Casa ESL · C1 Advanced · Unit 18 of 20 · Step 2
Register Shifts — Formal to Informal, Written to Spoken
Name
Date
Vocabulary
sensationalism
nounThe use of exciting or shocking language or images to provoke public interest at the expense of accuracy.
"Sensationalism in reporting undermines public trust in the media."
editorial
adjectiveRelating to the commissioning or preparation of material for publication; expressing an opinion rather than reporting facts.
"The editorial decision to run the story was widely criticised."
clickbait
nounOnline content designed to attract attention and encourage visitors to click on a link, often misleading.
"Clickbait headlines prioritise engagement over accuracy."
objectivity
nounJudgement based on observable phenomena and uninfluenced by personal feelings or prejudice.
"Complete objectivity in journalism is debated as both ideal and impossibility."
corroborate
verbTo confirm or give support to a statement, theory, or finding with additional evidence.
"Ethical journalists corroborate claims with multiple independent sources."
defamation
nounThe action of damaging the good reputation of someone through false statements.
"The politician filed a defamation suit against the newspaper."
redaction
nounThe process of editing text for publication, especially censoring sensitive information.
"Heavy redaction of the report raised questions about transparency."
accountability
nounThe fact of being responsible for what one does and able to give a satisfactory reason for it.
"Media accountability mechanisms vary significantly between countries."
Grammar Focus
Register shifts: formal to informal, written to spoken
Register is the level of formality appropriate to a particular context. Formal features include: passive voice, nominalisation, Latinate vocabulary, complex sentences, impersonal constructions. Informal features include: active voice, phrasal verbs, shorter sentences, contractions, first/second person, colloquialisms. Written register tends to be more dense and explicit; spoken register relies on context, intonation, and shared knowledge. Skilled communicators shift register deliberately: a press release uses formal register; a podcast discussing the same story uses informal register. The ability to transform between registers is a key C1 competency.
Formal: 'The publication of unverified claims constitutes a serious breach of journalistic ethics.' → Informal: 'Putting out stuff you haven't checked is really bad journalism.'
Formal: 'It is incumbent upon media organisations to uphold standards of accuracy.' → Informal: 'News outlets need to make sure they get things right.'
Formal: 'The proliferation of misinformation poses a significant threat to democratic discourse.' → Informal: 'Fake news is a big problem for democracy.'
Formal: 'An investigation was subsequently undertaken.' → Informal: 'They looked into it after that.'
Exercises
Exercise 1
Rewrite each formal sentence in informal register.
1. Formal: 'The dissemination of unverified information is to be avoided.' → Informal:
2. Formal: 'A comprehensive investigation was undertaken.' → Informal:
3. Formal: 'The editor acknowledged that errors had been made.' → Informal:
4. Formal: 'Accountability mechanisms are insufficiently robust.' → Informal:
5. Formal: 'It is essential that sources be corroborated.' → Informal:
Exercise 2
Match each formal expression with its informal equivalent.
Reading
Who Watches the Watchdogs?
The question of media accountability has never been more pressing. In an era when information — and misinformation — proliferates at unprecedented speed, the traditional mechanisms for holding journalists and media organisations to account appear inadequate. Formal complaints processes, press councils, and defamation law were designed for a world of print newspapers and scheduled broadcasts. They were not designed for a world in which anyone with a smartphone can reach millions of people in seconds. The challenge, put simply, is this: who checks the checkers? Sensationalism and clickbait are not new phenomena, but the economic incentives of the digital age have turbocharged them. Getting clicks pays; getting things right often does not. Some commentators argue that the market will self-correct — that audiences will gravitate towards reliable sources. Others are not so sure. 'Look,' as one media critic put it in a recent podcast, 'people don't share boring headlines. They share the outrageous stuff, even if it's rubbish.' The tension between formal analysis and everyday observation captures the central dilemma: we know what ethical journalism looks like in theory, but the structures that would support it in practice are crumbling. It is high time that this gap was addressed — not with nostalgia for a golden age that may never have existed, but with creative solutions adapted to the reality of the digital landscape.
1. Why does the passage argue that traditional accountability mechanisms are inadequate?
2. How does the passage illustrate the difference between formal and informal register?
Speaking
Discuss these questions with a partner or your teacher.
Writing
Write two versions of the same paragraph about a media ethics issue: one in formal academic register and one in informal conversational register. Each version should be 4–5 sentences.
Example: Formal: The proliferation of algorithmically curated content poses a significant threat to informed democratic participation. It is essential that regulatory frameworks be updated to address the opacity of platform decision-making. Informal: The way social media feeds show you what you want to see — not what you need to know — is a real problem for democracy. We need new rules that force these platforms to be transparent about how their algorithms work.
Answer Key — For Teacher Use
Exercise 1
1. Don't share stuff you haven't checked. / You shouldn't spread things that haven't been verified. · 2. They did a full investigation. / They looked into it properly. · 3. The editor admitted they'd made mistakes. · 4. There aren't enough ways to hold people accountable. / The accountability systems aren't good enough. · 5. You've got to check your sources. / Sources need to be double-checked.
Exercise 2
1. The publication subsequently retracted the article. → The paper pulled the story afterwards. · 2. A thorough investigation was conducted. → They looked into it properly. · 3. The journalist's objectivity was called into question. → People questioned whether the journalist was being fair. · 4. It is incumbent upon the editor to verify all claims. → The editor needs to check everything. · 5. The proliferation of clickbait has undermined trust. → All this clickbait has made people stop trusting the news.
Reading Comprehension
1. They were designed for print newspapers and scheduled broadcasts, not for a world where anyone with a smartphone can reach millions instantly. · 2. It contrasts formal analysis ('The proliferation of misinformation poses a threat…') with a media critic's informal podcast quote ('people don't share boring headlines. They share the outrageous stuff, even if it's rubbish').