4.3: Understanding Formality in Writing

What Is the Formality Spectrum?

In order to decide how formal our messages should be, we would have to first assess the context and profile our audience. In terms of context, a 5-minute presentation in front of a small group of colleagues in a routine weekly meeting would be far less formal than a 15-minute presentation at a year-end meeting with upper management employees. In terms of audience, we wouldn’t speak or write at the same level of formality when we address colleagues, interns recently hired, upper-management employees, clients, or shareholders.

Formal Writing

Writing in a formal style is important when composing formal documents (e.g., a Formal Report). This style of writing may require additional effort because it is different from the communication we tend to use on a day-to-day basis. When writing formally, we avoid first (e.g., I, we, us, our) and second (e.g., you, your) person pronouns, slang, and contractions. In addition, at times, the vocabulary that you use in this style of writing is more advanced. Sometimes a more elevated word choice—one with more syllables than perhaps the first word that comes to mind—may be the best choice to achieve a formal tone.

General-Level Writing

Your ability to use a general-level style is necessary in any situation where you communicate with familiar people on your level and when a personable, more conversational tone is appreciated. In a routine email to a colleague, for instance, you would use a general-level vocabulary. You would also use first and second personal pronoun as well as contractions such as it’s for it is or it has, would’ve for would have, and you’re for you are .

Informal Writing

As the furthest extreme on the formality spectrum, slang and other informal means of communication such as emojis are generally unacceptable in workplace writing. Slang is common in texting and social media, so it appears immature, frivolous, out of place, confusing, and possibly even offensive in serious adult professional situations. Say someone emailed a car cleaning company with questions about their detailing service and received a reply that looks like this:

The inquiring customer may have serious concerns about the company based on this communication since it is not appropriate for the audience (a potential customer) and purpose (to communicate about a professional service). A company rep that comes back with a response more like the following would likely assure the customer more:

Absolutely, we can do that for you. Our White Glove service thoroughly vacuums and wet-vacs all upholstery, plus scrubs all hard surfaces with pro-grade cleaners, then does a thorough wash and wax outside. Your auto’s body will be like a mirror when you pick it up. Please let us know if you are interested in our $150 White Glove service.

However, given the appropriate audience (a friend) and purpose (to connect about plans for the evening), informal writing with short forms, textese, slang, and no capitalization or punctuation may be acceptable and, in fact, appropriate.

Emojis 

Though emojis’ typical appearance in social media and texting places them at the informal end of the formality spectrum, their advantages in certain situations require special consideration along with some clarity about their current place in professional communication. Besides being easy to access on mobile device keyboards and favoured in social media, emojis are useful for helping clarify the emotional state of the message sender in a way that plain text can’t. They offer a visual cue in lieu of in-person non-verbal cues. A simple “thumbs up” emoji even works well as an “Okay, got it” reply in lieu of any words at all, so they can help save time for the busy professional.

(Rawpixel.com, n.d.)

However, the lack of precision in emojis can also cause confusion as they may be interpreted differently if the social and cultural context of the receiver differs enough from that of the sender (Pringle, 2018), not to mention differences in their emotional states. This means that emojis aren’t as universal as some claim they are, especially when used by correspondents who speak different languages (Peek, 2022). Even between those who speak the same language, a smiley-face emoji added to a lightly insulting text message might be intended as a light-hearted jab at the receiver by the sender, but might be read as a deeply cutting passive-aggressive dig by the receiver. The same text message said in person, however, comes with a multitude of nonverbal cues (facial expressions, eye movements, body movements, timing, voice intonation, volume, speed, etc.) that help the listener determine the exact intentions of the speaker—meanings that can’t possibly be covered by a little 2D cartoon character.

Be careful with emojis also in any situation involving buying or selling, since commercial messages can end up in court if meanings, intentions, and actions part ways. In one case, emojis were used in a text message signalling intent to rent an apartment by someone who reneged and was judged to be nonetheless on the hook for the $3,000 commitment (Pringle, 2017). As with any new means of communication, some caution and good judgment, as well as attention to notable uses and abuses that show up in the news or company policy directives, can help you avoid making potentially disastrous mistakes.

Though emojis may be meaningfully and understandably added to text/instant messages or even emails between familiar colleagues who have developed a light-hearted rapport featuring their use, there are several situations where they should be avoided in most workplace writing and definitely in technical communications.

What Are Other Recommendations?

Technical communications should avoid many other elements of language that are either informal or contribute to making the tone and style of a message seem more informal.

Avoid Clichés.

Here are a few more examples of wordy, vague, and informal clichés with their meaning in the second column; these should be avoided in professional communications:

Avoid Informal Word Choice

Consistently choosing words from the informal register over standard/ formal words would render your messages not just inappropriately casual in terms of tone and style but also, in some cases, vague — which would affect the clarity of the message. Let us examine a few examples:

Avoid Exuberant Words/Expressions

Generally speaking, avoid exclamation marks or use them sporadically. Also avoid informal expressions of exuberance (e.g., “I am writing this letter to apply for an Operations Manager position in your super amazing organization!”). While your messages should not be devoid of emotion, anything that may give your messages an immature tone or might suggest an overly casual attitude should be avoided.