We don’t talk to a head teacher the way we text a friend. Choosing words to suit the reader and the occasion is called register. Tone Tower helps Year 6 writers recognise formal and informal language and pick the right one.
What your child will learn
- Tell formal language from informal language
- Know the features of each: contractions, slang, full sentences, polite phrases
- Choose a register to suit the reader and the purpose
- Rewrite an informal sentence formally
Signs of informal language
Informal writing sounds like friendly speech. It uses contractions (can’t, it’s), slang and chatty words (loads, kids, awesome), short or unfinished sentences and exclamation marks.
Signs of formal language
Formal writing is careful and polite. It uses full words (cannot, it is), precise vocabulary (children, request, purchase) and complete sentences. Neither style is better — the skill is matching it to the reader.
Example questions
Here are a few questions like the ones in the first quest. Can you solve them?
1. Where would you most likely see informal language?
- In a school report
- In a job application
- In a text message to a friend
- In a letter to a newspaper
Show answer
Answer: In a text message to a friend. Messages to friends are relaxed and chatty.
2. Who would you write to formally?
- A head teacher
- Your little brother
- Your cousin
- Your best friend
Show answer
Answer: A head teacher. We use formal language with people we don’t know well or who are in charge.
3. Which is a formal way to end a letter?
- Bye for now!
- Lots of love,
- Yours sincerely,
- Cheers,
Show answer
Answer: Yours sincerely,. “Yours sincerely” is a standard formal ending.
Tips for grown-ups
- Write the same message twice: once to a friend, once to a head teacher.
- Sort real texts — a birthday card, a school letter, a sign — into formal and informal.
- Play “posh it up”: take turns making a casual sentence as formal as possible.