Hot answers tagged formality
4
There can be some variations in the meaning, but the variation is to be found in the implications (connoted meaning), not in the explicit verbiage (denoted meaning). On the surface, the sentences explicitly mean essentially the same thing. But by varying the placement of "please," a different intonation can be used (when actually speaking), or implied when ...
4
Excerpt from Chicago Manual of Style:
Most types of writing benefit from the use of contractions. If used
thoughtfully, contractions in prose sound natural and relaxed and make
reading more enjoyable.
Excerpt from Modern American Usage:
The common fear is that using contractions can make the writing seem
breezy. For most of us, though, that ...
3
Using the phrase "to go so far as to" in an academic context is certainly acceptable. It's merely a style choice.
The purpose of this kind of verbose phrase is to intensify the sentence as well as to communicate the author's opinion that Mr X has gone too far by calling Mr Y a scumbag. Because it's a long and coherent phrase, and because it's not a common ...
3
That's an excellent answer; brief, but polite.
There is, however, a small grammar mistake. Even though you're talking about a future event, look forward to describes how you feel now, so you should use the present tense:
I look forward to hearing about the status of my application.
1
I have never come across the "[salutation], [name]," format and it looks very strange to me. Certainly it is not the normal way to start a letter or email. "[salutation] [name]," is more normal. (I do not believe the former is correct, but cannot cite any sources to back me up at present)
Generally, a comma should only be used where you would pause if ...
1
Even traditional opposition to contractions isn't as broad and monolithic as most people imagine. For example, I've never heard that modern formal writing opposes the use of good-bye (from "God be with ye") or Halloween (from "All Hallow Even") or o'clock (from "of the clock"). More recently, I suspect, many people writing for scholarly or professional ...
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