Year 3 English: Formal and informal register
Part of the Year 3 English writing non-fiction chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page
Formal and informal register
The register of a text is the style of language a writer chooses for the audience and the situation. A formal register is used for people you do not know well, such as teachers and headteachers. An informal register is used for friends and family.
| Feature | Formal | Informal |
|---|---|---|
| Greeting | Dear Mrs Patel, | Dear Leo, or Hi Leo! |
| Contractions | I am, I cannot, do not | I'm, can't, don't |
| Requests | Could we talk about this? | Can we talk about this? |
| Sign-off | Yours sincerely, | See you soon! or Love from |
| Tone | polite and careful | friendly and chatty |
Letter from Priya to Leo (informal letter)
Dear Leo,
Thanks for your card! I'm so glad you're back at school. Guess what? Our class is growing beans in cups, and I get to water mine every day. It's brilliant!
Can't wait to show you my bean when it sprouts. Do you want to come round on Saturday? We could play football in the park too.
See you soon!
Love from
Priya
Key ideas
- Register is the style of language chosen for the audience.
- Formal writing avoids contractions and uses polite requests.
- Informal writing is friendly and may use contractions, such as I'm and can't.
- Choose a formal register for people you do not know well, and an informal one for friends and family.
- The same message can be written in either register.
Method. Find a short word with an apostrophe that joins two words.
- Find the key words in the question. These words tell us where to look: contraction.contraction
- Find the words in the text that answer it. The text says:I'm so glad
- Write the answer. I'm
Check. I'm is short for I am. ✓
Watch out. Also accept: it's, you're or can't.
Method. Replace the contraction and the chatty phrase with full words and a polite phrase.
- Find the informal parts. Can't wait is informal: it has a contraction and a chatty phrase.Can't wait
- Write a formal version. A formal version uses full words and a polite phrase.I look forward to seeing you.
- Write the answer. Accept any formal sentence, for example: I look forward to seeing you.
Check. No contraction, and a polite phrase. ✓
Method. Look at the greeting and who it is for.
- Look at the greeting. Hi is a short, friendly greeting, used with friends.Hi
- Decide. A friendly greeting for a friend is informal.informal
- Write the answer. informal
Check. Hi Leo! is friendly and short. ✓
Watch out
Watch out: informal does not mean careless. Informal writing still needs correct spelling and full sentences that make sense.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Ask your child to say the same message twice: once to a friend and once to a headteacher. Ask what changed, and which words they chose.
Exercise 11E Practice: formal and informal register
Method. Think about who the greeting is for.
- Look at the greeting. Dear with a title and a surname is polite.Dear Mrs Patel
- Decide. A polite greeting for someone you do not know well is formal.formal
- Write the answer. formal
Check. Mrs Patel is a title and a surname, used politely. ✓
Method. Think about the words and the tone.
- Look at the words. See you soon is friendly and chatty.friendly and chatty
- Decide. A friendly sign-off is informal.informal
- Write the answer. informal
Check. A friendly sign-off is informal. ✓
Method. Find the word with an apostrophe in the last sentence of the paragraph.
- Find the key words in the question. These words tell us where to look: contraction.contraction
- Find the words in the text that answer it. The text says:It's brilliant!
- Write the answer. It's
Check. It's is short for it is. ✓
Watch out. Also accept: It's.
Method. A contraction joins two words and leaves out a letter.
- Find the two words. Can't joins can and not, and leaves out the o of not.can + not
- Write the full form. The full form in formal writing is cannot.cannot
- Write the answer. cannot
Check. Cannot is the full form of can't. ✓
Watch out. Also accept: can not.
Method. Think about what the apostrophe replaces.
- Find the two words. It's is short for it is.it is
- Write the full form. The full form of it's is it is.it is
- Write the answer. it is
Check. It's means it is. ✓
Method. Think about which sign-off is polite and which is warm.
- Look at each sign-off. Love from is warm; Yours sincerely is polite.warm; polite
- Choose the formal one. Yours sincerely is the more formal sign-off.Yours sincerely
- Write the answer. Yours sincerely
Check. Yours sincerely is the formal choice. ✓
Method. Use a polite request and no informal words.
- Change the request. Can you becomes Could you, which is more polite.Could you
- Add a polite word. Please makes the request more polite.please
- Write the answer. Accept any polite formal version, for example: Could you please lend me a pen?
Check. A polite request in full words. ✓
Method. Make the request short and friendly.
- Shorten the request. Would be grateful if you could is very formal.would be grateful
- Make it friendly. Can you visit our class? is a friendly request.Can you visit our class?
- Write the answer. Accept any friendly version, for example: Can you visit our class?
Check. A short, friendly request. ✓
Method. Think about the audience: a friend.
- Look at A. Hi and are you coming are friendly and short.friendly and short
- Look at B. Dear friend and would be pleased to know are too formal for a friend.too formal
- Write the answer. A
Check. A suits a friend. ✓
Method. Make a polite request, in full words.
- Choose a polite question word. Could makes a request polite.Could
- Name the book. Say what the class library needs.a new book about space
- Write the answer. Accept any formal sentence that asks politely, for example: Could the class library have a new book about space, please?
Check. A polite request in full words. ✓
Method. Think about the reader in each case.
- Think about Leo. Leo is a friend, so a chatty phrase is friendly.a friend
- Think about the headteacher. Mrs Patel expects a polite, formal tone.polite, formal tone
- Write the answer. Accept any: Leo is a friend, so a chatty phrase is right; a headteacher expects a formal, polite tone.
Check. The register depends on the reader. ✓