Writing is a unique art that requires a lot of imaginative power, creativity and dedication. You can write about any topic of your choice and present your work in an attractive way to potential readers. A good writer should have a great observation power and thinking ability.

Writing is a wide subject and covers a plethora of genres, techniques and fields. You can write to convey a story, an idea, a concept, a thought and so on. There are five types of writing that are often used. It is important for every writer to know these writing styles and their applications. A writer’s style reflects his personality, voice, unique style and how he approaches his audience.

List of Writing Styles

Descriptive Writing

Just as the name suggests, descriptive writing involves describing a given subject. With descriptive writing, the writer tries to create the real picture or situation in the mind of the reader. To present your description in a more effective way, you should use all the human senses - touch, smell, sight, sound and taste. Use them to describe an event, a scene, a location, an object, a person and so on. The objective is to apply descriptive words when writing. The writer often presents his work step by step. This writing style is in common books, magazines and newspapers.

Persuasive Writing

What does persuasive writing involve? Its meaning can be derived from the word “persuasion.” This indicates that it revolves around something that involves convincing someone. Persuasion requires great skill and effort to convince your readers to endorse your opinion or viewpoint. You write with the sole objective of persuading your readers. Unlike persuasive advertisements that depend on visual appeal to strengthen the argument, persuasive writing utilizes the power of words to confidently and passionately relay a very important matter. Play on words and deep passion will certainly render the desired effect, as long as the writer understands the strength of reader’s convictions. Therefore, you should write on topics on which the writer has a preconceived notion. Such writings are common in newspapers and magazines, particularly on the editorial section.

Expository Writing

An expository writing is done in almost the same way as other types of writings, but the only difference is that it majorly focuses on presentation of facts, data and information about a given subject, instead of the personal opinions or viewpoints of the writer. At the end of the writing, the writer should state his opinions about the subject, but only after highlighting facts and illustrations which made him to come up with these opinions. An expository writing would be excellent if it is based on a subject which you are well versed with and can present to your readers in steps, in order to achieve the final goal. The writing is also common in many books, magazines and newspapers.

Compare and Contrast

This type of wiring involves juxtaposing two different concepts, ideas, or entities to highlight their similarities and differences. The entities may include anything under the sun, such as two ideologies, points of view, choices, places, books or their characters and any other thing that crosses your mind. In life, people often find themselves at crossroads or in a dilemma where they have to decide between two or even more alternatives. In such cases, it is necessary to ‘Compare and Contrast’ the options available. So writing a compare and contrast article or essay helps the readers to weigh the advantages and disadvantages between various options, in order to make a decision. Giving similarities and differences enable the reader to have a bigger picture.

Narrative Writing

This is all about story telling; whether fictional or non-fictional. This genre is one of the most commonly written and read pieces, because it is much easier to narrate your experiences or to report about someone else’s. It is used to write personal essays, biographies, plays and movie scripts, but their main goal is to entertain the readers. Narrative writing usually follows a given structure consisting of five elements such as:

• Setting: The time and venue of the event or story
• Characters: The protagonist (the main character) and other people featured in the story
• Problem: The challenge faced by the main character
• Events: How the main character handles the problem
• Resolution: The final solution to the problem