When it comes to writing, there is no hard and fast rule about sticking to one genre. Continue reading the article to learn about the key writing styles and genres.
It’s not an easy task if you want to be an amazing writer, either for a job or fun purpose. Whether you are writing a short story, novel, article, blog or press release, understanding your intent stimulates the Writing. That’s where you need to learn about different types of Writing.
Your writing style reflects your uniqueness and how you present yourself to your target audience. Different types of Writing are used to serve different reasons. On the other hand, various types of writers also exist. Are all of them identical?
Must the art of words and where to use them be the most crucial step to becoming a professional writer? Meanwhile, most writers are only well versed in writing content on a specific niche such as business, technology, lifestyle, etc.
However, when you delve into the world of Writing, you are probably confused and have different questions. Without wasting any time, let’s look at the most commonly used types of writing genres.
What is meant by the type of Writing?
An author’s unique way of communicating with words is called a type of Writing. You can easily create a style by applying tone and your voice to the text. The writing style depends on the type of Writing, the target audience, and who they are writing for.
Every writer has a unique style, which can vary from project to project. Listed below are different types of writing many successful writers opt for.
15 Different types of writing every writer should master:
In this article, we are going to have a glance at different styles of Writing and will explore them by taking the help of relevant examples. We will discuss each writing style rather than just giving you some boring definitions. The list of different writing types is as follows:
1-Business Writing
This specific writing type is used to write professional and business content. For example, letters, memos, emails and business reports. The main purpose of business writing is to provide relevant information to the target audience clearly, uniquely and concisely.
Examples of Business Writing
Emails, Letters, Memos, Business Reports, Marketing Materials and Presentations
Traits of Business Writing
● Keep in mind the focus of the reader
● Maintain professional tone
● Organised format
● The language used is action-oriented
● Clarity in Writing
2-Persuasive Writing
A certain opinion or idea is termed persuasive Writing to persuade the reader towards a particular fact. Persuasive Writing is one of the different types of writing, especially when the writer has a strong opinion on something. Persuasive Writing also motivates people to take certain actions regarding any situation or issue.
Examples of Persuasive Writing
Job Cover Letters, Product Reviews, Essays, Sales Writing or Press release in the newspaper
Traits of Persuasive Writing
● Persuading tone
● Written either from a first or third-person perspective
● Personal point of view
3-Journalistic Writing
Journalistic Writing is used to write news-related content. You will experience this type of writing style in online and offline magazines, news content, newspaper and many more.
Examples of Journalistic Writing
Investigative Reports, Press releases, News articles, Featured stories and Op-eds
Traits of Journalistic Writing
● Maintain a clear and concise language
● Pyramid structure
● Authentic quotes and sources
● Using fair tone throughout Writing
4-Creative Writing
Creative Writing is one of the most important writing techniques where writers break boring writing structures and come outside their comfort zone to deliver something productive. Its main purpose is to surprise the target audience and story in a completely different way.
Examples of Creative Writing
Screenwriting, writing biographies, flash fiction and scriptwriting
Traits of Journalistic Writing
The main trait of creative Writing is to make your content look as creative as it can be.
5-Poetic Writing
To convey the idea of the story to the target audience, writers use rhyme and rhythm, and this particular type of Writing works best for fiction. Meanwhile, it is also used in metaphor and simile in some cases.
Examples of Poetic Writing
Poetry, short stories, novels and dramas
Traits of Poetic Writing
● Utilise different poetic devices
● Offer rhythmic structure
6-Technical Writing
There are different writing genres, so Technical Writing is used for professional documentation and educational content. The main motive of Technical Writing is to provide content about specific points based on logic or sometimes on scientific terms.
Examples of Technical Writing
Textbooks, user manuals, whitepapers, medical articles or textbooks etc
Traits of Technical Writing
● Dependent on facts
● Content follows the proper structure
7-Diary Writing
Many individuals worldwide use diaries to express themselves, especially how they feel when encountering anger, grief, regret, fear, jealousy and sadness. You can also say diary writing is a form of personal Writing whose main intent is to keep a record of all events happening in a person’s life.
