In class, I was assigned to investigate the challenges of editing from a plethora of options. I found the challenges of shifting between writing styles to accommodate various audiences to be intriguing, so I wrote my paper on that.
I thought, “Hmm, if I put all this work into this paper, I ought to share it with my peeps.”
Y’all are my peeps, btw. Shoutout to Ty. Thanks for being a loyal reader, girl.
Let me start off by saying that writing is a CONSTANT discovery of oneself. Like everything else in this world, it’s a craft that needs to be honed. Us writers are like chameleons, we can blend into any writing environment (if we know how).
This is where the various writing styles come into play!
I made it clear that your audience is deciding factor of which style you choose to write in. What is their age, sex, religious/political beliefs, and reading comprehension level? If my audience consisted of a bunch of sixth graders and I used the word sesquipedalian, they would pitchfork my face. Use appropriate vocabulary. When in doubt, go simpler, just as I said in my last blog post.
There are quite a few styles. Anne Janzer, author of The Workplace Writer’s Process identifies three of them: personal, identity, and brand. I didn’t mention this in my paper, unfortunately, but I thought it best highlighted the important styles in writing.
The personal style uses a lot of your casual speech infused into your writing. You could use this to write an email to your colleagues or friends. It doesn’t mean to use your extremely informal texting language, but something more casual that shows your personality through the screen. This means using words that have people identify as your style. Here’s an example email to avoid:
Aye work fam
No cap, there’s a meeting in 10 and I haven’t gotten my Starbies yet. Stall for me so the Big Boss doesn’t get cheesed off. Lol u mad bro?
Peace
This is grossly exaggerated, but there’s a way to keep your personal style without going extremely informal. Make sure you still say exactly what you mean (no ambiguous words) and don’t use wordy sentences. Janzer says a writer should be “adept at presenting their thoughts succinctly and clearly.”
The identity style still has a tinge of your personal style in it but caters more towards your role in your company. In this role, you adapt certain vocabulary, tones, and styles used in the environment. Again, don’t use big words. You’ll be pitchforked, just like me.
Finally, the brand style completely eradicates your personal style, focusing only on the voice of the company. If the brand has a style guide, use it. If they don’t, look up a company document to use as a reference.
The theme of my paper centered around trying to be the reader’s advocate. Each time you practice writing in a certain style, you gain important knowledge for your future literary endeavors. Eventually, the writing process will be much smoother!
That’s all for this week. I’ll see you later!
~Servus~
