Collected and shared by Tran Manh Trung Hong Duc University Thanh Hoa

FORMAL AND INFORMAL WORD LIST

(Collected and selected by Tran Manh Trung Hong Duc University)
Rules for formal writing are quite strict, though often unstated. Formal writing is used in academic and
scientific settings whenever you want to convey your ideas to a wide audience, with many possible backgrounds
and assumptions. Unlike casual conversation or emails to friends, formal writing needs to be clear,
unambiguous, literal, and well structured.
Table 01:

Ord

INFORMAL/EVERYDAY

FORMAL/ACADEMIC

VIETNAMESE MEANING

01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09

a lot of/ loads of/ plenty of

a bit
to get together
to start/to begin
big
thing
stuff
to find out
to do again

a great deal of /numerous/ several

Somewhat (before adj. or adv.)/ slightly
to collaborate with sbd on smth
to initiate/to commence smth/v-ing
large (number/percentage), considerable
device/object
material
to ascertain/discover
to repeat

nhiu
mt cht t
cng tc
bt u khi u
ln, to ln
vt dng/vt th
cht liu, vt liu
tm ra, tm thy
lp li

Collected and shared by Tran Manh Trung Hong Duc University Thanh Hoa

10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
37
38

to do well
to set up
to cut down on
to go up
to come up with
to look into
to go up and down
to bring up a question
to get rid of
to turn down smth
to turn out smth
to take smth back
to put off smth
to put up with
to put away smth
to put down to smth
to come about
to give up
to go back/give back
to give off smth
to give away
to carry out smth
to seem
to climb
to help
to stop
to use
to shorten
to show
to go

to succeed
to establish
to reduce
to increase
to create
to investigate
to fluctuate
to raise a question
to eliminate
to refuse
to produce
to retract (a statement)
to postpone smth
to tolerate
to save
to attribute to
to occur
to relinquish
return to swh/ smth
to produce (heat)
to betray
to conduct
to appear
to ascend
to assist/ aid
to cease
to consume
to decrease/ to abbreviate
to demonstrate
to depart

thnh cng
thit lp
gim bt
tng ln
to ra
iu tra
dao ng
a ra vn
loi b
t chi
lm ra, to ra
rt li
hon li
chu ng
tit kim, dnh
quy cho, gn cho
xy ra
t b
tr li/ tr li
sn sinh, to ra
tit l, phn bi
tin hnh
hnh nh, dng nh
i ln, tng ln (s lng)
gip
dng li
dng, tiu dng
gim bt/ rt ngn
ch ra, chng minh
i, khi hnh

Collected and shared by Tran Manh Trung Hong Duc University Thanh Hoa

39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
67

to want
to end
to tell
to keep
to say no
to free
to mend/ to fix
to need
to live
in the end
at once
at the same time
at first
on and off
mainly
next
again and again
so
understanding
lack
chance
sweat
house
sight
friendly
whole
lively
lucky

to desire
to finish/ to terminate
to inform
preserve/ retain
to reject
to release/ to liberate
to repair
to require
to reside
finally/ultimately
immediately
simultaneously/ concurrently
initially
intermittently
principally/primarily
subsequently
repeatedly
therefore/ consequently
comprehension
deficiency
opportunity
perspiration
residence
vision
amiable
complete
energetically/animated
fortunate

mong mun
kt thc
thng tin, cho bit
gi gn/ gi
t chi
tr t do, phng thch
sa cha
cn
ti, trti
cui cng
ngay lp tc
ng thi, cng lc
u tin
gin on, lc clc khng
ch yu
tip theo
lp i lp li
vth, vvy
s hiu
s thiu ht
c hi, dp
m hi
ni c tr (count)
kh nng nhn, th gic
thn mt
ton b
y sinh lc/ sng ng
may mn

