A register is the level of formality you choose for a particular reader. When you write to an institution such as a school, a council or a company, the reader is an adult who does not know you and has limited time, so the register should be formal, clear and respectful.
This skill sits at the start of audience, purpose and register. It is also the base for the speech and article tasks that follow.
What makes a register formal?
Four things change when the reader is an institution.
- Vocabulary: choose precise words (request, concerned, improve) over casual ones (ask for, worried about, sort out).
- Sentence form: use complete sentences and avoid contractions such as don’t and can’t.
- Stance: state your point directly and politely. Do not apologise for writing and do not demand.
- Purpose: every paragraph should move the reader towards what you want them to do or understand.
Think of speaking to a stranger who can help you. You would be calm, brief and specific, and you would not use the words you use with friends.
Worked example
Task: Write a letter to the principal of your school asking for the library to stay open for one hour after lessons during the examination period.
Step 1, name the reader and purpose. Reader: the principal, who decides school policy. Purpose: to persuade them to extend library hours.
Step 2, choose the opening. Because we address a named role, not a person, use “Dear Principal,” or “Dear Sir or Madam,”. Then state the reason for writing in the first sentence.
Step 3, build a formal paragraph with evidence and a request.
I am writing to ask whether the school library could remain open until 5.00 p.m. during the examination period. At present it closes at 4.00 p.m., and many students who share a computer at home have no quiet place to revise. An extra hour would give them somewhere suitable to work, and I believe it would be used well.
Step 4, close politely. “Thank you for considering this request. I would be glad to discuss it with you further.”
Notice the controlled choices: I am writing to ask, at present, suitable, I believe. Each one is a little more formal than its everyday equivalent, and none of them is hard to read.
The mistake to watch for
The usual slip is to start formal and then slide into speech halfway through.
Mistaken version: I am writing to request an extension of library hours. Basically the library shuts way too early and it’s really annoying for people like me who can’t revise at home. You guys should sort it out.
The first sentence is formal, but basically, way too early, really annoying, you guys and sort it out pull the tone down. The reader now hears a complaint, not a reasoned request.
Corrected version: I am writing to request an extension of library hours. The library currently closes early, which is difficult for students who cannot revise at home. I would be grateful if the school could consider keeping it open for an extra hour.
The facts are the same, but the tone is consistent from start to finish.
Check yourself
1. Rewrite in a formal register: “I’m worried about the broken lights in the car park, so please fix them soon.”
Show answer
One suitable version: “I am concerned about the faulty lights in the car park, and I would be grateful if they could be repaired soon.” The contraction is removed, worried becomes concerned, and the demand becomes a polite request.
2. Which phrase is out of place in a letter to a council office: “I would like to raise”, “a lot of hassle”, “I would appreciate a reply”?
Show answer
“A lot of hassle” is informal. A formal alternative is considerable inconvenience.
3. A student writes: “Dear Sir or Madam, I am writing about the noise from the building site. It’s driving us mad.” Identify the problem and correct it.
Show answer
The contraction and the idiom driving us mad break the register. Correct to: “The noise has become a serious disturbance for local residents.”
Where this leads next
The next step is to keep the same idea but change the reader, in adapting one idea for peers and adults. When you want to test the whole topic, use the audience, purpose and register practice set.
The writing revision compare view helps you check a first and second draft side by side. If you tend to catch the tone problem only after the exam, our teachers work on this in online one-to-one English First Language tuition.