6 Types of Writing Styles Every Writer Should Know

If you’ve got decent writing skills, you’re armed with the ability to inspire, entertain, persuade, and instruct. You can help others explore an entirely new point of view, immerse readers in an unfamiliar world, and make complicated knowledge more accessible.

No doubt about it. There’s tremendous power in writing. At least, there is if you know how to adapt your technique for the goal you want to achieve.

That’s where writing styles come into play.

You see, the objective that guides your work should always inform the way you write; you’d likely use different words for a business letter than you would for a poem. Your sentence structure, rhythm, and pace would be different, too. 

Those distinctions are what define different types of writing styles. And when you know how to name and categorize those different styles, you’re better prepared to discuss your craft as an author, your assignments as a student, or your qualifications as a professional.

So let’s take a tour of the most common types of writing styles. In this article, you’ll learn all about:

• Narrative writing
• Descriptive writing
• Expository writing
• Persuasive writing
• Technical writing
• Creative writing

You’ll get to know the goals for each one, see a few examples, and even pick up a few tricks for mastering the style.

Before we get into all that, I’d like to clear up one potential point of confusion:

Aren’t You Supposed to Find Your Own Writing Style?

If you spend much time around DabbleU or any place where people love talking about creative writing, you may have heard the term “writing style” referred to as an individual technique, rather than an entire category of written communication.

That’s because the literary world is confusing, and sometimes we use one word for two different things. Like sequel and sequel.

In creative writing, an author’s writing style is their own unique combination of voice, tone, diction, and syntax. It’s the literary fingerprint you develop over time, and you can learn how to do that here.

In this article, however, we’re talking about writing styles as broad categories that indicate what the author wants to achieve and how the piece should be written to achieve that goal.  

Now that we’ve cleared that up, let’s start exploring the six most common types of writing styles.

Narrative Writing

The goal of narrative writing is to tell a story. There’s a main character who confronts a challenge in their pursuit of a goal. The character makes choices that have consequences—good and/or bad—and it all comes to some sort of resolution. 

Most of the time, the purpose of the story is to entertain or connect with the reader on an emotional level. 

However, advertisers can use narrative writing to persuade consumers to buy a product. Historians can use it to highlight the humanity and modern relevance of past events. Speechwriters can tap into their narrative writing skills when they want to energize listeners with an inspiring tale.

This style of writing is so powerful because it engages the reader’s emotions and invites them to imagine unfamiliar experiences.

Narrative Writing Examples 

The most common forms of narrative writing include:

• Novels
• Novellas
• Short stories
• Flash fiction
• Memoirs
• Autobiographies/biographies
• Narrative nonfiction
• Narrative poetry

The goal of narrative writing is to draw the reader into the setting and immerse them in the story. That means this particular style uses dialogue, a lot of descriptive language, a distinctive voice, and a strong point of view. You know, stuff like:

Sam Vimes sighed when he heard the scream, but he finished shaving before he did anything about it. –Night Watch

“‘You are,’ he says, ‘the absolute worst idea I've ever had.’” –Red, White, and Royal Blue

Narrative Writing Tips

To nail narrative writing, you need:

A main character readers will love - This usually means creating a blend of vulnerability, virtue, and flaws.

A compelling conflict - The stakes should be high for your main character, and the conflict should grow more serious as the story progresses.

Vivid sensory details - Strong imagery pulls your readers into the narrative and helps them empathize with your characters’ experiences.

Deeper meaning - Use the narrative to explore deeper themes your audience can connect to.

Descriptive Writing

Descriptive writing aims to help readers imagine an environment, person, or experience. 

While all the other types of writing styles in this article can stand alone, descriptive writing is often used to support other styles.

For example, it comes in handy when you want to describe the setting of a novel. You could also use this style to paint a picture of your neighborhood at rush hour if you were writing a persuasive article about the need for more traffic lights in your town.  

Ultimately, the purpose of descriptive writing is to convey essential information or evoke specific emotions by creating an image in your readers’ minds.

Descriptive Writing Examples

You can find a ton of descriptive writing in fiction, like this:

“...by the time I met her she was already a rather bizarre old woman with shoulders rounded into two gentle humps and with white hair coiled around a sebaceous cyst the size of a pigeon egg crowning her noble head.” –The Stories of Eva Luna

You’ll also see it in nonfiction.

