Writing Styles (with Examples)

Writing Styles (with Examples) Writing Styles (with Examples) Writing Styles (with Examples) By Ali Hale You’ve probably heard writers (or teachers, or critics) talk about â€Å"style† in writing. What exactly is style, though? It can be tough to pin down, because there are a variety of things we might be looking at when we talk about style. In most cases, though, style is about the individual word choices and the structure of sentences. While an author might have particular character-types that s/he tends to use, or a penchant for complicated plots, those things are usually considered on a different level from style. Two Examples of Style You can see style at work in even a short excerpt from a piece of writing. For instance, compare these two passages, which come from two websites’ â€Å"About† pages: We started innocent in 1999 after selling our smoothies at a music festival. We put up a big sign asking people if they thought we should give up our jobs to make smoothies, and put a bin saying Yes and a bin saying No in front of the stall. Then we got people to vote with their empties. At the end of the weekend, the Yes bin was full, so we resigned from our jobs the next day and got cracking. (From â€Å"us†, Innocent.) Established in 1981, Infosys is a NYSE listed global consulting and IT services company with more than 209,000 employees. From a capital of US$250, we have grown to become a US$11.12 billion (LTM Q1 FY19 revenues) company with a market capitalization of approximately US$ 42.4 billion. (From â€Å"About Us†, Infosys.) Both of these excerpts tell us about the respective companies’ beginnings. But they not only focus on different things (and as we’ll see in a minute, you can’t completely divorce content from style), they’re written in very different language. Formal vs Informal Style Even if we look at the first four words of each piece, we can see the difference in style: â€Å"We started innocent in† â€Å"Established in 1981, Infosys† We can tell that one of these passages will use a much more formal style than the other: â€Å"Started† is a simpler word than â€Å"established†; â€Å"innocent† doesn’t capitalise their name (a hallmark of very informal style); the innocent piece is in the first person (â€Å"we†) whereas the Infosys piece is in the third person (â€Å"Infosys†). Throughout the excerpts, the content is also quite different: innocent give us a story about how their company began, whereas Infosys focus on facts and figures. Tip: If you need to make your writing more informal, use shorter sentences, simpler words, and write as if you’re talking directly to the reader. To make your writing more formal, use more precise, complex words, as if you’re writing a company report. Formal vs informal is one way of looking at style – but there are plenty of other ways in which you might describe the style of a piece of writing. Concise vs Detailed Some writing is to-the-point: it gives information succinctly, and moves on. Other pieces are much more verbose – they tell a story, paint a scene, take their time. Neither style is â€Å"better† – they serve different purposes. A news report about a local incident – say, a lost child who was found unharmed – would be much shorter than a novel that deals with similar subject matter. Or compare a tweet on a particular topic with a blog post on the same topic: the tweet is much shorter than the blog post, but both might well be valuable in different ways. Tip: To be more concise, cut out extra details and unnecessary words. To expand a short piece, look for ways to give (relevant or interesting) detail, or offer a more nuanced perspective by looking at different angles on the topic. Commercial vs Literary In fiction, one major stylistic divide is between â€Å"literary† novels and â€Å"commercial† novels. As with formal vs informal, we could see this as a spectrum – with the most literary novels at one end, and the most commercial at the other end. Literary fiction places much more importance on writing style than commercial fiction, where the point of â€Å"style† is usually to get the story across as smoothly as possible. The content can also be quite different: literary fiction tends to be less plot-driven and more focused on character, for instance. Commercial fiction tends to sell much better, though some literary authors like Margaret Atwood and Ian McEwan sell a lot of books, too. Tip: As Harvey Chapman from Novel Writing Help puts it, â€Å"Literary novels generally sell in smaller quantities than genre or mainstream novels. This means publishers are less likely to take a gamble on them, but you shouldn’t let that put you off writing them. Always write the type of book that you want to write.† Factual vs Opinionated Another way to look at style is to think about the type of statements being made. Are they facts, or opinions? (Generally, a writer focused on facts will be more dispassionate and one focused on opinions will be more impassioned in their language – though there are exceptions.) News articles, for instance, tend to focus on facts – they may well be biased, of course, and the underlying political or social leanings of a publication can show through in the facts they choose to include or omit. Columnists in newspapers, however, are free to be much more opinionated – even, in some cases, potentially offensive. They can share their thoughts and ideas with little or no recourse to actual facts. Tip: As a writer and a reader, it’s important to be able to distinguish between facts and opinions. Facts are objective and can be proved (e.g. â€Å"water is denser than air†); opinions are subjective and two people might have two opposing opinions (e.g. â€Å"swimming is horrible† vs â€Å"swimming is wonderful†). If you’re trying to convince your reader of something – perhaps through a blog post or an article – then it’s fine to give strong opinions, but you should also aim to back up what you’re saying with specific facts. As a writer, you already have a natural writing style – though you may decide you want to develop or modify it. You might want to think about: How formal or informal do you want your writing to be? This might vary in different contexts – for instance, if you’re a freelancer, you might write for some publications that want a very chatty, laid-back style, and others that want a business-like style. Do you tend to be a concise or verbose writer? Perhaps you find that you naturally get your points across quickly and briefly – or maybe you like to dig deep into a topic and give lots of details. This could affect the type of writing you want to do (e.g. short stories vs novels, or blog posts vs books). If you write fiction, are you aiming at the commercial or literary end of the market? Don’t feel that you â€Å"should† do one or the other – focus on what appeals to you as a writer. If you’re unsure, you might want to try writing short stories in a variety of styles. Are there particular hallmarks of your style that you’ve already noted? For instance, perhaps you tend to use quite colourful language, or you love complex sentence structures. You might also want to look closely at the style of authors you enjoy: how exactly do they use words, phrases and sentences to create particular effects? Your writing style might take years to develop and a lifetime to perfect, though – so don’t put off writing until you’ve â€Å"found† your style. Keep working on different pieces and projects: in a year’s time, you might be able to look back and see that your style was developing all along. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Writing Basics category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:30 Religious Terms You Should Know7 Patterns of Sentence StructurePredicate Complements

