4. Academic – Formal – Standard – Informal
FormalAcademic
Informal
Standard
Formal: “To whom it may concern”
“We would be grateful for a prompt
reply”
“hereby”, “aforementioned”
Academic: “the critique,
analysis and expostulation of
the re-invigoration of
character education in the
Indonesian educational
system”
Informal:
“sup?” “cool” “stuff”
to a specific person whom you don’t
know, to maintain a good
relationship; for high-level
management
specialized language
used in particular fields
or in academia
only with your friends,
text messaging
Standard:
Useful for almost any situation, the
effective use of standard vocabulary
and correct grammar, easy for
anyone with at least a high school
education to understand
5. In this course, we will use “formal” to mean:
The use of standard phrases commonly found in
correspondence in a professional context, to a person
you don’t know, which help establish or maintain a
good relationship and which make a good impression;
or language used for high-level management or official
documents.
But also:
• No contractions
• Impersonal style
• Nothing that would be considered informal or slang
• Concise, precise, focused
