ESL Writing: Informal vs Formal Writing, Contractions, Phrasal Verbs, Vocabulary

What It Is

Informal vs Formal Writing refers to the differences in language use between everyday conversations and written communication, such as emails, letters, or reports. This topic causes difficulty for ESL learners because they often struggle to choose the correct tone, vocabulary, and grammar for different situations. For example, in informal writing, we use contractions like "don't" instead of "do not," but in formal writing, we use the full form.

Key Rules

• Contractions: Use contractions in informal writing, but not in formal writing. (e.g., "I'm going" vs. "I am going")
• Formal vs Informal Vocabulary: Use formal vocabulary in formal writing, like "utilize" instead of "use." (e.g., "I will utilize my skills" vs. "I will use my skills")
• Phrasal Verbs: Use phrasal verbs in informal writing, but not in formal writing. (e.g., "pick up" vs. "collect")
• Tone: Use a friendly tone in informal writing, but a professional tone in formal writing.
• Grammar: Use the present perfect tense in informal writing, but the simple past tense in formal writing. (e.g., "I have eaten" vs. "I ate")
• Articles: Use the definite article "the" in formal writing, but not in informal writing. (e.g., "The report is on the table" vs. "The report is on the table, dude")
• Pronouns: Use the first person singular pronoun "I" in formal writing, but the first person plural pronoun "we" in informal writing. (e.g., "I am going" vs. "We are going")
• Spelling: Double consonants in informal writing, but not in formal writing. (e.g., "happened" vs. "happend")
• Punctuation: Use commas in informal writing, but not in formal writing. (e.g., "I'm going to the store, dude" vs. "I am going to the store")
• Word Order: Use a more relaxed word order in informal writing, but a more formal word order in formal writing. (e.g., "I'm going to the store" vs. "I am going to the store")
• Idioms: Use idioms in informal writing, but not in formal writing. (e.g., "break a leg" vs. "good luck")
• Colloquialisms: Use colloquialisms in informal writing, but not in formal writing. (e.g., "gonna" vs. "going to")
• Slang: Use slang in informal writing, but not in formal writing. (e.g., "sick" vs. "good")
• Abbreviations: Use abbreviations in informal writing, but not in formal writing. (e.g., "BTW" vs. "by the way")
• Emoticons: Use emoticons in informal writing, but not in formal writing. (e.g. :) vs. no emoticon)

Common ESL Errors

• Error: "I'm go to the store." Why it happens: Interference from L1 (e.g., in some languages, the verb "go" is not used in this way). Correction: "I'm going to the store." (Use the correct phrasal verb "going to" instead of "go to")
• Error: "Me and my friend go to the movies." Why it happens: Overgeneralization of subject-verb agreement rules. Correction: "My friend and I go to the movies." (Use the correct subject-verb agreement "I" instead of "me")
• Error: "I have eat breakfast." Why it happens: Interference from L1 (e.g., in some languages, the verb "eat" is not used in the present perfect tense). Correction: "I have eaten breakfast." (Use the correct present perfect tense "eaten" instead of "eat")

Practice Exercises

1. Fill in the blank: "I'm going to the store to buy some ___ (milk)." Answer: milk Reason: Use the correct article "some" instead of "a" or "an".
2. Fill in the blank: "I'm feeling ___ (sick) today." Answer: sick Reason: Use the correct adjective "sick" instead of "good".
3. Fill in the blank: "I'm going to the movies with my ___ (friend)." Answer: friend Reason: Use the correct noun "friend" instead of "me".

Last-Minute Revision

Irregular verb: "go" (went, gone) Preposition pair: "at/in/on" (e.g., "at the store" vs. "in the store") Article: "a/an" (e.g., "a book" vs. "an apple") Pronunciation: "th" (e.g., "this" vs. "that") Word order: "subject-verb-object" (e.g., "I eat an apple" vs. "I eat apples") Idiom: "break a leg" (meaning "good luck") Colloquialism: "gonna" (meaning "going to") Slang: "sick" (meaning "good") Abbreviation: "BTW" (meaning "by the way") Emoticon: :) (meaning "smiling")