“A fox steps from the woods, its shoulders are bright, its narrow chest is as white as milk. The wild eyes stare at the geese. Daintily it walks to the pond’s edge, calmly it drinks.” –The Ponds 

You see descriptive writing pretty much everywhere description is needed.

Descriptive Writing Tips

Here are some quick suggestions for the next time you need to describe a scene like a pro:

Nail down what you really want to say - What do you want to communicate to your readers? What feelings or actions are you hoping to inspire? Choose words and images that will help create the mood and message you’re going for.

Engage the five senses - Use concrete details to conjure scents, sights, tastes, sounds, and physical sensations for your audience. This is the heart of the “show, don’t tell” rule. If you’re not familiar with it, you can learn about it here.

Stick to essential details - Rather than painting every detail, focus on the images that indicate the overall tone or theme. If you show the reader the morning glories winding up the trellis and offer them the scent of orange blossom on a soft breeze, they’ll fill in the rest of the picture themselves.

Expository Writing

In expository writing, the goal is to share information that’s relevant to the reader in the current context.

That is to say, this writing style is all about the facts: who, what, when, where, and why. 

Entire works can be categorized as expository writing. Textbooks fall under this category. So do news articles.

But you might sometimes hear the term “expository writing” used in relation to fiction, which is confusing, because the entire point of fiction is that it’s not based on fact.

In this context, expository writing—more commonly called “exposition”—refers to relevant information that would be considered factual within the world of the story.

More specifically, it’s additional information the reader needs in order to fully understand the narrative. For example, in a novel where the protagonist refuses to fall in love, details about their past heartbreak would count as expository writing.

Expository Writing Examples

This writing style includes things like:

• Textbooks
• Instruction manuals
• News stories
• Encyclopedias
• Essays
• Guides and how-to articles (like this one you’re reading!)

In the context of fiction, this style of writing looks like this:

“In Mallard, you grew up hearing stories about folks who’d pretended to be white. Warren Fontenot, riding a train in the white section, and when a suspicious porter questioned him, speaking enough French to convince him that he was a swarthy European...” –The Vanishing Half

That passage offers insight into the protagonist’s upbringing, shedding light on the way that character processes a situation she’ll wrestle with throughout the entire novel.

Expository Writing Tips

Here are some tricks for making sure your expository writing is clear, engaging, and relevant:

Know your audience - Your goal is to convey essential information, so make sure you speak in a language your readers will understand. This is especially true for textbooks and other educational materials.

Organize information logically - What does your reader need to understand first in order to understand everything else? How can you divulge this information as clearly as possible? If you’re writing fiction, at what point in the story would it be most helpful for your reader to gain this insight?

Stick to what matters - Resist the temptation to share everything you know on a given topic or—in the case of fiction—every little fact you’ve dreamed up. Only share what’s relevant to this reader at this moment.

Persuasive Writing

This is a fun one. In persuasive writing, your goal is to convince the reader of something.

Maybe you want them to take a certain action like buying a product, funding a nonprofit, or calling their representative. Maybe you just want them to see things your way. Whatever your specific objective is, the big idea is that you’re harnessing the power of language to make it happen.

In many cases, persuasive writing calls on several other types of writing styles. Narrative and descriptive writing can stir readers’ emotions, which can sway personal opinions and inspire action. And expository writing can play a persuasive role by providing compelling facts and statistics.

Persuasive Writing Examples

If someone is trying to get someone to act or think a certain way, it’s persuasive writing. That includes:

• Advertising in all its forms
• Cover letters
• Business proposals
• Grant proposals
• Query letters
• Product reviews
• Op-eds
• Political speeches

You can even throw a little persuasive writing into your Nobel Prize speech if you want to, like so:

“Why do leaders accept that for children in developing countries, only basic literacy is sufficient, when their own children do homework in algebra, mathematics, science, and physics? Leaders must seize this opportunity to guarantee a free, quality, primary and secondary education for every child. Some will say this is impractical, or too expensive, or too hard. Or maybe even impossible. But it is time the world thinks bigger.” –Malala Yousafzai

Persuasive Writing Tips

Want to get your readers to do your bid—I mean, see things your way? Here are some tips for nailing a persuasive piece:

Empathize - Know your audience, including their dreams, fears, frustrations, and values. This allows you to meet them where they are and speak to their priorities.

