Writing Styles: The Four Main Types
Many people think that a writing style is a unique characteristic; therefore, it is impossible to identify any obvious pattern. While it is particularly true as the writing style reflects the personality, we still can distinguish several main types.
What is Writing Style?
Generally, the writing style is the way an author writes. Sounds quite simple, doesn’t it? To analyze this definition in greater depth, here are more details. Your style in writing is the number of techniques that you apply to your text. It includes your sentence structure, syntax, and overall tone or mood. The style varies from person to person and depends on the goal of writing.
Experts usually distinguish four types of writing. They are narrative, expository, persuasive, and descriptive. Let’s have a look at the peculiarities of each of them. As for the best tips for writing with examples, you can find them here.
Expository Writing
This type is considered the most common style, as you can find it everywhere, from kitchen recipes to newspapers. The primary purpose of expository writing (as the name implies) is to explain something, exposing information from a writer to readers.
Expository type of writing doesn’t involve the author’s views or ideas. On the contrary, it is concentrated on proven facts and opinions about a particular topic and usually contains figures and other data. Expository writing is generally organized in a sequential or logical order.
Persuasive Writing
This type is particularly relevant for all students as it is the most widely-used style in academic papers. The primary goal of persuasive writing is to persuade the readers of something, usually a position or concept.
Persuasive writing is full of personal beliefs and preferences. It also includes arguments given by the writers to prove their point of view. Any well-written “for and against” essay is an excellent example of persuasive writing.
Narrative Writing
This type is widely used in fiction as well as in other divisions. The primary goal of narrative writing is to tell a story. It is not about information as narrative writing attempts to create and share a new world with its setting, plot, and characters. In other words, narratives want to solve the puzzle: “What happened next?”
Examples of narrative styles are poetry, short stories, and novels.
Descriptive Writing
This type is widely used in fiction; however, it can be found in nonfiction (autobiographies or travel blogs). The primary purpose of the descriptive style is to paint a picture in words for readers. It can be used to describe everything you can imagine: places, people, thoughts, or things.
The authors may use various literary devices, such as metaphor, allusion, or foreshadowing, to describe the world and people around. At the same time, descriptive writing never wants to convince readers. It usually doesn’t explain anything, and it merely specifies the picture as it is.
These types of writing are the most well-known ones. However, numerous writing substyles may be put in these categories. As a good writer, you should recognize all these types. This knowledge will help you identify your writing’s goal and be sure that you are creating something your readers want to see.
