Style

Writing with Style

Style is a probably a familiar word to most of us. Think of your favorite fashion style–is it expensive shoes, leather, three-piece suits? Or something more casual, like a trusty pair of tennis shoes or a loose-fitting sweatshirt? No matter what clothing style your prefer, the idea of style was probably clear—style is something that helps someone express themselves and establish an image of who they want to be.

Stylized writing can have the same personalizing effect. In writing, style is the combination of the elements that make your writing unique and clearly convey your ideas. It's how you present your content. Your personal writing style is made up of your formatting, your word choice, the type of voice you use, how long and varied your sentences are, your use of literary devices, whether your writing sounds formal or informal, and a whole host of other things.

If you really want to get into style, you'll need much more than this brief overview. Check out Aristotle's Ars Poetica and Hermogenes' On Style if you want classical discussions. For a more modern approach, Strunk and White's The Elements of Style is a popular choice.

The Rules of Style?

Contrary to certain ways of thinking, there aren't constraints to style—there are simply guidelines. However, some guidelines are more useful than others.

Guideline #1: Clarity

Some writing tasks will dictate what style choices you can make, such as whether your writing needs to favor concision over poetry; in other tasks, you'll have more freedom to experiment. But most writers agree that the number one goal of style should be clarity.

Clarity, by definition, means that your delivery is clear and accessible. Ask whether your stylistic choices enhance what you’re trying to say to your readers. Does formatting your paper a certain way, using a certain metaphor or “voicing” your writing with a certain tone (say, a passionate one) help readers understand your message? Or hinder them?

Take these two examples: which one would you prefer?

• Example 1: The reception of your epistle induced the most pleasing of neural and physiological response within my very being, that immaterial substance I call the ‘self’ which defines and encapsulates my existential paradigm, one that needed coaxing from the unfathomable depths of my abject opposite at the precise moment your epistle materialized.
  
• Example 2: I got your letter and it brightened my spirits, which I really needed.

It’s fair to say that both examples have “style,” but which one is clearer? And if readers aren’t quite sure what you’re trying to say, what’s the point of writing in the first place?

Guideline #2: Style Isn't Just Correctness

Correctness helps with style, and in some ways can form elements of your style, but correctness isn’t style by itself. Correctness as a term usually refers to the generally accepted rules of grammar, punctuation, usage, and spelling. Of the following, which is correct according to American English?

• Example 1: I love the colours of the New York Theatre!
  
• Example 2: I love the colors of the New York Theater!

Answer: the 2nd example, as the rules of American English (as opposed to British English) dictate that “color” and “theater” be spelled as example 2 spells them.

What’s the point here? Most of the time, writers making the choice to spell “color” and “theater” this way are doing so because it’s a rule, not a stylistic choice. But you could change the spelling to make your writing sound British if you wanted to, which would be an example of how correctness can help with style. Still, though style and correctness work together, they aren’t one and the same.

Guideline #3: Tone and Voice

A writer’s style is usually produced through a combination of multiple elements, perhaps foremost of which are tone and voice.

Tone refers to the attitude you convey with your writing. This could be anything from happy, excited, angry, pessimistic, nervous, or lighthearted. If you’re writing a narrative, tone can be the way characters deliver their lines: do they speak loudly, quietly, laughingly, or scornfully? If you’re writing something more research-oriented, tone can be in the way you present quotes and claims: do you present them as credible, peer-reviewed sources or as something untrustworthy, with little to no evidence backing it up?

While your tone may vary between pieces of writing, voice is something that will generally remain more standardized as your personal way of communicating. Voice is usually made up of simple decisions of grammar usage, word choice, punctuation, syntax, and metaphor. The way Emily Dickinson uses punctuation, for example, gives her a distinctive voice—the em dashes, ellipses, the constant breaks in sentences, all make for a rather dramatic and staccato-ed voice. Dr. Suess, on the other hand, uses rhythm and rhyme to create a fun and playful voice instantly recognizable as his trademark.

Key point: Both Emily Dickinson and Dr. Seuss can be recognized by their style, and both styles enhanced what each had to say.