Help them empathize with you - This is where those narrative and descriptive writing skills pay off. Paint a clear picture of your own experiences, challenges, fears, or visions for the future. Make it easy for your audience to see things from your perspective.

Provide supporting evidence - Emotional appeal is the secret to snagging your reader’s attention, but facts and figures will help them feel better about taking your side.

Technical Writing

Ready for the driest writing style on this list?

That’s not entirely fair. Technical writing can be fun. But it’s usually not. Fun is not the goal here. The only function of technical writing is to translate specialized knowledge into information that’s clear and accessible to the reader. 

User guides, company handbooks, case studies… these are all forms of technical writing.

In this particular style, there’s no need to spark emotion—in fact, that could hurt your goal of translating complex information. Technical writers rarely seek to convey a specific tone or write in an engaging voice. It’s just clear, direct instruction.

Technical Writing Examples

A lot of technical writing looks like this:

“From the Start Menu, open the Control Panel and select Sound.” –the Samson Q2U manual sitting on my desk

But it’s not all step-by-step instructions. Within this writing style, you’ll also find:

• Textbooks
• E-learning content
• FAQs
• Case studies
• Reports
• Academic writing
• Training manuals
• Corporate handbooks
• Corporate memos

…and pretty much anything else that demystifies techspeak or corporatespeak into something the average person can understand.

Technical Writing Tips

If you want to master this particular writing style, start with these tips:

Know your reader - The entire point of technical writing is to create clarity for your audience. So it’s essential that you understand what their current level of expertise is. That way, you won’t talk down to them or over their heads.

Use direct, precise language - Don’t worry about making it sound lovely. Fancy words and figurative language will only cloud your meaning.

Structure information logically - Think carefully about how you lay out knowledge. What details does your reader need to understand in order to make sense of the rest of the information?

Creative Writing

Creative writing is a massive category. It includes all work that emphasizes creativity and personal expression rather than conveying objective information.

Under the vast umbrella of creative writing, we have fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. Each of those categories includes multiple forms and genres. 

For example, novels, short stories, novellas, flash fiction, plays, and screenplays all fall under the heading of fiction. Within each of those sub-categories there are genres like science fiction and romance. 

There are even subgenres, but if you really want to get into all that, you can learn about it here.

All this to say, the term “creative writing” encompasses a lot. But, really, it all comes down to using words to communicate our subjective interpretations of what it means to be human.

Examples

Creative writing includes stuff like:

• Novels
• Novellas
• Short stories
• Flash fiction
• Plays
• Screenplays
• Teleplays
• Memoirs
• Personal essays
• Travel writing
• Nature writing
• Poetry

Because this writing style is all about experimenting with words to discuss abstract concepts like love and grief, creative writers tend to use a lot of literary devices and figurative language in their work. That results in engaging work like this:

“Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.” –One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

“You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees

for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body

love what it loves.” 

–”Wild Geese”

Creative Writing Tips

You can find just about all the creative writing tips you could possibly want in DabbleU. There are hundreds of articles in there, covering everything from choosing your story structure to avoiding purple prose.

But if you want a few quick tips before you browse DabbleU, here are some big ones:

Immerse the reader in your world - This is where that old “show, don’t tell” advice comes in handy. Whether you’re writing a fantasy novel, a personal essay, or a haiku, include specific, concrete details that help your audience disappear inside your universe.

Explore a theme - Even a whodunit written purely for funsies has something to say… about human nature, about trust, about the importance of small details. What’s the underlying message of your piece?

Find your voice - What unique perspective do you bring to your writing? What tone do you slip into naturally when you write? What type of diction do you tend to use? Work to find your voice, and you’ll be able to craft creative prose that is distinctly your own.

Master Your Writing Style

I hope this little romp through writing styles has given you enough clarity to feel like you can discuss each style like a pro. Or at least like an informed beginner.

Of course, as you may have guessed, there’s a lot more to learn. And if it’s creative writing you want to learn about, stick with us.

Not only are there hundreds of free articles available in DabbleU, but you can also have advice and inspiration sent directly to your inbox once a week! All you have to do is click here to sign up for our free newsletter—loads of knowledge, zero spam.

And, of course, a lot of style.