Collected and shared by Tran Manh Trung Hong Duc University Thanh Hoa

68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96

childish
wrong
worse
cheap
dim
mad
to lay back
in charge of
enough
better
clear
empty
to ask for
hot (topic)
more and more
to get
bad
to get worse
horrible
to come in
to talk about
to go down
to come up with
to look at
to pin down
to experience the influence of
Lets consider
I love/like/prefer
On top of that

immature/ infantile
incorrect/questionable
inferior to
inexpensive
indistinct
insane
to relax
responsible for
sufficient
superior to
transparent
vacant
to require/ to request
controversial
Increasingly/ unceasingly/non-stop
to obtain/ to receive
disappointing
to deteriorate
unacceptable
to enter
to discuss
to descend
to suggest
to examine
to determine
to be influenced
It is important to consider
Personally, I favour
Another point is

nh tr con (tnh cch)

sai/ cvn
thp km hn
r
khng rrng, m
in
th gin
chu trch nhim
y
tt hn, gii hn
rrng
trng khng
i hi, yu cu
ang gy tranh ci
tng ln khng ngng
t c, ly , mua
ti t, ng tht vng
tr nn xu i
khng th chp nhn, kinh khng
i vo
tho lun
i xung, gim xung
gi , a ra
xem xt
quyt tm , dt khot
chu nh hng
hy cn nhc, xem xt
Ti thch, ti ng h
mt im khc na l

Collected and shared by Tran Manh Trung Hong Duc University Thanh Hoa

97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
126

Government must make laws

In a nutshell
Every coin has two sides
by chance
to try
to swap
as far as x goes
to skip
by accident
kids
O.K
to make up for
to catch on smth
to go down with a disease
to go up
to get in touch with
to let somebody know
to call off
to sort out
to deal with
small
to think of
about
to do (research)
hard
to keep up
a lot
stand for
next

There is a need for laws

To state it briefly/ In brief
There are advantages and disadvantages to
Incidentally
to attempt/ to endeavor
to exchange
in respect of / with respect to
omit/not attend smth
accidentally
infants/offsprings
acceptable/ satisfactory
to compensate for
to understand
to contract a disease
to increase
to contact
to inform
to cancel
to resolve
to handle/ to address
minimal/limited/ modest
to conceive of/imagine
an estimated, approximately, roughly
to carry out, perform, undertake
difficult, problematic,challenging
to maintain
a substantial amount, a considerable sum
denote, represent
adjacent

cn clut v
tm li
mi vn u cu im vnhc im
nhn tin
c gng
trao i
i vi, v phn
b qua, khng tham d
ngu nhin, tnh c
tr em
c, chp nhn c
n b, bli
nm bt, hiu
mc bnh
tng ln
lin h. lin lc
cho bit
hu b, bi b
gii quyt, i n quyt nh
gii quyt, x l
nh, b
ngh v, suy tnh
khong chng
tin hnh (nghin cu), m nhim
kh khn
duy tr
nhiu
ch, thay cho
k cn

Collected and shared by Tran Manh Trung Hong Duc University Thanh Hoa

127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
152
153
154
155
156

prove
rich
the same as
drink
man
old people
crooks
great, awesome
sick of, fed up with
feature
before
to think (that)
Because
Nobody can say
I think that
About
And
but
to write a cheque
carefull/cautious
to check
to agree with
to go over
to hand / to give
In accordance with
to involve
lost
to make sure
to order

confirm
affluent, wealthy, prosperous
equivalent to
beverage (count)
male
senior citizens, retirees
offenders, lawbreakers
preferable, desirable
dissatisfied with
characteristic
Prior to
to assume (that)
Owing to or due to the fact that/As a result of
It is impossible to predict
It seems that/ It could be argued that
Regarding/ Concerning
as well as
while/whereas
to issue a checque
prudent (imprudent)/prudential
to verify
to be bound by
exeed
to submit
Pursuant to
to entail
inadvertently mislaid
to ensure
to authorise

khng nh
giu c
ging nhau, tng ng
ung
n ng
ngi cao tui
ti phm
tuyt vi, ng ao c
khng hi lng
c im
trc
cho rng
v
Khng cth d on trc
nNi ta ni rng
V, v phn
cn, cng nh
nng, khi m
vit t ngn phiu
cn thn, thn trng
kim tra
ng vi
vt qu, qumc
trnh ln, np
Phhp vi
ko theo, km theo
vtnh tht lc
m bo rng
u quyn

