By K. Tran
How formal should writers sound when writing let’s say an academic essay? Graff and Birkenstein, the authors of They Say/ I Say, said “Although we don’t want to suggest that you avoid using sophisticated, academic terms in your writing, we encourage you to draw upon the kinds of expressions and turns of phrase that you use every day when texting or conversing with family and friends.” So instead of sounding like your serious English teacher describing a delicious cake for example: “The cake delivers a sweetness and a delicate texture of an exquisite experience like no other”, you could say, “The cake passed like Gordon Ramsay standards where only lit cakes could be served.”
I agree with the authors that writing should also be fun and easy to understand, but only if it nicely delivers your point or argument in a clear way. Writing like this could also help explain unknown academic terms and ideas in a way that you and your audience could understand. In contrast to formal speech, sometimes it will sound unclear and even confusing than when you would just speak in your own voice. For example, which one would you understand better when reading it? “Artificially intelligent automobiles are now undergoing stricter transportation regulations after the deadly incident it caused on the road,” or “There are new laws that are being passed to stop further deadly accidents made by self-driving cars.” Perhaps the second one fits more aligned with you? Whatever the case, I suggest using the type of writing that is comfortable for you and is the best method of explaining things clearly.