Sometimes it’s also the emotions that a person keeps track of. On the other hand, if you consider yourself a famous personality, one day, your diary writing can be a perfect resource for your autobiography.
Diary writing is cheaper than professional therapy sessions. It can lead you to a positive experience.
Examples of Technical Writing
Marie Curie’s notebooks, the Diary of Anne Frank and Charles Darwin’s diaries
Traits of Diary Writing
● Celebrate their milestones or achievements
● Write down their goals
● Express joy and unexpected events in life
8-Critical Writing
To analyse a general piece of paper is what critics do, and this is called critical writing. The most obvious example is a book critic who reads a book and then explains in newspaper articles or online if the reader should read it.
Examples of Critical Writing
Famous forms of critical Writing include:
Game reviews, music reviews and film reviews
Traits of Critical Writing
● Written from the reviewer’s point of view
● Subjective not objective
● Needs deep knowledge
● Ability to entice readers with opinion
9-Review Writing
As clear from the name, the main purpose of review writing is to write reviews for different things. These days, review writing is more common due to the advancement of technology. People nowadays first read reviews online and then buy anything.
Considering the types of writing techniques, review writing is completely different from others.
Examples of Review Writing
Service Reviews, Product reviews or book reviews
Traits of Review Writing
● Good description writing skills
● Needs Persuasive Writing
10-Academic Writing
Academic style or Writing is particularly used in school, college or university-related publications. As a reader, you will experience this sort of Writing in books, school journals or academic research.
The academic style consists of two more types:
● Expert academic Writing
● Student academic writing
Expert academic Writing
Expert academic Writing is used for publications such as academic books, journals or other material. It also obeys proper writing structure but is different depending on the type of user.
Student academic writing
Students usually use this type of Writing to do paper research and assignments.
Examples of Academic Writing
Conference papers, research papers, argumentative essays, case studies, thesis and dissertations and Academic journal articles
Traits of Academic Writing
● Follow proper structure and format
● Maintain consistent tone
● Proof based arguments
● Formal language
11-Descriptive Writing
Since there exist different types of Writing,but in particular, descriptive Writing tells us all the aspects of someone’s personality, including events and places. It made us realise that as we were present there.
Examples of Descriptive Writing
Poetry, Copywriting, Fiction stories and Narrative Nonfiction
Traits of Descriptive Writing
● Follows detailed writing pattern
● Maintain a consistent personal tone
12-Expository Writing
Expository writing is used to educate the target audience by talking about a specific topic. So you can’t use your own opinion in this type of Writing.
Examples of Expository Writing
Recipe writing, Textbook, Scientific Writing Blogs etc
Traits of Expository Writing
● Follows detailed writing pattern
● Written from a third-person point of view
● Objective tone
● Static facts
13-Copywriting
A copywriter takes the help of words to sell products. They also produce copy for websites, email funnels and sales pages.
Professional copywriters can also fall into other writing styles, such as social media and content writing. Once you learn the art of writing copies, you can easily earn high five and six figures incomes by providing this service to international clients and digital marketing companies.
Examples of Copywriting
Taking out a trial or buying a product opting in for a lead magnet
Traits of Copywriting
● Holds the attention of readers
● Help the writer finish an article or blog post easier
● Convince the target audience to act
14. Blogging
Blogging is considered a popular form of Writing. It started in 1997, and if you are planning to start a blog in 2023, you can expect a lot of competition here.
Thus, bloggers can easily achieve success if they write within a specific niche. They tend to write blogs and articles on topics people are searching for, and currently, there are about 600 million blogs worldwide.
The best blogs are hosted on WordPress, a content management system and are monetized through digital advertising, affiliate products and online promotions.
15-Content Writing
Content writing is just like copywriting, and a person who does content writing is called a content writer. A content writer writes articles, blog posts, ebooks and listicles for online companies or businesses.
Content writers either charge per word or per content piece. It depends on the complexity of the topic and has become more common for freelancers because most businesses nowadays need content to thrive.
