Differentiate formal English from informal discourse (L.4.3.c) and choose register for audience and purpose
Exercise
Difficulty 4
~7 min
eng.g4.s.ex_33
Register Shift Paragraph
Prompt
Take this informal paragraph. Shift it to FORMAL register. Remove contractions, use third-person, replace casual vocabulary, add source attribution. 'So I read this thing about Sojourner Truth and it's wild. She was sold like 4 times before she was even 9! And she didn't even know English at first — she spoke Dutch!'
M-4-S-EX-33
Illustration
Reference image of informal paragraph and its formal-shifted version side-by-side. Print-ready 8.5x11.
How it's presented
mode
handwriting
paper
single line g4
Answer criteria
type
rubric
criteria
- No contractions
- Third-person about topic
- Precise vocabulary (replaces 'wild', 'thing')
- Source attribution added
Hints
- Replace 'I read this thing' with 'According to ___'.
- Replace contractions: it's → it is, didn't → did not.
Misconceptions to watch
- Leaves some contractions.
- Doesn't add source attribution.
Used in lessons