Formal English

Tips on how to use a formal language in academic writing

How to Use (and pronounce) Mr. Mrs. Miss &
Ms.
The formal titles
• Sir (adult male of any age)
• Ma'am (adult female - North American)
• Madam (adult female)
• Mr + last name (any man)
• Mrs + last name (married woman who uses her husband's last name)
• Ms + last name (married or unmarried woman; common in business)
• Miss + last name (unmarried woman)
• Dr + last name (some doctors go by Dr + first name)
• Professor + last name (in a university setting)
9 things polite people always say

• Please
• Thank you
• You’re welcome
• Pardon me
• Excuse me
• I’m sorry
• May I help you
• I would like
• May I, please, have…..?
Indirect style
Indirect style
• Use of passive voice
• Today I called lots of
customers.
• Customers were contacted
by telephone.
Indirect style: formal vs informal
• Wrong • Incorrect
• Give up • Quit
• Blow up • Explode
• Boss • Employer
• Hang out • Spend time
• Cool • Impressive
• Go through • Examine
Change the informal into formal
• My boss is a guy called Geoff.
• Today I called lots of customers.
• I finally understood what the
problem was!
• So, I changed the questions around.
• This is worth a fortune! Much
better than paying for advertising.
• I worked under the supervision of Mr
Geoffrey Thomson.
• Customers were contacted….
• It became clear that….
• The order of the items was, therefore,
modified.
• To obtain a similar result through
media campaigns would cost millions.
Change the informal into formal
• …..was cool!
• It was really difficult and
exhausting!
• Thank goodness I’d learnt how to
do a market survey!
• Geoff was really happy with what I
did.
• Most impressive.
• ..was a major challenge.
• Fortunately, I was able to apply the
knowledge I had acquired in
marketing….
• The results of my study were
extremely well received.
Use of reference
• With regard to
• Regarding
• In relation
• As regards to ….
• Etc..
Lay-out

• One paragraph – one idea.

Sources

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice
• https://slideplayer.com/slide/14127554/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KcBQMsUAok
• Allison J., Emmerson P. The Business Intermediate Student’s Book.
Macmillan: 2007