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A writer’s style is a reflection of his or her
personality, unique voice, and way of approaching the audience and readers.
However, every piece writers write is for a
specific purpose- for example, writers may want to explain how something works
or persuade people to agree with their point of view. While there are as many
writer's styles as there are writers, there are only four general purposes that
lead someone to write a piece, and these are known as the four styles, or
types, of writing. Knowing all four different types and their usages is
important for any writer.
Here
are the categories and their definitions:
1. Expository
Expository writing's main purpose is to explain. It is a subject-oriented
writing style, in which authors focus on telling you about a given topic or
subject without voicing their personal opinions. These types of essays or
articles furnish you with relevant facts and figures but do not include their
opinions. This is one of the most common types of writing. You always see it in
textbooks and how-to articles. The author just tells you about a given subject,
such as how to do something.
Key
Points:
a.
Usually explains something in a process.
b.
Is often equipped with facts and figures.
c.
Is usually in a logical order and sequence.
When
You Would Use Expository Writing:
1.
Textbook writing.
2.
How-to articles.
3.
Recipes.
4.
News stories (not including opinion or editorial pieces).
5.
Business, technical, or scientific writing.
Example:
Many people
associate the taste of pumpkins with fall. In October, companies from Starbucks
to McDonalds roll out their pumpkin-flavored lattes and desserts. Here is how
to make an easy pumpkin pie using only five ingredients. First, make sure you
have all of the ingredients.
This writing is expository because it is
explaining. In this case, you can already tell that the piece will be about how
to make a pumpkin pie.
2. Descriptive
Descriptive writing's main purpose is to describe. It is a style of writing that
focuses on describing a character, an event, or a place in great detail. It can
be poetic when the author takes the time to be very specific in his or her
descriptions.
Example:
In good descriptive writing, the author will
not just say: “The vampire killed his lover.”
He or she will change the sentence, focusing
on more details and descriptions, like: “The
bloody, red-eyed vampire, sunk his rust-colored teeth into the soft skin of his
lover and ended her life."
Key
Points:
a.
It is often poetic in nature
b.
It describes places, people, events, situations, or locations in a
highly-detailed manner.
c.
The author visualizes what he or she sees, hears, tastes, smells, and feels.
When
You Would Use Descriptive Writing:
1.
Poetry
2.
Journal or diary writing
3.
Nature writing
4.
Descriptive passages in fiction
Example:
The iPhone 6
is unexpectedly light. While size of its screen is bigger than those of the
iPhones that came before, it is thinner, and its smooth, rounded body is made
of aluminum, stainless steel, and glass. The casing comes in a whitish silver,
gold, or a color the company calls “space gray,” the color of the lead of a
pencil, with darker gray accents.
This is an example because it describes
aspects of the phone. It includes details such as the size, weight, and
material.
3. Persuasive
Persuasive writing's main purpose is to convince. Unlike expository writing,
persuasive writing contains the opinions and biases of the author. To convince
others to agree with the author's point of view, persuasive writing contains
justifications and reasons. It is often used in letters of complaint,
advertisements or commercials, affiliate marketing pitches, cover letters, and
newspaper opinion and editorial pieces.
Key
Points:
a.
Persuasive writing is equipped with reasons, arguments, and justifications.
b.
In persuasive writing, the author takes a stand and asks you to agree with his
or her point of view.
c.
It often asks for readers to do something about the situation (this is called a
call-to-action).
When
You Would Use Persuasive Writing:
1.
Opinion and editorial newspaper pieces.
2.
Advertisements.
3.
Reviews (of books, music, movie, restaurants, etc.).
4.
Letter of recommendation.
5.
Letter of complaint.
6.
Cover letters
Example:
Following
the 2012 Olympic Games hosted in London, the UK Trade and Investment department
reported a £9.9 billion boost to the economy. Although it is expensive to host
the Olympics, if done right, they can provide real jobs and economic growth.
This city should consider placing a bid to host the Olympics.
This is persuasive writing because the author
has a belief—that “this city should consider placing a bid to host the
Olympics”—and is trying to convince others to agree.
4. Narrative
Narrative writing's main purpose is to tell a story. The author will create
different characters and tell you what happens to them (sometimes the author
writes from the point of view of one of the characters—this is known as first
person narration). Novels, short stories, novellas, poetry, and biographies can
all fall in the narrative writing style. Simply, narrative writing answers the
question: “What happened then?”
Key
Points:
a.
A person tells a story or event.
b.
Has characters and dialogue.
c.
Has definite and logical beginnings, intervals, and endings.
d.
Often has situations like actions, motivational events, and disputes or
conflicts with their eventual solutions.
Examples
of When You Would Use Persuasive Writing:
1.
Novels
2.
Short stories
3.
Novellas
4.
Poetry
5.
Autobiographies or biographies
6.
Anecdotes
7.
Oral histories
Example:
“I don’t
think that’s a good idea,” said Jaelyn.
“You never
used to be such a girl!” retorted Orin, pushing open the door.
Reluctantly,
Jaelyn followed.
This is a narrative because it’s telling a
story. There are different characters conversing, and a plot is unravelling.
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