Sometimes, it may feel like university requirements limit students’ ability to develop their own unique writing style but it’s a common misconception. For example, professors often can understand who wrote a certain essay without even looking at the name. All students have different writing styles. The writing style is the way people express ideas. It includes a certain paragraph structure, word choice, and tone. A good writing style helps to keep readers engaged and makes an essay interesting. Here are a few tips from College Writers team that will help students develop their writing style.
1. Write every day
This is the easiest way to develop your own, distinctive writing style. The more you write, the better you understand yourself as a writer. If you have no idea what to write about, you can just write about your everyday activities. What did you see today? What did you do? Who did you talk to? You will see that you often use the same patterns and phrases. It will be easier for you to evaluate the quality of your writing and to figure out what needs to be improved. Frequent writing will also teach you to express your thoughts more efficiently, making your writing concise and informative. We also recommend that you read your past writing. You may be surprised by how you’ve evolved as a writer over time.
2. Mind your tone
Quite often, the way we say something is even more important than what we actually say. This is called tone, and it’s very important when you write an essay or another paper. Punctuation and adjectives will help you improve the tone of your writing. Sometimes, a properly chosen adjective and an exclamation mark can make a big difference, completely changing the tone of a sentence. When writing academic papers, we recommend that you stick with a moderate tone. Make sure that your punctuation and language match the chosen tone.
3. Learn different writing styles
Academic writing is professional and formal, however, not all essays are academic. We recommend that you familiarize yourself with different styles of writing to figure out what style fits your objectives. For example, if you prefer persuasive writing, you may try to convince your readers to accept your opinion on a certain topic. If you’re interested in expressing various ideas, you may choose an expository style of writing. In this case, you will focus on facts and present your ideas in a step-by-step manner. Every type of a writing assignment implies using a certain style so don’t try to write all your assignments in the same style.
The best way to learn new writing styles is to read different writers. Every time you read a book or an article, focus on the way the author conveys their thoughts. Read both nonfiction and fiction, and you will learn many writing styles that you can use in your own papers.