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You may compare these three basic styles with those in other books and choose any particular style that suits you. Below, however, you will find some unpunctuated material. It contains the names of six works of reference for an article on styles of cooking around the world. The entries are not in alphabetical order. Punctuate and alphabetize the material in order to get a bibliography organized according to Style 1. When you have done this, re-organize the material according to Style 2 and then Style 3, so that you become accustomed to the variety of possibilities: bon jules j the mexican cuisine I love leon amiel 1977 leonard jonathan norton Iatin american cooking time life 1968 brown dale american cooking time life 1968 hume rosemary and muriel downes the penguin dictionary of cookery penguin books 1966 eckley mary mccalls superb dessert cookbook random house and mccalls 1961 macrae sheila the scottish cookbook foulsham 1979

7.4 Style:
Levels of formality
Academic writing is almost invariably formal in style, and easily identified as such. It is not, however, possible to divide English styles neatly into 'formal' and 'informal' compartments. The relationship is more like a continuum with two extremes, as in this diagram: very informal
~~.-------------------------~

very formal

The general style of a text will lie somewhere on the line, and may even vary from time to time as the writer deliberately or unconsciously changes positions. Such changes in style should on the whole be deliberate; they should not be the product of carelessness, ignorance or that subtle thing called 'bad taste'. For convenience, the continuum of formality can be cut up into various compartments in order to grade various texts and styles: very informal quite informal neutral quite formal very formal

A large number of factors (relating to grammar, vocabulary, style and punctuation) contribute towards the 'tone' of a piece of writing. Some of the more important factors are listed (and contrasted) below:

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Less formal 1 Sentences are shorter. They use basic punctuation, such as commas and periods. Where necessary, they also use brackets and dashes and even exclamation marks!

More formal Sentences tend on the whole to be longer and more complex, making use of the full range of punctuation devices, including colons and semi-colons, and tending to avoid the drama and excitement of such things as exclamation marks. The use of the personal pronouns, especially 'I', is generally avoided, and personal relationships are kept in the background or ignored altogether. The passive voice is generally preferred, especially in technical writing, along with impersonal expressions such as 'one' and the impersonal 'it', as in it has been observed that . .. Full forms are preferred, ellipsis occurs, but not of grammatically important words, and short forms are avoided. Various special formulas of politeness, caution, etc, are often used, such as adverbs like probably and apparently, or phrases like It would appear that . .. and As far as one can tell at this stage . .. Longer Greco-Latin material tends to be used, giving the text a more abstract quality. Verbs of Latin provenance, like speculate and construe, and polysyllabic Greek compounds like bibliographical and epistemology are common occurrences.

I am more likely to mention myself and my friends in informal material.

People prefer the active voice of the verb.

People use all sorts of short forms and ellipses, like I'd and won't, and which and that are often absent in certain kinds of clauses.

Short vernacular words tend to be common, including phrasal verbs like get up and put out and vernacular compounds like tea pot, mountain areas, etc. We put them in all the time in the everyday use of the mother tongue.

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Less formal 6 Informal expressions are often (but not always) rather vague. Words of general meaning like get, put and do are common.

More formal Formal language usually aims at precision and the avoidance of ambiguity, but sometimes it may be used simply to impress or to make a subject look more complex and important than it actually is. Idioms and slang are generally avoided in formal usage, unless the writer deliberately brings them in for 'colour' or for purposes of exemplification.

Informal expression is often idiomatic and slangy, know what I mean?

Formality and informality are complex matters, but for general purposes the following scale of examples may be useful: 1 2 3 4 5 'This thing doesn't work right,' he told us. He told us the thing didn't work right. He told us that the machine wasn't/was not working or functioning properly. We were informed that the machine was not functioning properly. According to information received, the machine was defective. very informal

very formal

Below are six sets containing five sentences each. The sentences are not, however, arranged in any order of formality. In front of each sentence is a set of empty boxes in which a number (from 1 to 5) can be written, indicating the proper order of formality as shown in the above example. Now organize the sets. The first one is partly done for you as a guide. a.

D She told them later that she had not known about it while it was happening. D Her later verbal report indicated that at the time she was
completely unaware of what was transpiring. [I] 'I didn't know about it while it was happening,' she told them later. W She informed them later verbally that she had not known about the event while it was taking place. D They were informed in her subsequent verbal report that she had had no knowledge whatever of the event at the time of its occurrence.

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b. D He asked whether she could come and pick the stuff up at his place. D He wondered if it was possible for her to come and collect the material at his house. D ' Can you come and pick up the stuff at my place?' he asked her. D His request was that, if possible, she should collect the material at his place of residence. D She was asked if there was a possibility that she might collect the material at his house. c. D According to the astronomer, the name Capella refers to a star. D 'Capella's a star,' said the astronomer. D The group was informed by the astronomer that the name Capella refers to a star. D The astronomer said that Capella is a star. D The astronomer said Capella's a star. d. D Chinese food is tasty. D The cuisine of China appeals to most people's taste buds. D One's gustatory proclivities are very pleasantly stimulated by the traditional cuisine of China. D Chinese food's tasty. DOne's taste buds are stimulated very pleasantly by Chinese food. e. D The historian said: 'Hasan-e-Sabbah trained his assassins to kill his religious and political enemies.' D The assassins of mediaeval Persia were, according to the historian, trained by Hasan-e-Sabbah to kill his religious and political opponents. D The historian said that the assassins were trained byHasan-eSabbah to kill his religious and political foes. D According to the historian, the members of the mediaeval Persian Sect of the Assassins were trained by their founder and leader, Hasan-e-Sabbah, to eliminate those who were religiously and politically opposed to him. D The members of the mediaeval Assassin Sect in Persia, according to the historian, were organized so as to facilitate the liquidation of all religious and political opposition to its founder and leader, Hasan-e-Sabbah.