Formal Essay Writing: Style & Tone

It isn’t a good idea to write academic essays in a casual style. Serious Voice If all you have ever been exposed to is movies, TV, magazines etc, then your formal style may not be very well developed. The more difficult a text is, the more it will help you write in a formal style. When you read challenging books, you get used to the language and difficulty level. It will show up in your writing. Don’t write like you speak.

Use First person for personal journal entries or creative writing stories but avoid it for formal or academic writing. Especially avoid phrases like “In my opinion” or “In this essay I will…” No First Person Do not address the reader directly as “you” or “your.” No second person

Try to keep personal bias out of your essays. Don’t show strong disapproval or approval in your essay. Keep personal opinions out.

Avoid emotion, unnecessary humor, and exclamation points!!! Too much emotion can add bias to your writing. Use facts and logic to develop your ideas. Let the reader decide how they feel about your topic. Use logic to support ideas.

Try to avoid phrases like, “Edgar Allen Poe was a talented guy” or “Osama bin Laden was a jerk.” Use “author” or “criminal.” Avoid Slang Avoid using words like “cool” “stuff” or “awesome” to describe. Formal language commands respect. Be specific with language.

Writing that uses clichés comes across as tiresome and uninteresting. Too many common metaphors or similes can make writing seem unoriginal. Avoid Clichés Use a website like Cliché Finder to check for possible clichés. Don’t be as slow as molasses to avoid clichés like the plague! Clean as a whistle!

Active voice is used for most essay writing. Using active voice makes the meaning clear for readers, and keeps the sentences from becoming too complicated or wordy. Avoid Passive Voice Passive: The weather was rainy last week. Active: It rained last week. Eliminate: is, are, was, were, be, being,been.

During conversations, people use contractions such as don’t, doesn’t, can’t, it’s and could’ve all the time. Never use contractions when writing a formal essay. Avoid Contractions Contractions often hide passive voice. The contraction it’s is actually it is. Place to hide passive voice.

Sentence fragments are an incomplete sentence or dependent clause. They usually can’t stand on their own and need the sentences around them to make sense. For example: Although we had a great time. (this sentence doesn’t complete a thought.) Avoid Sentence Fragments Temperatures will soar today, put on some sunscreen. Temperatures will soar today, so put on some sunscreen. Avoid Run-On Sentences

Makes your writing weak. Is unconvincing and tedious to read. “Waters down” what you are trying to say. Makes your writing look like “fluff.” Takes away your power as a writer. Don’t write about your writing.

I’m going to tell you why/about… I think… The reason I wrote/think this is… By that I mean… What I mean is… As you can see… In my opinion… This paragraph/paper/essay is about… I’m writing to tell you… I say this because… Examples of writing about your writing:

Power up your writing by avoid “writing about writing” phrases. Just tell us! State your opinion confidently—as if it is fact. Use details and examples instead of “fluff.” Instead…