Collected and shared by Tran Manh Trung Hong Duc University Thanh Hoa

157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185

to pay
to supply
to take away
when we get
Whenever we like / want
One after the other
There are no big differences between
This shows that
to put smth into action
etc./ and so forth./ and so on.
i.e
e.g
vs.
nice/ cute
smart
come
lifestyle
19th century
workmate
tired
drunk
sad
who
to get your money back
to pay your bills
really
to go up to
to work
breathing

to settle
to furnish
to withdraw
On receipt of
Without prior notice
At regular intervals
No significant differences emerges between
This demonstrates that
To be implemented/ carried out
among other examples
namely, / that is,
For example,
versus/as apposed of
attractive
intelligent
arrive
way of life / manner of life
The nineteenth century
colleague
exhausted
intoxicated
dejected
whom ( i t tn ng, sau gii t)
refund your payment
to settle your account
extremely
to reach
to function
respiration

tr tin, thanh ton

cung cp
ly ra, rt (tin) ra
Khi nhn c
Khng bo trc
u n
Khng cs khc bit ng k no
iu ny ch ra rng
c tin hnh, c a vo hot ng
vv.v
tc l, chng hn
vd
chng li, ngc vi
hp dn, li cun
thng minh
n
li sng
Khng vit tt
ng nghip
mt mi
b say ru
bun, chn nn
ai
ly li tin
tr tin hon mua hng, thanh ton
cc k, vcng
ln ti (con s), t ti
hot ng
s hhp

Collected and shared by Tran Manh Trung Hong Duc University Thanh Hoa

186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214

meat-eater
chance
wrong
died out
relevant
relatives
copy
break
mix
preference
to come across
to do away with
to build up
to finish off
to back up
to put forward
to put across
to obey a law
poor country
Thats why/ why
new
dependence
quarrel
In the same way
to look for
way
money
to imagine
place

carnivore
opportunity
erroneous
extinct
pertinent
kindred
imitate
fracture
blend
predilection
to find
to abolish
to accumulate
to conclude
to support/to advocate
propose
to express
to comply with a law
developing country
For this reason, / the reason for
novel
surbodination
debate/dispute
Similarly,
to seek
manner/solution
currency
to conceive / conceivably
location

ng vt n tht
c hi
sai st
tuyt chng
thch ng, ng ch
h hng thn tc
bt chc
p v
pha trn
s thin v
tm thy
bi b
tch lu
kt lun
ng h
xut, ngh
biu l, by t
tun th php lut
nc ngho
Vldo ny
mi
s ph thuc
Ci nhau
Tng t nh vy
Tm kim
gii php
tin t
tng tng
ni, v tr

Collected and shared by Tran Manh Trung Hong Duc University Thanh Hoa

215
216
217
218
219
220
221
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244

viewpoint
fast/quickly
how much
when (conj)
In/For many years
to make smth better /to get better
To put on weight
verb + not + any + noun
verb + not + many/much + noun
to give
as you can be seen
wood
to describe
to learn by heart
to go on
may be
somehow
job
to take on
to give
dad
plane
(not) smoke.
to follow these guidelines.
gran/granny/nana
every year/ each year
glasses
shop
fridge

stance
rapidly/ as a matter of urgency
to what extent (not applicable to price or amount)
At the time of
During a considearble period of years
to improve/to upgrade
to gain weight
verb + no + noun
verb + few/little + noun
to provide
as can be seen
timber
to depict
to memorise
to continue
possibly, perhaps
in a certain way
occupation
employ
donate, contribute
father
aeroplane
to refrain from smoking
to adhere to these guidelines.
grandmother
annually
spectacles
retail outlet
refrigerator

10

lp trng, quan im
nhanh
ti mc no
Khi m
Trong nhiu nm
ci thin, lm cho tt hn
Tng cn
khng (ci g)
khng (ci g)
a cho, cung cp
nh ta cth thy
g
mt
ghi nh
tip tc
cl
bng cch no
ngh nghip
thu
cho, tng
b
my bay
khng ht thuc
theo s ch dn
b
hng nm
knh eo mt
ca hiu
t lnh

Collected and shared by Tran Manh Trung Hong Duc University Thanh Hoa

245
246
247
248
249
250

TV/ telly
boss
change
phone you back
bin man
and so on. / and so forth / etc.

television
employer
transform
return your call
refuse collector
among other examples. / or avoid using them

tivi
ng ch
chuyn i
gi in li
ngi thu rc
v.v.

