Formal Writing
Choose formality deliberately. In contexts such as legal material, policies, reports, or high-stakes institutional communication, a formal tone may be expected; in many ordinary professional contexts, a standard tone is clearer and more natural. Avoid treating complexity or stiffness as signs of formality.
Formal writing uses a professional level of distance and controlled language appropriate to the reader, relationship, genre, and purpose. It is not automatically more effective than standard or informal tone, and plain language can still be formal.
Key details
Further guidance
Audience Check
Identify the relationship you need to create with the reader. Formal tone creates more distance; standard tone is often appropriate for everyday professional communication.
Clarity
Keep sentences direct and concrete. Do not inflate vocabulary, nominalize every verb, or add passive constructions merely to sound formal.
Language Choices
Prefer complete, explicit wording and avoid slang, casual idioms, jokes, or conversational shortcuts when they would undermine the required professional distance.
Worked Example
Instead of “Hey, just wanted to check if you can send this ASAP,” a formal version might read “Please send the signed document by 3 p.m. Friday so the application can be lodged on time.”
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- Voice and tone (opens in a new tab)Australian Government Style Manual · Defines formal, standard and informal tone by reader relationship and describes contractions, pronouns, idioms, metaphors and context-sensitive limits.
- Relate to your readers (opens in a new tab)Australian Government Style Manual · Explains audience-centred choices in tone and familiarity and supports treating informal writing as a register decision rather than unbounded casualness.