FORMAL or INFORMAL?

IELTS WRITING : GENERAL TRAINING and ACADEMIC

In IELTS Writing, for both Academic and General Training, you will need to be aware of the difference between FORMAL and INFORMAL writing.

Continue reading for some practice using FORMAL WORDS and PHRASES in your writing...

TASKS

Read the following sentences which all contain words or phrases which are TOO INFORMAL.

1. Identify the INFORMAL words or phrases
2. Think of more FORMAL ALTERNATIVES

NB. There is more than one mistake in each sentence!


 

TASK ONE: ACADEMIC

The number of people went up super-fast.

The process is well complex and has a bunch of different bits.

Some stuff was built on the island in the top and the bottom.

TASK ONE : GENERAL TRAINING

Dear HR Manager, I wanna tell the boss that I quit.

Dear Manager, I bought a product from your company but it sucks.

Dear Customer, thanks a lot for spending your cash with our company. :)

TASK TWO  (AC & GT)

Loads of people consider pollution to be a massive problem nowadays.

There's a lot of kids who don't go to school.

For example, many of my mates ride bikes instead of hopping on a bus.

And some others agree with me too.

SCROLL DOWN for the ANSWERS and CORRECTIONS...

ANSWERS AND CORRECTIONS

TASK ONE: ACADEMIC - ANSWERS

The number of people went up super-fast.

The number of people increased rapidly.

The process is well complex and has a bunch of different bits.

 The process is extremely complex and has a number of different stages.

Some stuff was built on the island in the top and the bottom.

 Some facilities were built on the island in the north and the south.

 

TASK ONE : GENERAL TRAINING - ANSWERS

Dear HR Manager, I wanna tell the boss that I quit.

Dear HR Manager, I would like to inform the senior manager that I resign.

Dear Manager, I bought a product from your company but it sucks.

Dear Manager, I recently purchased a product from your company. However, it didn't fulfill my expectations. 

Dear Customer, thanks a lot for spending your cash with our company. :)

Dear Customer, Thank you very much for choosing our company for your recent purchase. 

 

TASK TWO  (AC & GT) - ANSWERS

Loads of people consider pollution to be a massive problem nowadays.

 A number of people consider pollution to be a significant problem nowadays.

There's a lot of kids who don't go to school.

A significant number of children do not attend school.

For example, many of my mates ride bikes instead of hopping on the bus.

For example, many of my friends ride bicycles instead of taking the bus.

And some others agree with me too.

In addition, some others agree with this idea.

Tips!

• Avoid colloquial language (BUNCH / LOADS / WANNA)
• Avoid abbreviations and contractions (THERE'S / DON'T / THANKS A LOT)
• Avoid starting sentences with (AND / BUT / SO)
• Avoid INFORMAL NOUNS (KIDS / STUFF / MATES / CASH / BOSS / BITS)
• Avoid INFORMAL VERBS (QUIT / HOP (on a bus) / SUCKS)
• Avoid INFORMAL ADVERBS (WELL / SUPER-FAST)
• Avoid ADJECTIVES which are too "emotional" (MASSIVE problem)
• Only use personal pronouns (I / me) when giving your OPINION (I THINK).

• NEVER use smiley faces :) in IELTS writing!