Selecting Your Style and Tone Effective Writing

Style

Style refers to how something is written rather than what is written. Style helps to determine how well you communicate with an audience and how well your readers understand and receive your message. It involves the choices you make about
        ■ the construction of your paragraphs
        ■ the length and patterns of your sentences
        ■ your choice of words
You will have to adapt your style to take into account different messages, different purposes, and different audiences. Your words, for example, will certainly vary with your audience. If all your readers are specialists in your field, you may safely use the technical language and symbols of your profession. Nonspecialists, however, will be confused and annoyed if you write to them in the same way. The average consumer, for example, will not know what a potentiometer is, but by writing
“volume control on a radio” instead, you will be using words that the general public can understand. And, as we saw, when you write for an international audience you have to take into account their proficiency in English and choose your words and sentences with their needs in mind.

Tone

Tone in writing, like tone of voice, expresses your attitude toward a topic and toward your audience. Your tone can range from formal and impersonal (a scientific report) to informal and personal (e-mail to a friend or a how-to article for consumers). It can be unprofessionally sarcastic or diplomatically agreeable.

Tone, like style, is indicated in part by the words you choose. For example, saying that someone is “interested in details” conveys a more positive tone than saying the person is a “nitpicker.” The word economical is more positive than stingy or cheap.

The tone of your writing is especially important in occupational writing, because it reflects the image you project to your readers and thus determines how they will respond to you, your work, and your company. Depending on your tone, you can appear sincere and intelligent or angry and uninformed. Of course, in all your written work, you need to sound professional and knowledgeable. The wrong tone in a letter or a proposal might cost you a customer. Sarcastic or hostile language will at once alienate you from your readers.

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