On the first part of this blog series, I discussed a few basic guidelines to good writing in general, and on tests such as the IELTS, TOEFL, PTE, and GRE specifically. Let's continue, shall we?
Language that is too informal, such as slang, is not appropriate for academic writing. It is not always easy to tell when an expression is too informal. Some expressions are used so often in spoken English that we may think it is all right to use them in academic writing too.
Too informal: No way would I ever vote.
Much better: There is no way I would vote.
Too informal: People just need to get it all together and participate in democracy.
Much better: People need to consider their beliefs and opinions and participate in democracy.
Summary: Written language is usually more formal than spoken language. Try to avoid expressions that are too informal when writing academic essays.
Comments