Example of Content Writing
The website owner keeps publishing several SEO-optimised articles each month to grow traffic and increase revenue. It means the owner has a team of highly skilled content writers who can achieve the publication goals.
Tricks to select correct types of writing skills
Here are some tips and tricks to choose the correct writing style.
● Formal/ Informal Writing:
Writers should not swing between formal and informal Writing; in most cases, the writing style is kept formal.
● Requirement:
The requirement is considered one of the most crucial steps to understanding which writing technique suits well with the content you are planning to write about. For example, if you want people to convince you of a certain opinion you strongly believe, others don’t go for a persuasive writing style.
● Mood:
It refers to the environment a writer produces in their content piece. In most cases, the writer’s mood can be humorous, angry and sometimes optimistic.
● Language compatibility:
For emerging writers working day and night to upgrade their skill set, it is advised not to use complex language and technical terms that only you can understand but not the reader.
● Tone:
The tone is useful in figuring out how the reader feels after reading about something. It also helps us determine the subject the audience is interested in reading about.
● Syntax:
It’s how words and sentences combine to form the text and are usually written in subject-verb-object order. Authors can also do experiments to figure out the rhythmic syntax of the text they are writing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here we are going to have a look at the most commonly asked questions related to different styles of Writing.
1. What are the types of writing techniques?
Writing technique means the style or structure that the writer uses to convey a specific message to the reader clearly and concisely.
2. What is the most difficult style of writing to opt for?
Comedy is regarded as the hardest style of Writing to opt for. The main reason is that comedy writing is too subjective.
3. How to write in various types of writing styles?
Read examples of different writing styles if you want to learn. Take a closer look at how the writer grabs your attention, covering the pain points. Then practise regularly and, if possible, take feedback from a fellow writer.
4. How do I know the right writing technique for a content piece?
Consider the style guide and audience while you are all set to publish your content piece. Remember which type of writing the editor wants from you for a topic. Also, be careful how your content piece will educate, entertain or guide the reader.
5. What are the five major writing styles?
Five major writing styles include persuasive Writing, narrative writing, expository Writing and journal writing. These are writing styles into which almost every Writing falls.
6. How vital is grammar in Writing?
Perfect grammar improves communication in Writing. On the other hand, wrong grammar and spelling mistakes lead you to a confused state. For the target audience, poor grammar also reflects a lack of intelligence. So if you unintentionally use bad grammar to build a link with your audience, you should refrain from it.
7. What do you mean by different tones in Writing?
A writer may use different tones in Writing to deliver their feelings through Writing. On the other hand, the ten most common writing tones are optimistic, formal, informal, humorous, encouraging, curious, surprised, cheerful, cooperative and worried.
8. Is it necessary to stick to one writing style throughout the content?
You can always mix different writing styles, and using one particular style throughout the content is not compulsory. For example, you can use descriptive Writing to discuss a particular place. To tell a story, try to opt for a narrative style.
To produce maximum impact, you can blend descriptive Writing with persuasive Writing. Make the most of it no matter which writing style you use.
9. What are the different pieces of evidence in writing content?
Evidence in Writing is the information based on the facts in a text. It helps readers to build a certain conclusion or opinion about a particular text. Evidence can be anything: stories, statistics, propaganda, anecdotes, opinions and, yes, analogies.
10. Do you think using long sentences for quality work is important?
Some of the writers use complex words containing many clauses. While on the other hand, some of them don’t.
Complex and long sentences don’t always mean better quality work. So, there is no fixed technique to do it.
Conclusion
You can also classify your thoughts according to your requirements once you learn about writing style types.
So if you limit yourself to one writing style, you are neglecting your creativity. But if you want to explore the art of Writing, it is highly recommended to adopt different styles.
Thus don’t blind you with a single form of Writing, no matter if you are good at it. Learn in detail about different types of writing genres. The most important thing is to determine your target audience and which writing style will greatly impact them.
Want to know more about different types of Writing? Read this article to know more.