Register and Formality

English LanguageAQAGCSEUnit: Foundation Skills
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The basics

📖 The Sentence That Sounds Wrong in an Exam

📖 The Sentence That Sounds Wrong in an Exam

A student writes about a travel article: “The writer is really good at making you feel excited about going there.”

The ideas are not wrong. But the register is. Really good at and you feel are the language of a text message, not an AQA analysis paper. The same thought, in the right register: “The writer uses vivid sensory detail to generate enthusiasm in the reader.” That sentence signals to the examiner that you can control how you write — not just what you say.

Spotlight
🔍 What Register Means and Why Examiners Care

Register is the choice of vocabulary, sentence structure, and tone that fits a particular purpose and audience. In AQA English Language analysis, the correct register is formal and analytical: precise vocabulary, impersonal constructions, measured tone, and no casual connectives or filler phrases.

Now try it yourself

Quiz · Question 1 of 11

Which of these sentences is written in the correct formal analytical register for AQA English Language?

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