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.

Personal styles

All writing has some style, even if the author is not thinking about the style. Some writers use styles that are very specific, for example in pursuit of an artistic effect. A pointed example is the poet e.e.cummings, whose writing uses mainly only lower case letters.

Proprietary styles

Many large publications define a house style, to be used throughout the publication. The practice is almost universal among newspapers and well-known magazines. These styles cover the means of expression, and sentence structures for which as an example, TIME has a particular convention. These styles also cover features peculiar to such publications. For example the practice at The Economist is that articles remain unattributed to an author. Generally desired characteristics for different categories of writing have also been described, such as news journalism, the use of SI units, or questionnaire construction.

Academic styles

University students, especially graduate students, are encouraged to write papers in an approved style. This practice encourages readability and ensures that references to cited works are noted in a uniform way. Typically, students are encouraged to use a style commonly adopted by journals publishing articles in the field of study.

The University of Memphis list of Style Manuals & Guides [1] gives thirty academic styles with manuals are currently in print; twelve are available on-line. Citation of referenced works is a key element in academic style [2].

It is recognised that the requirements for writing and citing articles accessed on-line sometimes differ from best practice in writing and citing printed works. Some of the niceties are covered by The Columbia Guide to Online Style.

See also

• The Elements of Style, by William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White, best known guide to the best American usage
• Fowler's Modern English Usage, a well-known guide to British English usage
• List of frequently misused English words

External links

• California State University Library Style List.

Further reading

• The Columbia Guide to Online Style (Janice R. Walker and Todd Taylor, Columbia University Press, 1998) paperback ISBN 0231107897 and hardback ISBN 0231107889