Do you want to take your writing skills to the next level? Learn the types of writing you can try for your job or fun.
As someone who makes a living writing for other people’s websites, I often adapt my writing style for different audiences and situations. The way I write conveys meaning beyond the words I use or what I say. Some forms of writing paint a picture, convince a reader to act or communicate facts while using reliable sources.
Choosing from the different types of writing and adapting to the requirements of a professor, business, or client is crucial to writing success. Below, I’ll share the different types of writing you can practice to become a better writer.
Contents
- 1. Expository Writing
- 2. Narrative Writing
- 3. Persuasive Writing
- 4. Descriptive Writing
- 5. Technical Writing
- 6. Diary Writing
- 7. Business Writing
- 8. Copywriting
- 8. Content Writing
- 9. Poetry
- 10. Critical Writing
- 11. Scientific Writing
- 12. Travel Writing
- 13. Blogging
- The Final Word On Types Of Writing
- FAQs About Types Of Writing
- Author
1. Expository Writing
Expository writing focuses on providing facts and research about a given topic. In this writing style, you’ll explore an idea in detail and expand on that idea using factual statements.
When writing an expository essay, you don’t seek to prove a point, persuade, or evoke emotions. Your goal is to explain something in an objective and balanced way. Here are some examples of expository writing you’re probably familiar with, whether you’ve written them or read them:
- Journalistic articles
- How-to manuals
- Assembly instructions
Can you see how inserting opinion, bias, or emotion into these types of writing could be problematic? Read our guide to the best essay writing topics.
2. Narrative Writing
Stories are everywhere around you and provide ample opportunity for you to express your imagination.
In narrative writing, you tell a story that’s 100 per cent truthful, primarily factual but embellished for reader enjoyment or fiction. Stories are everywhere around you and provide ample opportunity for you to express your imagination.
Examples of the narrative style include:
- Biographies and autobiographies
- Short stories
- Novels
- Novellas
- Narrative journalism
The journalist Hunter S. Thompson popularised this type of writing in his articles and essays, whereby his journalism often reads like a novel. If you’d like to learn more about this style, read our guide to narrative essays.
3. Persuasive Writing
In a persuasive essay, your goal is to convince the reader to agree with you through strategic argumentation. To accomplish this, you employ various argumentation techniques like presenting supporting evidence for your argument, laying out points in a logical order that slowly generates buy-in from the reader, and telling a story that evokes emotion to make the case.
Examples of persuasive writing include:
- Advertisements and marketing campaigns
- Cover letters
- Letters of recommendation
- Business proposals
- Persuasive essays
- Persuasive social media posts
- Persuasive journalism
Politicians and leaders use persuasive writing to popularize ideas like Barack Obama’s book The Audacity of Hope. If you’d like to learn more, read our guide to persuasive essays.
4. Descriptive Writing
Descriptive writing is a type of writing style that overlaps with others in this list. It’s one of the most common types of writing as students often write descriptive essays in school.
One of the essential concepts in descriptive writing is to “show, not tell”. Rather than simply saying what happened, explain the how and the why behind it to paint a picture. You’ll use numerous literary devices to accomplish this, such as:
- Similes
- Irony
- Metaphor
- Hyperbole
- Foreshadowing
For this writing style, you’ll choose a point of view to relate to readers. The POV can change the tone of the piece, with the third-person often sounding more formal and objective, while the first and second can seem informal. You may need a combination of more than one POV for the piece to work. Examples of POV usage:
- First-person – I, We (e.g., Moby Dick, Hunger Games)
- Second person – You, Understood You (e.g., most blog posts, choose your adventure books, assembly instructions )
- Third-person – He, She, It, They (e.g., Harry Potter, Journalistic Articles )
If you’d like to learn more, read our guide to descriptive essays.
5. Technical Writing
Technical writing involves communicating something complex in a way the audience can understand. To accomplish this, the technical writer must have in-depth knowledge of the topic they’re explaining and an understanding of the audience’s level of experience.
Technical writing is devoid of personal opinions. Instead, it explains a topic or concept step-by-step or logically. Examples of technical writing include:
- Research papers
- Legal documents
- Some textbooks
- White papers
- Academic writing
- Medical journals
- Technical documentation for products and software
If you’d like to learn more, read our guide explaining how to become a technical writer. We also like this technical writing course for engineers from Google.
6. Diary Writing
Diary writing is a more personal form of writing intended to log events in a person’s life and often their emotions. If you think you might be famous someday, keeping diaries could one day be resource materials for your auto-biography!
That point aside, many people use diaries as an external way to process how they’re feeling to deal with anger, regret, grief, fear, jealousy, and sadness. It’s cheaper than therapy.
Diary writing can be a positive experience. People often write about what they’re grateful for, express their joy around fortuitous events in their life, or set life goals and celebrate accomplishments.
Examples of diary writing include
- The Diary of Anne Frank
- Leonardo Da Vinci’s diaries
- Charles Darwin’s diaries
- Marie Curie’s notebooks
Read our guide explaining the differences between a diary and a journal.
7. Business Writing
Business writing is a commonly misunderstood type of writing. Many consider business writing stuffy and formal, but it’s a stimulating and well-paying field. A business writer follows a company style guide to convey an idea or concept for internal and, sometimes, external use.
