The Importance of Style

The Importance of Style

If there’s one thing that this class has taught me, it’s that one of the single most important aspect to consider in writing, is that of the style. Style can be defined many ways, whether it be an analysis of oneÂ’s writing proficiency and technical accuracy, or the writerÂ’s voice, and how they bring across their message to the readers. Without style, all writing becomes at least one of two things: a boring, dragging piece whose clipped pace turns the reader totally off, or it becomes so poorly written that the question of the author’s intelligence comes into play while reading the piece.

While I could easily say simply that style is the most important aspect of writing, that would be far too much of an oversimplification. There are many individual pieces that make style what it is. In fact, whole books have been written solely on that subject, such as "Style Toward Clarity and Grace" by Joseph M. Williams, or "The Elements of Style" by William Strunk, Jr. and E. B. White. These texts try to pin down exactly what are the key points that make a successful style, as opposed to one not as well crafted, just as the purpose of this essay is.

The first thing I think of when I try to define good styles of writing is a knack for grammar and vocabulary. These are the most important aspects of writing when it comes to getting oneÂ’s message across. Without proper grammar, confusion and misinterpretation reign supreme. Strunk and White feature an entire chapter exclusively to the practice of using the correct grammar (Strunk and White chapter 4). Williams, meanwhile feels that the rules are not necessary to dwell on ever, and breaks rules down into three ways: rules that "No native speaker of English has to think about", rules that educated writers only think about "when they see or hear them violated" and finally, rules that are apparently there for grammarians to find faults in writing, and that educated writers generally accept that these rules can be ignored (Williams 176).

If nothing else, this dichotomy in policies from several sources is totally indicative of the very nature of writing itself. Writing has existed for thousands of years, and it seems like at least once a generation, the general acceptance of rules, and even which rules are applicable change dramatically.