The Toolkit of Formal Writing (Review)

• Advanced design reports require rigorous control over register through nominalisation, hedging, the passive voice, and cohesion. These devices elevate your writing from descriptive to authoritative.
• Device
• Function
• Example
• Nominalisation
• Turn verbs into nouns to increase density.
• We evaluated the impact -> Evaluation of the impact was conducted.
• Hedging
• Soften claims to project professional caution.
• The initiative increases revenue -> The initiative appears to increase revenue.
• Passive Voice
• De-emphasise the actor and maintain objectivity.
• We deployed the design system -> The design system was deployed.
• Cohesion
• Connect ideas logically across complex sentences.
• The former approach failed; the latter succeeded.
• Remember
• Use nominalisation to condense clauses and sound more academic and professional.
• Employ hedging devices such as 'tend to', 'appear to', or 'suggest' when presenting bold strategic claims.
• Utilize the passive voice when the agent is irrelevant or when maintaining formal detachment is necessary.
• Ensure strong cohesion through discourse markers like 'conversely', 'consequently', and structural pairings like 'the former / the latter'.
• Examples
• Careful analysis of the metrics reveals substantial growth across all digital touchpoints in Boston.
• It would appear that the newly implemented design tokens have reduced styling inconsistencies.
• Substantial improvements were achieved during the final quarter in our Seattle studio.
• The former strategy targeted enterprise clients; the latter focused on boutique agencies in Chicago.
• Common mistakes
• We think that the design team made a great impact.
• It is suggested that the design team made a significant impact.
• The report shows that the portfolio grew.
• The report demonstrates substantial growth within the portfolio.

Complete the sentences

• Rigorous (assess) ____ of the portfolio was conducted in New York.
• It (appear) ____ that the metrics have improved significantly.
• Substantial strategic outcomes (achieve) ____ by the San Francisco team.
• The qualitative data (suggest) ____ higher engagement levels in Austin.
• Careful (evaluate) ____ of headline achievements is recommended.
• The former framework proved robust; (latter) ____ was discarded in Portland.

Sources: photo by Pavel Danilyuk on Pexels