Chapter 16 | Writing with Style

Writing with style is important to keeping your reader engaged.  Some of the ways you can write with style is to use varied sentences, keep your sentences concise, avoiding unnecessary words, phrases, and use transitions.  The use of transitional words, phrases, sentences and paragraphs, will help keep your reader following along clearly.  For me, I need to be careful to not change my tense, but commit to either a passive or active voice.  Ideally I would like to write my paper with an active voice as I believe this is a stronger choice.  I also have a tendency to add "filler" words into my sentences, with through unnecessary introductory phrases or modifiers.  I've noticed through my own editing process, when I remove these words and make my sentences more concise, they become clearer and my point of view stronger.  In summary, as Bedford elegantly states, “If you want your reader to form a positive opinion of you and your ideas, you’ll need to attend not only to what you say but also to how you say it.”  This includes saying in a way that is appropriate to the community you are engaging with.  I would like to find a nice balance between an academic tone, and a playful tone.