The following guidelines should assist you to maintain an official voice that is writing your essays.

The following guidelines should assist you to maintain an official voice that is writing your essays.

Have you ever attended a meeting in which "formal" attire is expected? You probably failed to wear old jeans with holes in the knees, a stained tee shirt promoting your chosen beverage, and a set of sandals. You probably chose more attire that is formal.

If you were giving an important speech to a small grouping of people that you don't know, could you make use of the same kind of language you utilize when talking with friends? Not likely. Recognizing your not enough knowledge of the audience, the significance of the occasion, your need to demonstrate your understanding regarding the subject, together with impression you'd like to make, you would probably use an even more voice that is formal your speech than what you will use when talking with good friends.

For many of the essays you write because of this course, you should use a writing voice that is formal. You should use the sort of language you would use when giving an important speech, not the kind of language you could use when talking with good friends. A tone that is formal establish the writer's respect for the audience and shows that the writer is intent on his or her topic. It's the type or kind of tone that educated people use when communicating with other educated people. Most academic writing uses a formal tone.

1. Don't use pronouns that are first-person"I," "me," "my," "we," "us," etc.).

Using these expressions in analytical and persuasive essays can make the writing wordy, will make the writer seem less confident of his / her ideas, and will give the essay an informal tone. Use of first-person pronouns is unnecessary in the kinds of essays you are writing for the course. Readers will know that they're reading your ideas, beliefs, or opinions, and that means you do not need to state, "I think that," "I believe that," or "in my opinion." Simply delete these expressions from sentences, and you shall be left with stronger sentences.

Example
I think that this character is confused.
This character is confused.
(the 2nd sentence is less wordy, sounds more formal, and conveys an even more confident tone.)

"One," "the reader," "readers," "the viewer," or something like that similar sometimes can be utilized effectively in the place of first-person pronouns in formal papers, but be careful not to overuse these expressions. You want to sound formal, not stiff and awkward.

I'm able to sense the type's confusion.

2. Avoid readers that are addressing "you."

Addressing readers using second-person pronouns ("you, your") will make an essay sound informal and that can bring assumptions into an essay that aren't true. A student once wrote in her own essay, "that you will be easy. if you wear a tube top, guys might think" I wondered why the learning student would believe that I, a male, would wear a tube top. As with first-person pronouns, second-person pronouns can be replaced by words such as for example "one," "the reader," "readers," and "the viewer."

3. Steer clear of the use of contractions.

Contractions are shortened versions of words that use apostrophes as opposed to letters, such as for example "can't," "isn't," "she is," and "wouldn't." The greater formal, non-contracted versions are "cannot," "is not," "she is," and "would not." You might be surprised by how much better a sentence can sound if non-contracted versions regarding the expressed words replace the contractions.

Example
The character is not conscious that he's in the middle of people he can't trust.
The character just isn't aware that he's in the middle of people he cannot trust.

Making your writing more formal by avoiding contractions is easy: just find the contractions and replace all of them with the non-contracted versions of the words.

4. Avoid slang and colloquialism expressions.

Colloquial diction is informal language utilized in everyday speech and includes such words as "guys," "yeah," "stuff," "kind of," "okay," and "big deal." Highly diction that is informal such as "freak out" and "dissing," falls into the group of "slang." While slang words often are vivid and expressive, slang comes and goes quickly, another reason why slang must certanly be avoided in formal writing. Both colloquialism and slang expressions convey an informal tone and ought to be avoided in formal writing.

Example
The guy was nailed for ripping off a liquor store.
The man was convicted of robbing a liquor store.

As you avoid informal language, take care not to use words that suggests ideas that you might not intend. "The gentleman was convicted of robbing a liquor store" would probably leave readers wondering why the guy who robbed the shop is considered to be a "gentleman." Likewise, "the lady was convicted of robbing a liquor store" would cause readers to probably wonder why a woman who robs a liquor store is regarded as to be a "lady."

5. Avoid diction that is nonstandard.

Nonstandard diction relates to expressions that aren't considered words that are legitimate towards the rules of Standard English usage. Nonstandard diction includes "ain't," "theirselves," "hisself," "anyways," "alot" (the accepted version is "a complete lot"), and "alright" (the accepted version is "all right"). Most dictionaries that are good identify such expressions utilizing the word "Nonstandard." Because nonstandard expressions generally are not considered to be legitimate words, I mark these expressions in essays as types of "inaccurate word choice."

6. Avoid abbreviated versions of words.

For instance, instead of writing "photo," "phone" and "TV," write "photograph," "telephone," and "television."

7. Avoid the overuse of short and simple sentences.

As the writer might use diction that is formal such sentences, too many short and simple sentences will make an essay sound informal, just as if the writer is not recognizing that the viewers is effective at reading and understanding more complicated and longer sentences. Short and easy sentences can be used effectively in formal writing, but heavy reliance on such sentences reflects poorly in the writer and gives the writing an informal tone.

Final Comments

Try not to confuse formal diction with presumptuous diction (the type of language that seems intended mainly to impress readers) or jargon (the sort of language only familiar to people within a specialized field, such as for example computer technicians).

You ought not to sound "artificial" as you use formal diction. Instead, consider that different situations require different uses of language and therefore educated individuals are able to adapt their utilization of language to a variety of writing and situations that are speaking. Educated men and women have https://essay-911.com several different writing and speaking voices, and one voice is no more "genuine" than another. Instead, the various voices reflect choices on the basis of the writing or speaking situation. Using your word choice in essays, it is possible to portray yourself as an intelligent person who is conscious of your audience--a set of well-educated people whom that you do not know. Imagine the sort of language that you could used in a job interview for an important job. With formal diction, it is possible to express yourself clearly, accurately, and effectively, without relying on the type of language that you might use in less situations that are formal.

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