What is Style: Part II

At the beginning of the course I answered the question "What is style?" by saying that "Style refers to the choices a writer makes regarding word choice, phrasing, length of sentences, placement of punctuation, etc." I also added that a writer's style depends on the medium he or she uses.

While I would still agree with that, I think the definition needs to be expanded somewhat. The importance of medium is something we really stressed in this class. Through-out the course we have been looking at various mediums, such as comics and videos, and how they function compared to writing. In both cases the connections between writing and creating a comic or video were very strong; in fact, both seem to be an extension of writing.

But style is more than just enhancements or flourishes. Style is the procedure and guiding principles used to create a work; it is the foundation of any writing, video, art, music, etc. Style is what separates one piece of work from any other; what makes an individual's work his or her own and reflects their personality, culture, society, etc.

Style is the choices one makes when creating a work, whether it's a piece of writing, video, art, etc. Every single decision we make-from the words and images we include to the medium we use-is an element of style. Many of the same principles and concepts are used through-out various mediums and disciplines. For example, the process involved in creating a comic is similar to the process used to create a video.

This course changed the way I think about the choices I make in regards to my writing. My previous view of style was that in entirely depended on the type of work I was writing. This meant there was very little connection between writing I did for school, my journalism work, and my personal writing. I was trying to mimic the style I thought was acceptable for each medium, and thus lost my own sense of individual style. This class has helped me really develop my own sense of style and voice in everything I write.