me.
5. Run-on Sentences and Comma Splices: A run-on is a sentence that should be more than one but lacks proper punctuation. A comma splice is where more than one sentence has only a comma separating them. Neither technique is proper writing.
   Run-on Example: The graphic designers were done with the logo it was quite good.
   Comma Splice Example: The graphic designers were done with the logo, it was quite good.
6. Simile: A comparison of two things using like or as.
   Example: He was a slow as a dial-up connection with his part of the team assignment. If taken literally, the person's actual speed would need to be calibrated against a dial-up Internet connection.
   

Link for additional learning

Appropriate Language
Purdue OWL

Originally created spontaneously on November 30, 2013.
Updated ever so slightly on February 18, 2024.
Spontaneous Fudge pages © Prof. Tamara Fudge