Style can also be associated with voice. Voice is something that is hard to pin down, but one way to think about it is your idiosyncratic patterns that are unique to how you speak and write. Audiences will always expect things in specific rhetorical situations (see previous Learning Module 1!), but if they know you, they might also expect ways of speaking and writing from you.

Your voice might be kind of natural and it might change depending on the rhetorical situation (e.g., think of how you speak and write in various different contexts to older family members vs. co-workers vs. friends vs. strangers). Your voice might have shared attributes across rhetorical situations, but it really is very difficult to suggest there is something easily identifiable as Your Voice.

So, style absolutely has to do with audience. But don’t get too wrapped up in writing 100% for your audience. Another part of the rhetorical situation is called the exigence, sometimes called the purpose (exigence usually relates more to a shared problem or issue that calls someone to write whereas purpose is a bit more singular). It is about what you want to do, about what you feel is right in terms of what you say in response to what calls you to speak or write.

What are the patterns, repetitions, and disruptions of words, sentences, paragraphing, etc. that make the most sense for your exigence/purpose? What feels right to YOU.

Three reasons why this is important:

1. It’s your writing, and sometimes audiences need to receive information in ways that they might not be comfortable receiving. Sometimes something comforting is easy to forget or ignore.
2. It is sometimes not possible to know how an audience will receive something. We can’t know until you try something. You know a lot, but you might not know for sure how an audience will receive what you say. Sometimes it might be better to write something in the best way you think rather than worry a lot about how an audience might best receive it.
3. Sometimes you just wanna write what you wanna write, even if you have an audience besides yourself. So, just do what you wanna do.

Has anyone ever made a comment about your “voice” or “style” in your writing or speaking? Do you have a perspective on the kind of “voice” you have as a writer? In 30-50 words, comment below in response to these questions.

After commenting below, click on the “Click here to continue” button to go to the next module page.