Types of Writing Styles – Everything You Need to Know
Have you ever wondered what makes you like the writings of one writer and cringe at the other one?
Do you ever wonder how writers can write in so many different types of writing styles since there are countless types of literature?
If you have ever thought of any of the above, then this blog is just the thing that you need to read.
I’ve tried to explain everything that you need to know about writing styles.
This blog will not only help you to understand different writing styles, but it’ll also help you in polishing your style.
So, let’s dig in and find out what the whole deal is about.
What Is a Writing Style Anyway?
Every author has a unique way of communicating with their readers through their words.
They create a personality and voice of their content by choosing the overall tone of their writing.
This writing tone can be called the writing style of the author.
There are thousands of writers out there, and almost every single one of them has their own unique writing style and tone.
However, you’ll be surprised to know that there are only four basic types of writing styles.
Every piece of literature ever written falls in the ambit of these basic four styles.
Why Your Style of Writing is Important?
Believe it or not, but the truth is that the writers usually don’t plan their writing style in particular.
It is something that they develop naturally.
Where it is true that your writing style is based on how you present your words to the reader, or how deeply you are familiar with the beauty of your language, it is also true that modern writing is not just about phrasing beautiful sentences.
The competition out there is fierce.
If you want to make your name out there through your writings, then you simply can’t afford to naturally develop a style and polish it, as it will take a lot of prime time of your career as a writer.
So, you need to take a short and learn about writing styles before you start writing.
What Are the Types of Writing Styles?
Grammatically speaking, the method that you choose to explain your story, point of view, news, information, etc. to your readers is your writing style.
As I have told earlier, all the literature present in the world comes under the umbrella of four basic writing styles.
Following is the detailed description of each of these writing styles with writing style examples:
1. Narrative Writing
Whether it is fiction or nonfiction, the narrative writing style is used in almost every longer piece of writing.
No doubt, this writing style is mostly used in fiction as it describes the plot and characters in a very impactful manner.
However, a lot of nonfiction writing is also done in narrative style when the focus is on characters and what do they do and how do they do it.
Techniques of Narrative Writing
Style and plot are two basic and the most important components of narrative writing. The common techniques used to build the narrative style are metaphors, similes, personification, imagery, hyperbole, and alliteration. Similarly, conventional techniques used to construct an excellent plot of the story using the narrative style of writing are the sequence of events that make up a narrative, include backstory, flashback, flash-forward, and foreshadowing.
Example of Narrative Writing
Any elaborate dialogue or scenic description in any book or piece of writing is the example of narrative writing style.
A simple sentence like, “My brother is going to China tomorrow” is an example of the narrative sentence as it is helping the reader to understand the story through character (brother) and plot (going to China).
2. Expository Writing
If you want to explain something to your readers on a given subject or topic, then you’ll use the expository style of writing.
It is a writing method in which the author explains everything about the topic to their readers without voicing their personal opinion about the topic.
In simple words, an expository writing style is fact-based without any opinion. Basically, its facts that come straight from the writer to the reader.
Techniques of Expository Writing
There are different types of tones to write different types of content.
The tone that is mostly used in expository content is neutral.
The language is kept simple as the primary goal of this writing style is to provide information to the reader in the simplest possible way.
Areas That Expository Writing Deals With
Due to its unbiased and straightforward nature, the expository writing style is used in the following areas:
Academic Writing
The academic content must be simple and easy to understand for the readers without getting confused.
Therefore, most of the academic writing is done in an expository writing style.
Writing Related to Business
All the business and official writings, including emails, newsletters, notifications, etc. are written in expository form.
Writing Style That Journalists Use
When journalists report a piece of news in the newspaper, they have to be very careful with the language so that nothing is misperceived.
Therefore, this writing style is used to ensure that the news reaches to the readers in its authentic and unbiased form.
Technical Writing
Technical writing is in itself a challenge as the writer has to deliver the technical information to the readers in a way that can be understood by people with no technical background.
It is the reason that most of the technical content is written in expository form.
Content Writing
Similar to technical writing, content writing also uses expository style as the main purpose of content writing is to deliver the message to the readers in an effective and simple manner.
Example of Expository Writing
“This afternoon at 2 pm, a man died in a car accident near street #28.
Two people, a man, and a woman were critically injured and admitted to hospital. “
The expository writing style is used in the above lines to deliver news about an incident that has happened.
If you notice carefully, there is nothing but facts in the above lines.
Although it is a news example, almost all the expository content is of a similar nature.
3. Descriptive Writing
The descriptive style of writing is used by the authors to explain details and paint a picture through their words.
A descriptive form of writing has the potential to figuratively take the readers to the places where they have never been.
Authors sometimes use descriptive and sensory details in their writings to enhance the experience of the readers.
Techniques of Descriptive Writing
It is relatively a difficult form of writing as the writer has to be extremely focused from the very start to the last word of their writing piece.
Therefore, the use of words is very critical in a descriptive form of writing. Writers usually focus on the details from the reader’s point of view.
Poetry
The descriptive writing style is mostly poetic in nature.
It is the reason that many poets use this style in their poems to explain their thoughts clearly to their readers.
For example, the world-famous poem “Daffodils” by William Wordsworth is a classic example of descriptive poetry.
Drama
Similar to poetry, the major part of drama writing also constitutes of descriptive writing.
