4 Different Styles of Writing & Their Prerequisites (With Examples)

Some of the people ask me, why can we not stick to one writing style and master it?

The answer is simple, just like on different occasions, you need to put on different outfits, similarly as a writer you need to seamlessly switch between different styles of writing, as and when required.

For instance, if you are dealing with business writing, your pivotal aim is to make the audience understand it as quickly and efficiently as possible. This also implies on the assumption that your writing will be read by the audience at a speed as they would have a lot of other important things to do.

At the same time, when you are writing an article on adventure sports or travelogues, your prose has to thrill the reader so much so that he is at the edge of his seat while reading it.

Now, having said that, I do not mean that curb your own creative instinct and restrict your own writing style, just to write in a fixed, predefined fashion that matches the intention of the write-up.

Your Writing style just shows you the road-map, it is you who has to ultimately choose the words, phrases and learn the tactic to mix it aptly with your original writing. Also if you want to excel as a writer, there are various factors that should be taken under consideration, but taking the current volatile market trends under consideration, one has to be a Jack of all trades.

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In fact, before you learn about the different writing styles, you should also know that it is defined by word choice, pacing, structure, voice, and tone.

So before we jump on to the styles, let us quickly brush up with the basics.

Prerequisites of Writing Styles:

Word choice

1. Use only the words necessary, eliminating unnecessary flowery, repetitive, complex, and cluttered writing.
2. Select the specific words that convey meaning, create imagery, inspire emotion, and provoke responses.

Sentence Structure

1. Your words and thoughts should be arranged, logically ordered, easy to follow and also manage to grab attention.
2. Avoid too long sentences, keep them crisp and interesting.

Sentence flow

1. Learn the techniques such as alliteration, consonance, multisyllabic words, metaphor, simile, personification, onomatopoeia, hyperbole, and symbolism.
2. It helps you to make your passage more artistic.

Voice

1. Voice is a very important parameter.
2. It depicts the perspective from which the information is shared.
3. It is how readers hear the words.
4. Voice can also refer to perspective, such as writing in the first or third person.

Tone

1. This is the place where you have your personal writing style reflection.
2. It can be ornate with long, complex sentences, be packed with metaphors and imagery or might be straightforward, with sparse prose and simple sentences.
3. Explore at your best!

So, in order to make the life of a writer easier, we are here with the four most popular writing styles, their types, and examples.

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Different Styles of Writing

#1. Expository Style of Writing

• Expository writing, as the name suggests, it explains a particular subject to its readers.
• Expository writing style usually focuses on specific topics.
• The specific topics include relevant facts, figures, and descriptions. This also describes a process or any information that is ordered logically and sequentially.
• It would not include your opinions to convince the reader of a certain position on the information.
• The expository writing is typically impersonal or distant.

The most common places where Expository style is used are:

- Textbooks

- How-to books and articles

- Cookbooks

- News stories

- Business writing

- Technical writing

- Scientific writing

Examples of Expository Writing Style:

Apple is a renowned MNC. It has produced, best in the market mobile phones and people are going crazy about it day by day. As per the statistics, nearly 40 % of youth these days dream about buying an Apple Product.

#2. Descriptive Writing Style

• The descriptive writing style is very similar to expository writing style.
• In this style, the topic is explained to the reader, but with a very descriptive language.
• Let us think of all five senses (sight, sound, taste, touch, smell) and then we used them to create a vivid image for the reader.
• On the contrary to the expository writing style, the descriptive writing style is often personal and subjective, so your opinions do matter here!

The most common places where Descriptive style is used are:

- Poetry

- Diaries

- Journals

- Love letters

- Screenplays

Examples of Descriptive Writing Style:

The climate was very pleasant and the cool breeze was making it even better.  The sunshine was soft and the sun hides behind the clouds. The tea stall nearby was selling tea made up from Darjeelings best hand-picked tea leaves and while the seller was pouring the tea into the cup, the aroma literally floated up to my nostrils and enthralled them.

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#3. Persuasive /Argumentative Style of Writing

• As the name suggests, this style is used to convince the reader of a particular position or point of view.
• It contains the biases and opinions of the writer,
• Justifications, reasons,  arguments all are used in the effort to convince the reader.
• The aim through this writing style is to make the reader accept an idea, or take an action.

The most common places where Persuasive style is used are:

- Opinion columns

- Editorial pieces

- Advertisements and commercials

- Product reviews

- Sales presentations

- Speeches

- Recommendations and cover letters

Examples of Persuasive Writing Style:

We have to take a stand for the ladies who are standing tall for the fight for their and our dignity. We have to stop gossiping about other ladies and support them in everything they do. Jealousy and greed give nothing in return except hatred. Let us take a pledge to devote some time from our day to the betterment of our women.

#4. Narrative Form of Writing

• The narrative writing style is again self-explanatory by its name.
• It is used to tell a story, be it fact or fiction.
• As easy as it sounds, it is one of the most versatile styles.
• Here you don't stick to one style of writing but you are using the descriptive style while describing the plot or character to the user or the persuasive style of writing when you want them to understand a scene and also it allows you as a writer to create and explore from your own imagination.
• Needless to state, this type of writing is kind of story-centric and has nothing to do with the facts.
• You can reinvent yourself as a writer as using this writing style, you have to deal with characters and dialogue.
• It does not stop here, in this style you also have to keep the logical beginning, middle, and end in your mind.

The most common places where Narrative style is used are:

- Novels

- Short Stories

- Poetry

- Memoirs

- Biographies

Examples of Narrative Writing Style:

Any story from the novel would be an example of this writing style.

As we all know, the writer is the person who connects with his/her readers, without any physical expressions, yet expresses himself/herself as candidly as possible. A writer has to be a distinctively creative, quirky, witty, precisely descriptive and so on all at once!

It is rightly said that the writing style develops with time as a writer evolves, experiments, and takes on new projects. In order to become like one of most loved writers, what I have observed is that great writers are completely aware of their natural style but they merge it with different writing styles and practice writing in other styles to become more versatile.

Do tell me about your natural style and how will you challenge yourself to grow as a writer?