English Grammar Rules & Mistakes: Learn All of the Essentials: Writing, Speaking, Literature and Punctuation Rules Complete with 10 Key Skills and Over 200 Common Error Examples

RULE 10 – ADD YOUR PERSONAL TOUCH 
Now that you are a writer it is time to develop your writing style. Also called
your personal touch, your writing
style
is the way in which you express
yourself and it naturally evolves over time. It changes as you age as you go
through different stages of life, develop your own personality, change the
activities you are involved in, and change what you are reading, along with
many other factors. So, what can you do to develop your own writing style?
Well, the truth is that a writing style depends upon life experience as well as
the situation you are writing in. You may start off at college writing formally.
Yet as you age, you become more informal in your style. What matters most
is that you are consistent in your style. If you like to use emotive words, don’t
all of a sudden switch to being very clinical and cold.
There are many ways to develop your style and discover new ways to write.
Read regularly and broadly. Aim to read a few full books a year. Articles are
much quicker to read so skim through a few each week. Avoid anything that
is not written in formal language. The aim here is to develop your writing
style, not to pick up bad habits.
Don’t avoid writing. I know that it might seem that presenting your great idea
is quicker and more efficient. However, there is something incredibly
powerful about a well written proposal. Take the time to write as much as
you can. Also, focus on writing whatever you do write correctly. Don’t allow
yourself to continue bad habits just because it is a quick email or SMS. What
about writing creatively as well? Not everything you write has to be for work
or college. You might discover you have a talent for writing emotionally,
something which suits poetry and short stories. This will help to develop your
overall writing style and might make that next proposal a little less dry.
Use words that come naturally to you rather than trying to stuff your work
with complicated terminology. Nobody likes a show-off, not to mention it
risks the reader not being able to understand you. Instead focus on acquiring
a variety of well known words. When you are writing, don’t use the same

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word or phrase repeatedly. Try to learn synonyms for your regular words to
broaden your vocabulary range.
Be as clear as you can. Remember that your main goal is communication. I
have said it a million times but it does need repeating: make sure each
sentence is as direct and simple as possible. At the same time, don’t be overly
clinical. If you are trying to convey emotions, you may need to pack your
sentences with a few more adjectives and adverbs. Make your writing easy
for your readers, so it is a pleasure to read. Awkward writing can make it
painful and provoke your readers into putting down your work.
It is tough to do, but you really have to steer clear of clichés as much as
possible. They can make your writing sound unoriginal. Sometimes you can
use them for effect, especially if you are trying to evoke an emotion that only
that cliché will deliver. Instead think of crafting your own descriptions, use
metaphors and expressions. This will make what you write look original and
stand out from the crowd.
When you are using different sentence structures, make sure that you are
concise. Change the word order in your sentences to see if they can be
rephrased using fewer words. Focus on being as concise as possible. At all
costs, avoid long sentences with unrelated information contained within
them. Don’t comma-splice your way to drab, unreadable work.
Clear, detailed writing makes your work come to life. If you are struggling to
find the right words for your descriptions, do a little research. It is easy to
access a thesaurus online. The English language has over 250,000 words, so
you have no excuse for not being able to find the perfect word for the
situation you are trying to describe.
Finally, develop your style by using certain literary devices that come to
define your work. If you like using metaphors or similes, this will provide a
certain style to your writing. If you prefer technical writing, this will also
define how you write.
In this essay, I will demonstrate exactly why copper is an excellent
insulator. To arrive at this conclusion, I undertook extensive
research. My main research was conducted in the laboratory. I

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wanted to test my hypothesis that copper can be used in wires as
an insulator. What is more, I wanted to prove that copper is the
most suitable choice for this purpose over other metals. Overall,
my hypothesis was proven correct.
As an example of a writing style, this represents a concise and well written
introduction for a technical essay. It is clear that the writer prefers short clear
sentences that deliver the meaning quickly.
It is clear to me that the best course of action is to abandon this job
contract. Though it distresses me to say so, we will not gain
anything further from this partnership. I am truly grateful for the
hard work of all our colleagues. Their dedication shines through in
everything they undertake.
This second example demonstrates that you can use more emotional language
even when writing a professional piece of work. The message being delivered
is clear but what is stronger still is the emotion of disappointment. This style
of writing is an excellent way to convey emotion.
We are excited to announce the launch of our new product. Built
by a team of world class engineers, this product will revolutionize
the way that you wash your clothes. You no longer have to deal
with holes in your favorite jumper or rips in your faded jeans. Get
in touch with us today to find out how to get yours!
In this final example, you can see a mix of formal sentence structures with a
more informal tone. This writing style is an excellent method for selling
products. It demonstrates how you can write engaging content without having
to compromise on your grammatical structures.
Overall, the thing about writing styles is that it is down to you. The best
writing styles are developed naturally and reflect your personality. Keep in
mind that just because something should be written formally, it doesn’t mean
it has to be bland. Write clearly but add flavor to what you write by using a
mix of words and devices such as metaphors. Over time you will become
comfortable with your style, being able to easily adapt it based on the
situation.

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