Writing Style: Formal vs Informal and Tone

One message, three registers

Register is how formal your language is. Here is the same news, a delayed delivery, written three ways. The facts don’t change; the words, sentence length and contractions do.

Casual Hey Sam, bad news: the chairs won’t turn up till Thursday. Sorry! I’ll shout when they’re in.

Contractions: won’t, they’re, I’llSpoken phrases: turn up, shoutShort, punchy sentences

Neutral Hello Sam, the chairs will now arrive on Thursday, two days later than planned. Sorry for the delay; I’ll let you know as soon as they’re here.

A few contractionsPlain, everyday wordsThe reason for the message comes first

Formal Dear Mr Patel, I regret to inform you that delivery of your order has been rescheduled to Thursday 14 May. We apologise for the inconvenience and will confirm once it has been dispatched.

No contractionsSet phrases: I regret to inform youFull dates, the passive for tact

Formal vs informal writing: the full guide →

Plain words for long phrases

Concise writing uses the shortest words that keep the full meaning. These swaps work in almost any document.

in order to → to

due to the fact that → because

at this point in time → now

in the event that → if

make a decision → decide

carry out an analysis of → analyse

a large number of → many

with regard to → about

prior to → before

it is important to note that → (say the point)

The concise writing guide, with 30+ rewrites →

Turn hidden verbs back into verbs

A nominalisation is a verb turned into a noun: decide becomes decision, analyse becomes analysis. A sentence full of them needs extra filler verbs like make and carry out. Turning the noun back into a verb usually makes the sentence shorter and clearer.

Noun-heavy · 10 wordsWe will make a decision about the budget on Friday. With the verb · 8 wordsWe will decide on the budget on Friday.

Noun-heavy · 10 wordsThe team carried out an analysis of the survey results. With the verb · 6 wordsThe team analysed the survey results.

Noun-heavy · 7 wordsPlease give consideration to the following proposal. With the verb · 4 wordsPlease consider this proposal.

Noun-heavy · 13 wordsThere was a reduction in costs following the implementation of the new system. With the verb · 8 wordsCosts fell after we introduced the new system.

Noun-heavy · 12 wordsWe are in agreement that a review of the process is needed. With the verb · 6 wordsWe agree the process needs reviewing.

Active or passive: choose by situation

In the active voice the subject does the action (“The team approved it”). In the passive the subject receives it (“It was approved”). Both are correct; each suits different situations.

Situation	Choose	Example
You want to show who is responsible	Active	Our team missed the deadline.
Instructions and requests	Active	Please send the signed form by Monday.
The doer is unknown	Passive	The office was broken into overnight.
The doer doesn’t matter to the reader	Passive	Samples were collected weekly.
Tact: you don’t want to name anyone	Passive	The invoice was sent to the wrong address.
Keeping the topic at the start of the sentence	Passive	The new policy was approved by the board.

When to use the passive voice: the full guide →

Build each paragraph point first

Busy readers skim the first sentence of each paragraph. Put the main point there, then support it, then say what happens next.

The pilot cut customer wait times by a third.Average waits fell from 12 to 8 minutes across both offices, and repeat calls dropped too.We recommend extending it to all teams from July.

1 · The pointOne sentence a skimming reader can take away.2 · The supportEvidence, numbers, examples.3 · What nextThe action or consequence.

Read only the first sentence and you still know the news. That is the test of a point-first paragraph.

Vary sentence length

A run of sentences of the same length sounds flat, whether they are all short or all long. Mix them: short sentences for the key point, longer ones to explain.

All the same lengthThe project started in March. The team had four people. The budget was £40,000. The deadline was in June. The work finished on time.

VariedThe project started in March with four people and a £40,000 budget. The deadline was tight. We finished on time.

Matching tone to the reader

Tone is the attitude your writing carries: friendly, neutral, firm, warm. Choose it for the reader and the situation, then keep it the same throughout. The tone guide goes deeper.

Reader and situation	Tone	One sentence in that tone
A customer with a complaint	Calm and helpful	I’m sorry about the delay; your refund has been sent today.
A supplier who missed a deadline	Firm and factual	The order was due on 3 June. Please confirm a new date by Friday.
A colleague who helped you	Warm	Thank you, that saved me a whole afternoon.
A board or senior committee	Neutral and precise	Sales rose 8% in Q2, ahead of the 5% forecast.

Following a style guide

A style guide is a short document that settles small choices once, so everyone in a team writes the same way. Even a one-page version saves time and arguments.