Section 20.5 Adapting to Context
Knowing the features of formal and informal register is one thing; knowing when and how to apply them is another. Skilled writers do not simply pick a register and stay there mechanically. They read the situation—audience, purpose, medium, relationship—and make conscious choices. A company announcement written in the same register as a legal brief will seem cold and alienating; the same announcement written in casual register will seem unprofessional. The goal is not to follow a formula but to develop the analytical habit of asking: what does this situation call for?
Analyzing the Rhetorical Situation.
Before writing, consider:
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Audience: Who will read this? What do they know? What do they expect?
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Purpose: What am I trying to accomplish?
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Context: What’s the situation? What are the conventions?
Making Grammatical Adjustments.
Once you have analyzed the rhetorical situation, you translate that analysis into specific grammatical choices. The table below summarizes the most common adjustments writers make as they move between formal and informal register. Notice that these are not absolute rules but tendencies—context can always override them.
| Feature | Formal | Informal |
|---|---|---|
| Contractions | avoid | use freely |
| Passive voice | acceptable | use sparingly |
| First person | often avoided | common |
| Sentence length | longer, complex | shorter, simpler |
| Sentence fragments | avoid | occasional OK |
| Relative pronouns | include | may omit |
Recognizing Register Shifts.
Register should be consistent. Mixing registers can seem:
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Jarring: The research demonstrates significant findings. It’s pretty cool.
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Inappropriately formal: I am writing to request your presence at the barbecue.
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Inappropriately casual: The defendant was like, not guilty or whatever.
