Formal and informal writing (SVFL)

Are you applying for a summer job? Then you need to understand the difference between personal, everyday language where you write like you talk; informal language ... and a more serious, correct language that follows certain rules: formal language. When you write a message to a friend you use informal language. In informal language it's okay to use contractions, slang, swear words and emoticons.

But if you need to write to a company, an authority, or the school principal you must use a more serious way of speaking. You want to make a good impression and not seem childish or careless. When you write a message to a friend you might use Hi! Or Wassup! As a greeting.

And kisses and hugs as a good bye. Or something similar... But what if you use such phrases when writing to the boss of the restaurant where you'd like to work? That wouldn't do. When you apply for a job you have to make the recipient feel that you are just the right person for that job.

It's better to use Hello! And Best regards to end with. Don't use Swear words, Slang Chat abbreviations Or Emoticons Whether you use... "informal" Or... "formal language" depends upon whom you are addressing. Formal language follows certain rules. One of them is that the language needs to be correct, so remember to use: Correct spelling Correct tense Correct upper and lowercase letters Paragraphs and headings Correct punctuation -- like full-stops, commas and semicolons.

Now Tommy's text is grammatically correct. But still, there's much more to do before it's formal language. This is a filler word more fitting for colloquial use. Let's remove it. Hm...

we must elaborate on the sentences as well. They should make Tommy's intentions clear and show why he would be good for the job. Let's start with being polite. Consider the recipient. "I am writing to you for the purpose of applying for... " sounds so much better than "I want a job... " Tommy states that he would be great, but we need to elaborate on what he would be great at. Can this be made more formal?

Yes, we could go for a more precise verb than "to be". "To fulfill" sounds better. And we could try to make Tommy sound less boastful. If we use "I believe" and "I should be able" Tommy sounds less pushy. Now it's time to explain why Tommy would fit the job well. Let's clarify the meaning by offering details the recipient might want to know.

What has Tommy done that improves his chance of getting the job? Well, he has been to the premises several times and knows how customers and personnel behave; He is well acquainted with the culture. This can be made more formal by adding more details. Tommy has observed the working conditions of the personnel. Last sentence.

How do we elaborate on this by using details? Well, we look at what this word refers to. It refers to the job description. And from this we can develop the end of this sentence. Now we have turned Tommy's informal letter to a friend into a formal letter.

How did we do this? We removed Swear words, Slang, Chat abbreviations And Emoticons We Corrected the wording so that spelling, tense, and punctuation were good. We removed colloquialisms Chose a more precise verb Used more humble phrasing, such as "believe" and "would be" And Elaborated on sentences by using more details. Come into my arms! Can I call you son?

Uh, Tommy? You haven't got the job yet. When applying for a job you also need to talk about your interests and whether you've had a job before. ... and you need to submit your grades. However...

it might be nice to just relax this summer as well.