Your IELTS essays, letters and reports should have appropriate style and tone.
Choose a formal and impersonal style for Academic Writing Tasks 1 and 2. General Training Task 1 letter should be written in an informal, semiformal or formal style depending upon you who are writing to. Letters written to friends and family should be in an informal style whereas letters written to a company or institution should be in an formal style.
General Training Task 2 should be written in a formal or semi-formal style.
Basic features of formal writing
Avoid contractions like shouldn’t or can’t. Write should not or cannot.
Limit the use of the first person singular pronoun I.
Words like really, so and absolutely are more appropriate in an informal style. In a formal style, write extremely, fully or entirely instead.
Avoid using phrasal verbs. They are common in informal speech and writing, but they are not appropriate for your IELTS essay or report.
Do not use informal discourse markers like by the way or besides. Use incidentally instead.
Do not leave out words. Write ‘I look forward to hearing from you’ instead of ‘Look / Looking forward to hearing from you’.
Use tentative language. For example, by placing the adverbs probably or possibly before verbs or noun phrases, you can avoid being overly assertive.
- Increasing the tax on fast food is probably the most effective way to reduce its consumption.
You can also use the modal auxiliary verbs may and might.
- Raising the price of fuel might help to reduce the number of vehicles on the road.
Use formal vocabulary. For example, write inform instead of let you know.
Use there and it as preparatory subjects. For example, write: It is argued that imposing a ban on smoking will improve public health.
Avoid the use of personal pronouns. Use one instead of you.
Avoid rhetorical questions. They are not appropriate in a formal style. Here is an example of a rhetorical question. Junk food is unhealthy. However, is banning it the right solution? Instead, write: Junk food is unhealthy. However, banning it may not be the right solution.
Avoid the overuse of cohesive elements like besides, moreover and furthermore. Besides is very informal. The discourse markers moreover and furthermore give the impression that what you are going to say next is more important than what you have already said. This is usually not the case. Hence, write in addition instead of moreover or furthermore.
Do not start every sentence with a discourse marker / linking word. It is true that linking words facilitate the smooth flow of ideas between your sentences. However, if you start every sentence with a linking expression, it does not always produce the intended effect. Hence, use them sparingly.