A drama writer explains the whole scene of the stage through his words, and it seems so real that you feel that you are actually watching the play while reading it.
Examples of Descriptive Writing
“The waves waltz along the seashore, going up and down in a gentle and graceful rhythm, like dancing.”
In the above sentence, a description of how the waves are moving in the ocean is presented in a descriptive manner.
Notice that the words like “gentle, graceful rhythm, and dancing are used to explain to the readers the intensity of the waves and how one may feel them when they see such waves in the ocean.
4. Persuasive Writing
The simplest definition of persuasive writing is that it is the written form of an oral debate.
If you are trying to convince or persuade your readers about your opinions and views about a certain subject, then you must use the persuasive style of writing.
Remember that it is not just to make people agree with your opinion.
More often than not, your end goal could be to make people purchase something you are selling or to buy the services that you are offering.
Techniques of Persuasive Writing
As the ultimate goal of persuasive writing is to achieve something at the end of the day, a writer can’t afford to take any risks.
Therefore, a writer needs to be well versed in word selection, framing logical arguments and creating a strong, cohesive closing argument.
Copywriting
Most of the copywriting is done in the persuasive style of writing. It is because the purpose of copywriting is to make sure that the reader ends up buying the product that you are trying to sell.
Content Writing
Content writing covers almost all four writing styles, but the persuasive writing style is one of the most commonly used methods when it comes to writing the content for websites, guest posts, or other such content types.
Opinionated Writing
Op-eds are mostly written in the persuasive style of writing as they are opinionated orated and the writer tries to convince the readers about their views on a certain subject or issue.
Examples of Persuasive Writing
“XYZ is the crispiest, crunchiest, and most delicious brand of chips you will ever taste. Buy a bag today.”
In this example, the writer is trying to convince the readers to buy the chips by explaining the characteristics of the chips. Hence, it is an example of persuasive writing that is used for advertisement purposes.
How to Develop Your Writing Style – Simple Tips and Techniques
Now that you pretty much everything about the types of writing styles and their usage, the next step is to improve your writing style.
Here are some very helpful tried and tested tips and techniques that will help you to ace your writing game:
Know the Importance of Elements of Writing
Any good piece of writing is a combination of certain writing elements.
It is very critical that you understand the importance of them whenever you start to write anything.
The most important writing elements are an organization, supporting material, your expression, choice of words, spellings, and good grammatical skills.
So, whenever you start writing, make sure that you are not missing from these.
Remember that each writing style has its own unique value. So, make sure that the writing style you are choosing does justice to the topic you have in your mind.
Always Try to Remain Original
There is no harm in getting inspiration from the writings of great authors.
If anything, inspired writing is encouraged in the literary world. But, there is a huge difference between being inspired by a writer and copying their writing style.
Always make sure that you come up with original and authentic writings.
You’ll need to explore your own style of expression if you aim to be a good writer one day.
Staying Focused is the Key
Before you start writing something, take all the time you need.
But, once you start writing something, there should not be anything else on your mind.
You should give your undivided attention to your writing project.
Otherwise, you’ll not be able to follow any writing style with consistency, and your content will lack quality and readers will quickly lose their interest in your work.
Don’t Mislead Your Readers
Be it fiction writing, or be it a simple website blog, you need to ensure that your reader is not misled.
For fiction, you have to provide them with a consistent story that is well linked from the first to last page.
For other genres of writing, you need to make sure that regardless of your writing style, you always provide your readers with valuable content that is not factually incorrect.
Your content must never mislead your reader into believing something that is not true in the first place. It will badly affect your credibility as a writer.
Make it Simple and Easy for Readers
Gone are the days when people used to spend their day reading.
Now, the attention span of the reader is very short.
If the content is difficult to read, then the reader will simply opt not to read it rather than investing a little time and energy to understand what message you are trying to deliver through your writing.
So, always make sure that you make you’re writing simple and easy for the reader so that they don’t lose interest and keep reading until the last word of your work.
Be Adaptable in Your Tone
You should always have a strong and compelling voice in your writings.
However, adapting your writing tone according to the requirements of the subject or topic in question is the key to write amazing content every single time.
Always Try to Step Out of Your Comfort Zone
One of the most common mistakes that writers do is that they don’t step out of their comfort zones and miss the opportunities that they may have gotten if they were ready to try new things.
If you want to learn new things and grow as a writer, then it is very important for you to make sure that you give different writing styles and a shot and explore your potentials as a writer.
Don’t Forget to Read Good Content
A good writer is always a good reader.
Therefore, no matter how good of a writer you think you are, you must spend a good part of your day reading.
Make sure that you read the quality content and incorporate the newly learned skills from it in your upcoming writings.
Don’t be biased about a certain writing style and read all the genres to enhance your knowledge about the writing styles and improve your skills.
A Final Word
The world is full of hidden gems.
There is a great number of talented people out there who can do wonders if they start writing.
If you think you are one of those people, then give yourself a try today and start writing.
With the help of the writing styles list given in this blog and with the help of writing style examples, you can practice writing in different types of tone in writing. So, what are you waiting for?
Let Us Help You
If you have any writing projects and wondering if you can get them done with the help of professionals, then feel free to contact us and our writing experts take care of your project.
Leave a Comment