Academic Language
The term academic language commonly refers to the language that is used in formal situations such as
classrooms, college or universities. Moreover, it is the language of textbooks and exams. Academic language is the
language used by teachers and students in order to acquire new knowledge and skills. It differs in structure and
vocabulary from language used in daily social interactions. This means that academic language includes
specialized vocabulary, as well as conventional text structures such as the use of nominal groups, i.e., groups of
words that provide more information about particular concepts. For example, the language of linguistics includes
words like morphology, language acquisition, or language learning.

Features of Academic Language

The uses of specific linguistic features depend on the discipline for which an assignment is written. For
example, an essay in history may contain a number of past tense verbs than a paper that discusses the dialects
spoken by a particular speech community in which the present tense verbs are used. The three features of academic
languag are lexical, grammatical, and discourse.

11

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IELTS Writing Task 2: Useful Language

Memorising set phrases for use in the IELTS test is a highly effective way of achieving a higher score. Try
learning the following signposting language which will make you sound more confident and sophisticated when
writing an opinion or argument essay in Task 2.
Introducing the topic

Some people argue that

Have you ever considered ?
The question raises the issue of

Stating an opinion (thesis statement)

I believe that
It is my belief that
This essay will argue that

Indicating the scope of the essay

In this essay, I will state

This essay will examine
will be covered in this essay.

12

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Giving reasons

One reason for this is that

This can be explained by
This can be attributed to the fact that

Giving further reasons

Not only that, but

A further reason is
It should also be stated that

Citing general opinions

It has been claimed that

It is widely believed that
There is a widespread belief that

Refuting opinions

I would dispute this, however.

However, this is not necessarily the case.
There are some faults with this reasoning, however.

Hedging strategies

It could be argued that

One explanation might be that

13

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This suggests that

Strengthening an argument

There can be no doubt that

Therefore, we can say beyond any doubt that
These are just some of the reasons why

Concluding and summarising

To sum up, / In summary, / In short,

Overall, / On the whole,
To return to my original idea,

14

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IELTS Writing Task 1: Useful Language

1. THE LANGUAGE OF APPROXIMATION
In report writing it is good style to use approximation. Approximation means describing numbers or
statistics by using a fraction that is similar to the exact number. There are a number of reasons for doing this.
Firstly, it is easier for people to understand and remember. Secondly, the numbers or statistics may be more
detailed than necessary.
Table 02:
Ord
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

numbers/statistics
65 %
28 %
21 %
49 %
74 %
33.333 %
92 %
98,5 %
19.98 %
26 %
48.873 %
74.25 %

similar fractions
about two-thirds of
just over a quarter of
about a fifth of
just under a half of
almost three quarters of
a third of
most of
almost all
about a fifth of
just over a quarter of
almost a half of
nearly three - quarters

Ord
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24

numbers/statistics
1,043
115
9
2
4
6/7
749,982
1,256,890,534
101,997
248.112
1,695,193
97

15

similar fractions
over a thousand
over a hundred
fewer than ten
a small number
a few
several
about three-quarters of a million
over 1.2 billion
about 100,000
a quarter of a million
about 1.7 million
just under a hundred

Collected and shared by Tran Manh Trung Hong Duc University Thanh Hoa

2. THE WORDS AND PHRASES TO DESCRIBE TRENDS:

Table 03:

Nouns

a rise
an increase
a surge
a growth
a peak
a fluctuation
a variation
a period of stability
a plateau
a fall
a decrease
a decline
a dip

Verbs

to rise
to increase
to surge
to grow
to peak
to skyrocket
to fluctuate
to vary
to fall
to decrease
to decline

16

Collected and shared by Tran Manh Trung Hong Duc University Thanh Hoa

to dip
to dive
to plunge

Phrases

to show an upward trend

to show a downward trend
to hit the highest point
to hit the lowest point
to reach a peak
to show some fluctuation
to fluctuate wildly
to remain stable
to remain static
to remain unchanged
to stay constant
to reach a plateau
to level off
to flatten out
the highest
the lowest
the second highest
the third highest
compared to
compared with
relative to

Adverbs

sharply
suddenly
rapidly
abruptly
dramatically

17

Collected and shared by Tran Manh Trung Hong Duc University Thanh Hoa

significantly
steadily
considerably
markedly
slightly
gently
gradually
wildly

Adjectives

sharp
sudden
rapid
abrupt
dramatic
steep
significant
steady
considerable
marked
slight
gentle
gradual

18