English writing style

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

An English writing style is a way of using the English language.

The style of a piece of writing is the way in which features of the language are used to convey meaning, typically but not always within the constraints of more widely accepted conventions of grammar and spelling.

An individual's writing style may be a very personal thing. Organizations that employ writers or commission written work from individuals may require that writers conform to a standardized style defined by the organization. This allows a consistent readability of composite works produced by many authors, and promotes usability of, for example, references to other cited works.

In many kinds of professional writing aiming for effective transfer of information, adherence to a standardised style of writing helps readers make sense of what the writer is presenting. Many standardised styles are documented in style guides. Some styles are more widely used, others restricted to a particular journal. Adherence to no particular style is also a style in its own right - some may think it undesirable, others not.

Contents 1 Personal styles 2 Academic styles 3 See also 4 External links 5 Further reading

[edit] Personal styles

All writing has some style, even if the author is not thinking about the style. It is important to understand that style reflects meaning. For instance,if a writer wants to express a torrent of euphoria, he might write in a style overflowing with expressive modifiers. Some writers use styles that are very specific, for example in pursuit of an artistic effect. Sylistic rule-breaking is exemplified by the poet E. E. Cummings, whose writing uses mainly only lower case letters.

[edit] Academic styles

[edit] See also

• The Elements of Style, by William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White, a well-known guide to American usage
• Fowler's Modern English Usage, a well-known guide to British English usage
• List of frequently misused English words
• Apa style, American Psychological Association (APA) style - widely accepted for research papers
• MLA style manual, Modern Language Association's (MLA) style - most often used in English studies, and literary criticism

[edit] External links

• California State University Library Style List.

[edit] Further reading

• The Columbia Guide to Online Style (Janice R. Walker and Todd Taylor, Columbia University Press, 1998) paperback ISBN 0-231-10789-7 and hardback ISBN 0-231-10788-9