diff --git a/lib/twitter/client/activity.rb b/lib/twitter/client/activity.rb
index 98c3485f9..305a3a9fc 100644
--- a/lib/twitter/client/activity.rb
+++ b/lib/twitter/client/activity.rb
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ module Activity
       # @example Return activity about me
       #   Twitter.about_me
       def about_me(options={})
-        get("i/activity/about_me", options, :json)
+        get("i/activity/about_me", options, :format => :json)
       end
 
       # Returns activity by friends
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ def about_me(options={})
       # @example Return activity by friends
       #   Twitter.by_friends
       def by_friends(options={})
-        get("i/activity/by_friends", options, :json)
+        get("i/activity/by_friends", options, :format => :json)
       end
     end
   end
diff --git a/lib/twitter/client/block.rb b/lib/twitter/client/block.rb
index 684dbacbe..cfb0875b6 100644
--- a/lib/twitter/client/block.rb
+++ b/lib/twitter/client/block.rb
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ def unblock(user, options={})
       #   Twitter.block?(7505382)  # Same as above
       def block?(user, options={})
         merge_user_into_options!(user, options)
-        get('1/blocks/exists', options, :raw)
+        get('1/blocks/exists', options, :format => :json, :raw => true)
         true
       rescue Twitter::NotFound
         false
diff --git a/lib/twitter/client/geo.rb b/lib/twitter/client/geo.rb
index cc419ffeb..7ca4f7f98 100644
--- a/lib/twitter/client/geo.rb
+++ b/lib/twitter/client/geo.rb
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ module Geo
       # @example Return an array of places near the IP address 74.125.19.104
       #   Twitter.places_nearby(:ip => "74.125.19.104")
       def places_nearby(options={})
-        get('1/geo/search', options, :json)['result']['places']
+        get('1/geo/search', options, :format => :json)['result']['places']
       end
       alias :geo_search :places_nearby
 
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ def places_nearby(options={})
       # @example Return an array of places similar to Twitter HQ
       #   Twitter.places_similar(:lat => "37.7821120598956", :long => "-122.400612831116", :name => "Twitter HQ")
       def places_similar(options={})
-        get('1/geo/similar_places', options, :json)['result']
+        get('1/geo/similar_places', options, :format => :json)['result']
       end
 
       # Searches for up to 20 places that can be used as a place_id
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ def places_similar(options={})
       # @example Return an array of places within the specified region
       #   Twitter.reverse_geocode(:lat => "37.7821120598956", :long => "-122.400612831116")
       def reverse_geocode(options={})
-        get('1/geo/reverse_geocode', options, :json)['result']['places']
+        get('1/geo/reverse_geocode', options, :format => :json)['result']['places']
       end
 
       # Returns all the information about a known place
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ def reverse_geocode(options={})
       # @example Return all the information about Twitter HQ
       #   Twitter.place("247f43d441defc03")
       def place(place_id, options={})
-        get("1/geo/id/#{place_id}", options, :json)
+        get("1/geo/id/#{place_id}", options, :format => :json)
       end
 
       # Creates a new place at the given latitude and longitude
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ def place(place_id, options={})
       # @example Create a new place
       #   Twitter.place_create(:name => "@sferik's Apartment", :token => "22ff5b1f7159032cf69218c4d8bb78bc", :contained_within => "41bcb736f84a799e", :lat => "37.783699", :long => "-122.393581")
       def place_create(options={})
-        post('1/geo/place', options, :json)
+        post('1/geo/place', options, :format => :json)
       end
     end
   end
diff --git a/lib/twitter/client/list_members.rb b/lib/twitter/client/list_members.rb
index aeae35651..78d0c5261 100644
--- a/lib/twitter/client/list_members.rb
+++ b/lib/twitter/client/list_members.rb
@@ -193,7 +193,7 @@ def list_member?(*args)
         merge_list_into_options!(list, options)
         merge_owner_into_options!(user, options)
         merge_user_into_options!(user_to_check, options)
-        get("1/lists/members/show", options, :raw)
+        get("1/lists/members/show", options, :format => :json, :raw => true)
         true
       rescue Twitter::NotFound, Twitter::Forbidden
         false
diff --git a/lib/twitter/client/list_subscribers.rb b/lib/twitter/client/list_subscribers.rb
index 23a68e8af..8414b99ea 100644
--- a/lib/twitter/client/list_subscribers.rb
+++ b/lib/twitter/client/list_subscribers.rb
@@ -145,7 +145,7 @@ def list_subscriber?(*args)
         merge_list_into_options!(list, options)
         merge_owner_into_options!(user, options)
         merge_user_into_options!(user_to_check, options)
-        get("1/lists/subscribers/show", options, :raw)
+        get("1/lists/subscribers/show", options, :format => :json, :raw => true)
         true
       rescue Twitter::NotFound, Twitter::Forbidden
         false
diff --git a/lib/twitter/client/search.rb b/lib/twitter/client/search.rb
index ab0969665..f70e99b32 100644
--- a/lib/twitter/client/search.rb
+++ b/lib/twitter/client/search.rb
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ def videos(q, options={})
       # @example Return recent statuses related to twitter with images and videos embedded
       #   Twitter.search('twitter')
       def search(q, options={})
-        response = get('phoenix_search', options.merge(:q => q), :phoenix)['statuses']
+        response = get('phoenix_search', options.merge(:q => q), :format => :phoenix)['statuses']
       end
     end
   end
diff --git a/lib/twitter/client/trends.rb b/lib/twitter/client/trends.rb
index abfd10591..be8a3505a 100644
--- a/lib/twitter/client/trends.rb
+++ b/lib/twitter/client/trends.rb
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ module Trends
       # @example Return the top ten topics that are currently trending on Twitter
       #   Twitter.trends
       def trends(options={})
-        get('1/trends', options, :json)['trends']
+        get('1/trends', options, :format => :json)['trends']
       end
 
