Formal writing

A journalist on the Boston Globe was recently criticised for using non-standard English in an article. According to the critic, the column in which the article appeared qualified as "formal written English" and so shouldn't include non-standard English.

But what is formal written English? In an article replying to the criticism, the journalist points out that most journalism and writing today is more informal than formal. If formal English can be defined as including complex sentence structure and particular use of vocabulary, informal English can be defined as including many elements of spoken English such as contractions, and a less serious tone. The journalist also writes that both formal and informal English are standard English, and that the difference between them is style, not correctness.

As far as most business situations are concerned, the objective in writing is to communicate as quickly and simply as possible. People have little time to sit and think about constructing complex sentences or to choose the most formal word. In fact, formal English only tends to be used for legal documents or complex reports, where the writer needs time to find the exact wording or phrase. But for everyday standard business correspondence, a non-formal style of English is easier and quicker to write, and is more likely to be understood by a reader whose time is probably also limited.