LEVELS OF LANGUAGE

Very formal

Legal documents

Technical reports, case studies

Scientific magazine articles (Science)

Grant proposals

Scholarly journals

High-level magazines (Atlantic Monthly)

Orations (graduation addresses, dedications)

Sermons

Academic reports, term papers

Prestigious newspapers (New York Times, Christian

Science Monitor)

Popular magazines (Vanity Fair, Newsweek)

Mass market magazines (People, TV Digest)

Personal experience papers

Short story using dialect and slang

Casual conversation

Very informal - colloquial

Characteristics of Formal Style

• Moderately long sentences

• Focus on nouns rather than verbs

• Serious impersonal tone

• Few contractions or personal references

• Few action verbs

• Considerable distance between reader and writer

Characteristics of Informal Style

• Variety of sentence lengths

• Mixture of abstract and concrete language

• Occasional first- and second-person pronouns

• Occasional contractions

• Personal references

• Variety of topics, from serious to casual

• Little distance between reader and writer

Characteristics of Casual Style

• Short- to medium-length sentences, short paragraphs

• Concrete and vivid language

• Personal pronouns and references to people

• Frequent slang and colloquial language

• Lively action verbs

• Frequent contractions

• Almost no distance between writer and reader