       # Returns the current top 10 trending topics on Twitter
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ def trends(options={})
       # @example Return the current top 10 trending topics on Twitter
       #   Twitter.trends_current
       def trends_current(options={})
-        get('1/trends/current', options, :json)['trends']
+        get('1/trends/current', options, :format => :json)['trends']
       end
 
       # Returns the top 20 trending topics for each hour in a given day
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ def trends_current(options={})
       # @example Return the top 20 trending topics for each hour of October 24, 2010
       #   Twitter.trends_daily(Date.parse("2010-10-24"))
       def trends_daily(date=Date.today, options={})
-        get('1/trends/daily', options.merge(:date => date.strftime('%Y-%m-%d')), :json)['trends']
+        get('1/trends/daily', options.merge(:date => date.strftime('%Y-%m-%d')), :format => :json)['trends']
       end
 
       # Returns the top 30 trending topics for each day in a given week
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ def trends_daily(date=Date.today, options={})
       # @example Return the top ten topics that are currently trending on Twitter
       #   Twitter.trends_weekly(Date.parse("2010-10-24"))
       def trends_weekly(date=Date.today, options={})
-        get('1/trends/weekly', options.merge(:date => date.strftime('%Y-%m-%d')), :json)['trends']
+        get('1/trends/weekly', options.merge(:date => date.strftime('%Y-%m-%d')), :format => :json)['trends']
       end
     end
   end
diff --git a/lib/twitter/client/tweets.rb b/lib/twitter/client/tweets.rb
index d3c98b1c9..df4a49deb 100644
--- a/lib/twitter/client/tweets.rb
+++ b/lib/twitter/client/tweets.rb
@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ def update(status, options={})
       #     download the pic and put the response in a StringIO object
       #   Twitter.update("I just posted a status update with a pic via the Twitter Ruby Gem!", {'io' => StringIO.new(pic), 'type' => 'jpg'})
       def update_with_media(status, image, options={})
-        response = post('1/statuses/update_with_media', options.merge('media[]' => image, 'status' => status), format, media_endpoint)
+        response = post('1/statuses/update_with_media', options.merge('media[]' => image, 'status' => status), :endpoint => media_endpoint)
         format.to_s.downcase == 'xml' ? response['status'] : response
       end
 
diff --git a/lib/twitter/client/urls.rb b/lib/twitter/client/urls.rb
index 378110551..d33a5603e 100644
--- a/lib/twitter/client/urls.rb
+++ b/lib/twitter/client/urls.rb
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ module Urls
       #   Twitter.resolve(['http://t.co/uw5bn1w', 'http://t.co/dXvMz9i']) # Same as above
       def resolve(*args)
         options = args.last.is_a?(Hash) ? args.pop : {}
-        get("1/urls/resolve", options.merge("urls[]" => args), :json)
+        get("1/urls/resolve", options.merge("urls[]" => args), :format => :json)
       end
     end
   end
diff --git a/lib/twitter/client/user.rb b/lib/twitter/client/user.rb
index 368d95f91..d24e85214 100644
--- a/lib/twitter/client/user.rb
+++ b/lib/twitter/client/user.rb
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ def user(*args)
       # @rate_limited Yes
       def user?(user, options={})
         merge_user_into_options!(user, options)
-        get('1/users/show', options, :raw)
+        get('1/users/show', options, :format => :json, :raw => true)
         true
       rescue Twitter::NotFound
         false
@@ -153,7 +153,7 @@ def suggest_users(slug, options={})
       def profile_image(*args)
         options = args.last.is_a?(Hash) ? args.pop : {}
         screen_name = args.first || get_screen_name
-        get("1/users/profile_image/#{screen_name}", options, :raw).headers['location']
+        get("1/users/profile_image/#{screen_name}", options, :format => :json, :raw => true).headers['location']
       end
 
