Register is the variety of language we use for a particular situation. The grammar of a text message to a friend is different from the grammar of a letter to a parent, which is different again from the grammar of an official inspection report. The differences are not random — they follow patterns that can be taught and learned. Six grammatical features shift most noticeably between informal and formal registers: contractions, sentence length and complexity, pronoun choice, passive vs active voice, nominalisation (turning verbs into nouns), and vocabulary choice. Students who know only one register — whether too informal or too formal — are less effective communicators. Teachers who can explain these features give students a precise, practical tool for improving their writing in any context.
Before you start — think honestly about your own teaching and experience.
Look at the examples. Answer each question before reading the explanation — this is how your students will learn too.
Formal (written apology to the head teacher):
'I am writing to inform you that I will be unable to attend tomorrow's staff meeting. I apologise for any inconvenience caused and would be grateful if a colleague could be asked to take minutes on my behalf.'
Both messages say the same thing. List every grammatical and vocabulary difference you can find between them. What pattern do you notice?
The informal version uses: a contraction ('can't'), first person informally ('I can't', 'me'), short sentences, direct questions ('Can someone...'), informal vocabulary ('Hi', 'just to let you know', 'Sorry'). The formal version uses: no contractions ('will be unable'), passive voice ('could be asked to take minutes'), longer subordinated sentences ('I am writing to inform you that...'), formal vocabulary ('unable to attend', 'I apologise', 'I would be grateful', 'on my behalf'). The shift is systematic — every feature moves together when the register changes. This is why register feels intuitive to fluent speakers: all the signals reinforce each other.
Active (informal): 'We found that the results had improved.'
Passive (formal): 'The results were found to have improved.'
Why might a formal document prefer the passive? What does the passive do to the agent (the person who does the action)? Is it always possible — or desirable — to remove the agent?
The passive removes or backgrounds the agent — the person or group responsible for the action. In formal, institutional writing, this is often deliberate: 'A decision was made' sounds more neutral and institutional than 'The head teacher decided', which could sound like criticism or personalise a collective process. The passive is also used when the agent is unknown, unimportant, or deliberately withheld. However, overuse of the passive makes writing feel evasive or impersonal — good formal writing mixes active and passive strategically. The passive is not simply more formal than active — it is a different information-structure choice, as explored in the information structure cross-cutting lesson.
Nominalised form (formal):
'A decision was made to change the policy.'
'The discussion of the problem was lengthy.'
'Significant improvement has been observed at the school.'
What has happened to the verb in each pair? What grammatical category does the underlined word belong to in the formal version? What other changes happen when a verb is nominalised?
The verb ('decided', 'discussed', 'improved') has been turned into a noun ('decision', 'discussion', 'improvement'). This process is called nominalisation. When a verb becomes a noun, several things change: a new verb is needed to carry the tense (often 'was made', 'was observed', or 'be + past participle'), the agent can be removed more easily, and the sentence often becomes more abstract. Nominalisation is very common in academic and bureaucratic writing because it makes language feel more formal, impersonal, and precise. However, excessive nominalisation makes writing hard to read — a paragraph full of 'the implementation of the facilitation of the development of...' is almost impenetrable.
| Tense / Form | Use / Meaning | Example | Key time words |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feature | Informal / spoken | Formal / written | |
| Contractions | can't, won't, it's, I'm | cannot, will not, it is, I am | |
| Pronoun choice | I, we, you (direct) | one, the school, it is recommended (impersonal) | |
| Sentence length | Short, simple sentences | Longer, subordinated sentences | |
| Voice | Active ('We decided...') | Passive ('A decision was made...') | |
| Nominalisation | Verb form ('We discussed...') | Noun form ('A discussion was held...') | |
| Vocabulary | get, big, help, use, find out | receive, significant, assist, utilise, ascertain |
The question of when to use formal vs informal register is ultimately a social and situational judgement, not a grammatical rule. A useful classroom framework: ask three questions before writing. (1) Who is the audience — someone I know well, an authority figure, an unknown professional reader? (2) What is the purpose — to inform, to request, to report, to apologise? (3) What medium — spoken, message, letter, report? These three questions together usually determine the appropriate register. Importantly, formal is not the same as 'better' — an overly formal message to a colleague about lunch sounds bizarre, and an informal note to a school inspector would be seriously inappropriate. The skill is fit-for-purpose, not simply moving up the formality scale. Also worth noting: nominalisation in excess produces what some critics call 'bureaucratic fog' — language so abstract and noun-heavy that the actual meaning is obscured. Formal writing at its best combines appropriate formality with clarity.
Before writing, ask: • Who is the reader? Known colleague → informal fine. Official, unknown, or senior reader → formal required. • Is the medium formal (letter, report, official notice)? → No contractions. Consider passive and nominalisation. • Am I using active voice because the agent matters? Or passive because the action matters more than who did it? • Have I nominalised unnecessarily? Can the sentence be clearer with a verb? • Is the vocabulary precise but not pompous? Would a well-educated reader find any word odd or affected?
Rewrite each sentence in the register indicated in brackets. Make all necessary changes.
Each sentence has a register error — either too informal for the context or unnecessarily pompous. Identify it and rewrite appropriately.
Use this sequence directly in class — guided discovery, no textbook needed. Tap each step to mark it done.
STEP 1 — Side by side (6 min): Write the two versions from the first discovery sequence on the board — the informal message and the formal letter. Ask students to work in pairs for 2 minutes listing every difference they can find. Then build a shared list on the board. Establish that the differences are systematic — they cluster into the six features.
STEP 2 — The six features (7 min): Introduce the six register features one at a time using the table. For each, give a quick informal/formal pair. Ask students to give their own example for each feature using a school context. This takes 1–2 minutes per feature.
STEP 3 — Nominalisation practice (6 min): Write five verbs on the board: decide, discuss, improve, fail, achieve. Ask students to (a) turn each into a noun and (b) write a formal sentence using the nominalised form. Check the suffix patterns (-ion, -ment, -ance, -ure, -al) and the passive structures that typically accompany nominalisation.
STEP 4 — Register rewrite (10 min): Give students two short passages — one too informal for its context (a student's formal letter to a parent written like a text message), one too formal for its context (a message to a colleague written like a legal document). Students rewrite each to the appropriate register. Share and compare.
STEP 5 — Three questions before writing (6 min): Introduce the three pre-writing register questions: Who is the audience? What is the purpose? What is the medium? Give students three writing scenarios and ask them to answer the three questions and predict the appropriate register before writing a single sentence.
Use directly in class — copy, adapt, or read aloud. No printing needed.
For each strategy, choose the option that best describes where you are now.
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