Register is how formal or casual your language sounds, shaped by who is reading and why you are writing. A letter to a principal uses full sentences and polite verbs. A message to a friend can use contractions and exclamations. The same idea is worded differently in each.

Does the planner write my essay or letter?

No. It builds a plan with the audience, purpose, reader needs, structure and tone checks. The contrasting examples are openings only. The full piece must be your own work, so nothing it produces can be handed in as a finished assignment.

Why does it warn me about my register choice?

Each situation has a register that usually suits its audience. If your choice differs, the tool asks you to think again about who is reading and what they expect. You can still defend an unusual choice, but you should be able to explain it.

Are my answers saved?

Nothing is sent to our servers. Your planned opening and points stay in the page while you work. You can download the plan as a text file if you want to keep it.

Audience Register and Purpose Planner

This planner helps you decide how a piece of writing should sound before you write it. You choose a situation, pick the register you think fits, and build a short plan. The tool plans and prompts; you write the piece.

It supports the register and purpose work in audience, purpose and register practice.

How do I use it?

Choose a writing situation. There are six: a request to the principal, an invitation to a friend, a complaint to a shop manager, a speech to the school assembly, an article for the school magazine and a report to a head of department. A short description appears under the menu.
Choose the register you would use: formal, neutral or semi-formal, or informal. Decide before you look at any advice.
Type one planned opening sentence. A rough one is fine.
List at least two main points, one per line.
Press “Build my plan”. If the opening is blank or you have fewer than two points, the tool asks you to add them first.
Download the plan as a text file if you want to keep it.

How do I read the result?

The first line tells you whether your register matches the situation. A match is shown as a good fit. A mismatch is shown as “think again”, with the register this audience usually calls for.

Below that you see the audience and purpose, what this reader needs, a suggested structure and tone checks. Compare your points with the list of reader needs. If the reader needs a date and you never mentioned one, add it.

Then read the two contrasting openings. One fits the situation and one does not, with a short reason why. Put your own opening beside them and ask three things: does it state the purpose, does it suit the reader, and does it sound like the register you chose?

Example walk-through

Take the request to the principal. The situation is that you want permission to hold a charity bake sale during recess.

First, choose Informal on purpose. The result is a “think again” message: you chose informal, but this audience usually calls for formal, so ask who is reading and what they expect.

Now change the register to Formal and enter this opening: “I am writing to request permission to hold a charity bake sale during recess on Friday 14 March.” Add two points, such as “the money goes to the school library fund” and “we will clear the tables before the bell”. The tool now confirms a good match, and lists what a principal needs: who you are and what you ask, the date, place and benefit, and how you will keep things orderly.

The contrast makes the point clear. The fitting example is “I am writing to request permission to hold a charity bake sale…” The misfit is “Hey! So we wanna do a bake sale, can we?” The reason given is that it is too casual for a principal, it is vague and it drops the date.

Now swap to the invitation to a friend. The same stiff opening would be the misfit there: “I am pleased to inform you that a celebratory gathering will be held” sounds like a notice, not an invitation. A formal request and a friendly invitation need different openings, even when both ask the reader to say yes.

Assumptions and limits

The six situations are original and cover a small range of tasks. Real exam tasks will differ.
The examples are in English, the assessed language, and show openings only.
The tool does not generate a finished school assignment and does not judge your points for accuracy.
The suggested register for each situation is the usual choice, not the only defensible one.
The plan stays in the page while you work. Nothing is uploaded.

Which lessons explain the output?

For register in a letter, read choosing a register for a letter to an institution. For the same idea to a different audience, see adapting the same idea for peers and adults. The opening and closing advice is explained in making opening and closing choices fit the task.

If your directed writing tends to retell the passage, the directed writing clinic is a good next step. The email communication practice applies the same planning to emails. You can browse more on the tools page.

Choosing a register well is a judgement that improves with feedback on your own drafts. A teacher can give that feedback in online one-to-one English First Language tuition.

Audience register and purpose planner