Lets look at the style and tone in writing - Information for scholars
If you ever get a writing assignment in school, be it writing a letter, a story, an essay or a report, the first thing you need to do before you start writing is determine who your 'audience' will be. This means you must decide for who your are writing.
The style in which you write will differ when writing to a friend or applying for a job. You are not going to talk/write to older people or a business owner in the same manner you would speak to your friend.
The second thing you must decide on is the 'tone' that you will use in your writing piece. Will is be humorous or serious or maybe even sarcastic and this will give a certain feeling to the story.
Style refers to the writer's choice of diction, sentence structure, literary techniques, and use of rhythm. ...
Tone, on the other hand, refers to the writer's attitude toward his/her story and to the reader. The writer's tone assists in creating a mood or atmosphere for the story.
We all have different ways in which we speak. I am sure you have heard you parents ssy "Mind your tone when you speak to me." It works the same with writing. The way in which you decide to write will be your 'voice' or style. Each write has he/her own unique style.
The way in which you write your sentences and which words you use will give you an unique style. We all prefer different types of styles and that is why you will continue reading a specific writer's books, because you like the style in which it is written.
This also goes for writing poetry. Each poet has his own style and way of using rhythm and rhyming in the poem.
Your specific style can also 'adapt' to fit the purpose. For instance - when you take a message for you mom on the phone, then your style will be short sentences or just words, but if you have to write a letter to your teacher you will use proper sentences.
We said that your tone and style will also depend on who you write to. If you write a story for teenagers, you will use words that you use every day, but if you want to ask your teacher's permission or an older person's you will leave out the 'cool' words.
You must also decide what is the 'purpose' of the written piece. Are you trying to give someone factual information or do you write to entertain them or are you trying to convince them to do something?
In order to write a proper story or essay or letter, you need to expand your vocabulary. That means you need to be able to use different words successfully.
Instead of using the same words over and over, you can find synonyms (words with the same meaning) or different descriptive words to make it more interesting.
Look at the example: It was dark and Peter was alone. He was scared. He was scared of the dark.
Now if you can change that into It was dark and Peter was alone. He was frightened by the mysterious night.
Does that not sound much more interesting?
This does not mean you may never repeat words or phrases. Again it will depend on what you are writing.
If you are trying to convince a person about something, you will repeat certain words or phrases in order to make sure that they understand what you are trying to say.
Once you have determined your style and tone that you want to use, it is always a good idea to read back whatever you have written to make sure that you stick to the same style and tone for a specific part. The tone will obviously change if you are writing about different aspects. On one thing you will decide to make it humorous, but there can be other parts which is more serious.
It will all depend on what you are writing and for who you are writing it.
The 'genre' of your story will also play a role in the style you choose. A genre is what type of story it is. Is it 'romance' or 'science fiction' or maybe a 'crime drama'?
These are different types of genres. If you want to know more about this, read the link for extra information. http://reference.yourdictionary.com/books-literature/different-types-of-books.html
Instruction:
You are going to write an essay on your family.
You can decide for yourself if this is going to be an informative essay where you just give information or will it be a humorous look at the quirks of your family?
It can even be a persuasive essay where you try and convince people why your family is the best.
Depending on the type of essay you choose you will also decide on the style that you will use.
Are you writing it for your friends to read or is this a more formal essay for your principal to read?
Use your imagination and take your time in completing this. Find your style....
Team South Africa banner designed by @bearone
