Writing Exercises
Register: Adjusting Your Writer’s Voice
February 11, 2026
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Do the exercise for Practice - Read at meeting time permitting
Select Exercise 1 (Less Challenging) or Exercise 2 (More Challenging)
Exercise 1 Basic (Less Challenging)
Write the basic concept: “How to make a sandwich" in these registers:
Frozen: Write a ceremonial or fixed instruction as though it’s a legal or sacred text.
Formal: Use precise, professional language as if writing for an instruction manual.
Consultative: Imagine explaining it to a colleague in a polite, semi-formal way.
Casual: Pretend you’re texting a friend or chatting informally.
Intimate: Imagine it’s a private joke or playful note to someone very close.
Exercise 2 Advanced (More Challenging)
Write a brief scene with dialogue where Country store operator, Lottie Turner, succeeds in explaining to a Federal bureaucrat how to get to Frank Jones’s farm that’s located on Rural Route 2, Pebble Creek Road, Lone Oak, Arkansas
Be prepared to identify the register(s) used.
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