       # Returns a user's friends
diff --git a/lib/twitter/connection.rb b/lib/twitter/connection.rb
index fa5995f8f..ac7af6aa5 100644
--- a/lib/twitter/connection.rb
+++ b/lib/twitter/connection.rb
@@ -11,19 +11,16 @@ module Twitter
   module Connection
     private
 
-    def connection(format=format, temp_api_endpoint=nil)
-      options = {
+    def connection(options={})
+      Faraday.new(
         :headers => {
           'Accept' => "application/#{format}",
           'User-Agent' => user_agent
         },
         :proxy => proxy,
         :ssl => {:verify => false},
-      }
-
-      options[:url] = temp_api_endpoint ? temp_api_endpoint : api_endpoint
-
-      Faraday.new(options) do |builder|
+        :url => options.fetch(:endpoint, api_endpoint)
+      ) do |builder|
         builder.use Faraday::Request::Phoenix
         builder.use Faraday::Request::MultipartWithFile
         builder.use Faraday::Request::TwitterOAuth, authentication if authenticated?
@@ -31,13 +28,15 @@ def connection(format=format, temp_api_endpoint=nil)
         builder.use Faraday::Request::UrlEncoded
         builder.use Faraday::Request::Gateway, gateway if gateway
         builder.use Faraday::Response::RaiseHttp4xx
-        case format.to_s.downcase
-        when 'json', 'phoenix'
-          builder.use Faraday::Response::Mashify
-          builder.use Faraday::Response::ParseJson
-        when 'xml'
-          builder.use Faraday::Response::Mashify
-          builder.use Faraday::Response::ParseXml
+        unless options[:raw]
+          case options.fetch(:format, format).to_s.downcase
+          when 'json', 'phoenix'
+            builder.use Faraday::Response::Mashify
+            builder.use Faraday::Response::ParseJson
+          when 'xml'
+            builder.use Faraday::Response::Mashify
+            builder.use Faraday::Response::ParseXml
+          end
         end
         builder.use Faraday::Response::RaiseHttp5xx
         builder.adapter(adapter)
diff --git a/lib/twitter/request.rb b/lib/twitter/request.rb
index 321a07c0e..443709687 100644
--- a/lib/twitter/request.rb
+++ b/lib/twitter/request.rb
@@ -2,47 +2,42 @@ module Twitter
   # Defines HTTP request methods
   module Request
     # Perform an HTTP GET request
-    def get(path, options={}, format=format)
-      request(:get, path, options, format)
+    def get(path, params={}, options={})
+      request(:get, path, params, options)
     end
 
-    def post(path, options={}, format=format, temp_api_endpoint=nil)
-      request(:post, path, options, format, temp_api_endpoint)
+    def post(path, params={}, options={})
+      request(:post, path, params, options)
     end
 
     # Perform an HTTP PUT request
-    def put(path, options={}, format=format)
-      request(:put, path, options, format)
+    def put(path, params={}, options={})
+      request(:put, path, params, options)
     end
 
     # Perform an HTTP DELETE request
-    def delete(path, options={}, format=format)
-      request(:delete, path, options, format)
+    def delete(path, params={}, options={})
+      request(:delete, path, params, options)
     end
 
     private
 
     # Perform an HTTP request
-    def request(method, path, options, format, temp_api_endpoint=nil)
-      response = connection(format, temp_api_endpoint).send(method) do |request|
+    def request(method, path, params, options)
+      response = connection(options).send(method) do |request|
         case method.to_sym
         when :get, :delete
-          request.url(formatted_path(path, format), options)
+          request.url(formatted_path(path, options), params)
         when :post, :put
-          request.path = formatted_path(path, format)
-          request.body = options unless options.empty?
+          request.path = formatted_path(path, options)
+          request.body = params unless params.empty?
         end
       end
-      'raw' == format.to_s.downcase ? response : response.body
+      options[:raw] ? response : response.body
     end
 
-    def formatted_path(path, format)
-      case format.to_s.downcase
-      when 'json', 'phoenix', 'xml'
-        [path, format].compact.join('.')
-      when 'raw'
-        [path, Twitter.format].compact.join('.')
-      end
+    def formatted_path(path, options={})
+      [path, options.fetch(:format, format)].compact.join('.')
     end
   end
 end
diff --git a/lib/twitter/search.rb b/lib/twitter/search.rb
index eed25f155..4cd3dec8c 100644
--- a/lib/twitter/search.rb
+++ b/lib/twitter/search.rb
@@ -442,7 +442,7 @@ def next_page?
     #   search.fetch_next_page
     def fetch_next_page
       if next_page?
-        @cache = get("search", CGI.parse(@cache["next_page"][1..-1]), :json)
+        @cache = get("search", CGI.parse(@cache["next_page"][1..-1]), :format => :json)
         @cache.results
       end
     end
@@ -457,7 +457,7 @@ def fetch(force=false)
       if @cache.nil? || force
         options = query.dup
         options[:q] = options[:q].join(" ")
-        @cache = get("search", options, :json)
+        @cache = get("search", options, :format => :json)
       end
       @cache.results
     end