For example, a business writer could take notes from an executive and turn them into a compelling business case for the wider team. They could also articulate the values of a business in everyday concise language for a presentation, pitch deck or company manifesto.
8. Copywriting
Copywriting describes using words to sell products and services to a target audience. A copywriter produces copy for websites, sales pages and email funnels. They aim to convince readers to act, for example, opting in for a lead magnet with their email address, taking out a trial or buying a product.
A copywriter can also branch into related areas like social media and content writing. Copywriters can earn high-five and even six figures annually by providing this service to companies or clients.
The art of copywriting involves holding the attention of readers. For this reason, it’s a valuable skill for those writing online. A good copywriting formula can help a writer finish an article or blog post quicker.
Learn how to become a copywriter.
8. Content Writing
Content writing is similar to copywriting. A content writer produces blog posts, articles, ebooks and guides for companies or online businesses. They may also write YouTube video scripts and social media posts.
A content writer typically charges clients a per-word rate, usually between four and ten cents, depending on the complexity of the topic. Content writing has become more popular for freelancers because most online businesses thrive on content.
A well-run niche website, for example, publishes a set number of SEO-optimized articles each month to increase traffic and revenue. The owner of this site depends on a team of knowledgeable content writers to achieve their publication and revenue goals.
If you’d like to try this discipline, read our guide explaining what does a content writer do?
9. Poetry
Poetry is something most writers try for fun. It’s a surprisingly rewarding discipline as a writer can play around with words, imagery and sensory language. Usually, an aspiring poet isn’t trying their hand at this type of writing to supplement their income. Instead, it’s a creative challenge.
Perhaps the most accessible type of poetry to start with is Haiku. It’s a type of Japanese poetry whereby the first line contains five syllables, the second 7 and the third 5. For example, consider this ancient Haiku by Japanese poet Matsuo Bashō:
An old silent pond
A frog jumps into the pond—
Splash! Silence again.
Haiku is only one form of poetry to explore. Read our guide to the most common types of poetry.
10. Critical Writing
A critic considers a piece of popular media and analyzes it for a general audience. The most obvious example is a film critic who watches a film and then explains, in newspaper articles or online, if readers should watch it.
Critical writing is often subjective rather than objective in that it’s written from the reviewer’s point of view. After all, one person’s art is another’s trash! However, writing reviews requires deep knowledge and understanding of the topic or medium in question… or at least an ability to entertain readers with your point of view.
Popular forms of critical writing include:
- Film reviews
- Game reviews
- Music reviews
For more, learn how to get paid to write reviews.
11. Scientific Writing
Scientific writing involves writing literature reviews, papers for peer-reviewed journals and even grant proposals. They read the prevailing literature about a topic, review current thinking and then provide a synopsis and evaluation. A scientific writer backs up their argument or points with evidence and citations. Ideally, a scientific writer demonstrates precision, clarity and objectivity.
However, they’re usually writing for an expert audience who understands the topic, prevailing literature, or works in the field. Therefore a scientific writer doesn’t always have to explain basic concepts and ideas as they can assume their audience knows the basics.
12. Travel Writing
Travel writing describes writing about your experiences while visiting a country, city or location. It sounds like a glamorous profession because you get paid to go on holiday!
However, professional travel writers are often under strict deadlines and have to see and do as much as possible in a short period. That often cuts out any socializing. Travel writers also face competition from locals who can write about a location with more expertise than a visitor. Travel writers can earn a nice side income by blogging and writing about their trips online.
For more, read our guide explaining how to become a travel writer.
13. Blogging
Blogging is an immensely rewarding form of writing that started in 1997. If you’re going to start a blog today, expect competition. Reportedly over 600 million blogs exist worldwide.
However, a writer can find success more easily if they write within a specific niche about topics readers are searching for, rather than their day or personal lives. The best blogs are self-hosted on WordPress and monetized through display advertising, affiliate promotions, and digital products.
To learn more, read our guide to blogging for writers.
The Final Word On Types Of Writing
Writers can explore many different styles, from creative to commercial. Selecting the right one depends on the reader, editor, publication and your writing goals. If you’re bored with one style, you can always try another for fun or to flex your creative muscles.
FAQs About Types Of Writing
How Do I Choose The Right Writing Style For A Piece?
Consider your audience and the style guide for the publication in question. Identify what type of writing the editor expects for this topic, publication, situation, or brand. Consider how your piece can inform, educate, inspire or entertain readers.
How Can I Learn To Write In Various Styles?
One of the best ways to learn writing styles is to read examples of them. Notice how the writer grabs your attention, unfolds their main points, and communicates with you along the way. Then practice, and ask someone–preferably a writer–to give you some feedback.
How Important Is Grammar In Writing?
Proper grammar enhances communication, while incorrect grammar and spelling can lead to confusion. For some audiences, bad grammar may reflect poorly on your attention to detail or intelligence. Unless you’re intentionally using “bad” grammar as a device to connect with the audience, you should generally avoid it.
Be extra careful about mixing up homonyms, misspelling words, or creating ambiguous sentences. Don’t trust your ability to proofread your work without help. Use a grammar and spell-checker like Grammarly, which has a basic version that’s free of charge.
Other online tools like Hemingway Editor and Yoast Content Analysis can help you refine your writing skills by pointing out, for example, if you overuse passive tense, adverbs, or long sentences.
