Choosing Formal Vocabulary
Distinguish between formal and informal vocabulary, selecting words appropriate for formal speech and writing such as 'discover' instead of 'find out' and 'request' instead of 'ask for'
What a learner can do afterwards
- Replace informal words with formal equivalents in a given text
- Identify formal vocabulary choices in official letters and reports
- Write the same message twice using formal vocabulary for a letter and informal vocabulary for a text message
The lesson
You already know that English can sound formal or informal. Today you will build your formal vocabulary: the exact words to use when you write something serious, like a letter or a report. Instead of an everyday phrase, formal writing often uses one precise word.
Priya texts her friend: 'Just found out the bus is late.' She writes almost the same news in a letter to her school: 'I discovered that the bus service has been delayed.' Same message, two different vocabularies.
Build a bank of formal swaps. 'Ask for' becomes 'request'. 'Enough' becomes 'sufficient'. 'Get' becomes 'receive'. Reach for the single formal word when you write something official.
Formal writing trades everyday phrases for precise words, like request instead of ask for and sufficient instead of enough.
Watch it
Where it sits
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.