5.7 Formal vs. Informal Language, Audience, and Tone
Key Takeaways
- Formal language avoids contractions, slang, and clichés; informal language is conversational and may use them.
- Register is chosen by audience and purpose: a medical chart demands formal language; a text to a friend allows informal.
- Third person and the passive voice read as more formal; first/second person and active voice read as more casual.
- Replace casual fillers with precise terms: 'a lot of' → numerous, 'got' → received, 'kind of' → somewhat.
- Clichés ("at the end of the day," "tip of the iceberg") weaken formal writing because they are vague and overused.
Register: Choosing Formal or Informal Language
Register is the level of formality a writer adopts. The TEAS does not ask you to label one register "better"; it asks whether the register fits the situation. The same idea can be expressed formally or informally, and the right choice depends on audience (who reads it) and purpose (why you are writing).
| Feature | Formal language | Informal language |
|---|---|---|
| Contractions | Avoided (do not, cannot) | Common (don't, can't) |
| Vocabulary | Precise, sophisticated | Casual, colloquial |
| Sentence structure | Complex, complete | Short, sometimes fragments |
| Slang/idioms | Avoided | Frequent |
| Person | Third person preferred | First/second person common |
| Tone | Objective, professional | Friendly, conversational |
Match the Register to Audience and Purpose
| Context | Audience | Register |
|---|---|---|
| Patient medical chart | Clinicians, legal record | Formal |
| Research paper / cover letter | Professors, employers | Formal |
| Discharge note to a patient | General public | Plain but professional |
| Text to a classmate | A friend | Informal |
| Personal journal / social post | Yourself, friends | Informal |
A charting error in register has real consequences: "Pt seemed kinda out of it" is too vague and casual for a legal medical record. The formal equivalent—"Patient was disoriented to time and place"—is precise, objective, and appropriate for the audience that reads a chart.
Markers of Formal Writing
Several concrete choices push writing toward the formal end of the scale. The TEAS expects you to spot them.
Person and voice. Third person (he, she, they, the patient) is more formal and objective than first person (I, we) or second person (you). Likewise, the passive voice ("The medication was administered") sounds more formal than the active voice ("The nurse gave the medication"), which is why scientific writing often uses it—though active voice is usually clearer.
Precise vocabulary. Formal writing trades vague, casual fillers for exact words.
| Informal (avoid) | Formal (preferred) |
|---|---|
| a lot of | numerous, many |
| got | received, obtained |
| kind of / sort of | somewhat, rather |
| stuff / things | materials, items |
| pretty good | satisfactory, adequate |
| figure out | determine |
| get rid of | eliminate, remove |
| kids | children |
No contractions. Spell out do not, cannot, it is, and they are in formal text. The one common exception is a direct quotation, where the speaker's exact words are preserved.
Avoiding Slang and Clichés
Slang is highly informal, often regional language ("sketchy," "out of it") that may confuse readers and has no place in formal writing. A cliché is a phrase so overused it has lost force—"at the end of the day," "think outside the box," "the tip of the iceberg." Clichés feel casual and add no precise meaning, so formal writing replaces them with literal, specific wording. Compare:
- Cliché: "At the end of the day, the patient's safety is what matters."
- Formal: "Ultimately, the patient's safety is the priority."
Tone in Professional Communication
Tone is the writer's attitude toward the subject and reader, conveyed through word choice. Professional tone is respectful, objective, clear, and confident without being arrogant. It avoids sarcasm, emotional outbursts, and accusations. A nurse documenting an incident writes "The IV line was found disconnected," not "Someone carelessly ripped out the IV again."
The table below shows how the same content shifts as tone changes—useful for the TEAS items that ask which sentence is appropriate for a given setting.
| Register | Example sentence |
|---|---|
| Too informal | "The patient came in feeling super crummy and we got him sorted out." |
| Appropriately formal | "The patient presented with malaise; treatment was initiated and symptoms resolved." |
| Overly stiff/cold | "The aforementioned individual did manifest a generalized state of unwellness." |
Note the middle column is the target: clear and professional, neither slangy nor pompously wordy.
Worked example: A nursing-school application essay contains the sentence: "I've always kinda wanted to help people, and nursing seemed like a cool way to do that." Why is this inappropriate, and how would you revise it?
Diagnosis: The audience is an admissions committee (formal purpose), but the sentence uses a contraction (I've), a casual filler (kinda), and slang (cool). Its register is far too informal for the context.
Revision: "I have long been drawn to caring for others, and nursing offers a meaningful way to do so." The revised version removes the contraction, replaces kinda with long, and swaps slang (cool) for precise wording (meaningful)—matching the formal register the audience expects.
Which sentence is MOST appropriate for a formal patient medical record?
In formal academic writing, which word best replaces the casual phrase 'a lot of'?
Match each writing situation to the register it calls for.
Match each item on the left with the correct item on the right
Why should clichés such as 'at the end of the day' be avoided in formal writing?