August Wilsons Pittsburgh Cycle

August Wilson's Pittsburgh Cycle After writing his third play, August Wilson realized he was developing something quite monumental. He had created three different plays set in three different decades, detailing the hopes and struggles of African-Americans. In the early 1980s, he decided that he wanted to create a cycle of ten plays, one play for each decade. Collectively, they would become known as the Pittsburgh Cycle - all but one take place in the citys Hills District. August Wilsons 10 play series is arguably one of the finest literary achievements in contemporary drama. Although they were not created in chronological order, here is a brief synopsis of each play, organized by the decade each one represents. Note: Each of the links connects to an informative New York Times review. Gem Of the Ocean Set in 1904, a young African-American named Citizen Barlow, like many others traveling north in the years after the Civil War arrives in Pittsburgh in search of purpose, prosperity, and redemption. A woman named Aunt Ester, who is rumored to be 285 years old and possess healing powers, decides to help the young man on his life’s journey. Joe Turner’s Come and Gone The title warrants a bit of historical context - Joe Turner was the name of a plantation owner who, in spite of the emancipation proclamation, forced African-Americans to work in his fields. In contrast, Seth and Bertha Holly’s boarding house offers room and nourishment to wayward souls who have been mistreated, abused, and sometimes even kidnapped by members of white society. The play takes place in the year 1911. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom As four African-American blues musicians wait for Ma Rainey, the famous lead singer of their band, they exchange off-the-cuff jokes and cutting-edge barbs. When the blues diva does arrive, the tensions continue to mount, pushing the group towards its breaking point. The tone is a combination of bitterness, laughter, and the blues, an ideal representation of the black experience during the late 1920s. The Piano Lesson A piano that has been handed down for generations becomes the source of conflict for members of the Charles family. Set in 1936, the storyline reflects the significance of objects in relationship to the past. This play garnered August Wilson his second Pulitzer Prize. Seven Guitars Touching upon the theme of music once again, this drama begins with the death of guitarist Floyd Barton in 1948. Then, the narrative shifts to the past, and the audience witnesses the protagonist in his younger days, ultimately leading up to his demise. Fences Perhaps Wilson’s most renowned work, Fences explores the life and relationships of Troy Maxson, an activist-minded trash collector, and former baseball hero. The protagonist represents the struggle for justice and fair treatment during the 1950s. This moving drama earned Wilson his first Pulitzer Prize. Two Trains Running This multiple award-winning drama is set in Pittsburgh 1969, in the height of the battle for civil rights. In spite of the political and social change that sweeps through the nation, many of the characters of this play are too cynical, too down-trodden to experience hope for the future or rage for the ongoing tragedies. Jitney Set in a cab driver’s station during the boisterous late 1970s, this character-driven play features sharp-witted, hustling co-workers who gossip, argue, and dream in between jobs. King Hedley II Often thought of as the bitterest and most tragic of Wilson’s cycle, the play focuses on the downfall of the prideful ex-con protagonist, King Hedley II (the son of one of the characters from Seven Guitars). The mid-1980s setting finds Wilson’s beloved Hills District in a dismal, poverty-stricken neighborhood. Radio Golf With this 1990s setting, the final play in the cycle tells the story of affluent Harmond Wilks, a successful politician and real estate developer - who considers tearing down a historic old house that once belonged to none other than Aunt Ester. It all comes full circle!