Chapter Twelve: “Writing with Style and Styles”

As you read this chapter, refer back to the discussion of “style and tone” in Chapter One (pp. 36-39). Whereas Chapter Twelve deals with aspects of style that cut across all  genres and most writing situations, the “style and tone” part of Chapter One deals with what makes styles differentin different situations and with different writers.

Try experimenting, as my STEM students have, with different styles for communicating the same information, but to different readers in different genres. For example, try turning your IMRD research report into a flyer for non-scientists, or into a website or blog entry for other groups of users.

The Best of the Web Blogs site https://blogs.botw.org/ is a great site for finding blogs that use a conversational, informal style that contrasts beautifully with the formal, highly professional style of the IMRD research articles that are often linked to the blog posts.

Also regarding style and styles, check out the examples and recommendations described above under resources for Chapter Nine.

For a journalistic style, the websites for

• National Geographic: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/ 
• the National Wildlife Federation blog https://blog.nwf.org/?_ga=2.150927222.1932914546.1567183741-1282234833.1565368679
• and the American Physical Society (APS) Policy News https://www.aps.org/policy/

are among the many STEM sites that exemplify for you not only the journalistic principles I describe in Chapter Eight—but also the multiple uses of media that I focus on in Chapter Three. For example, read the APS News piece (May 2019) on the international helium shortage. This short APS article links to an NBC News article on the shortage: “Not just Party City: Why helium shortages worry scientists and researchers” https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/not-just-party-city-why-helium-shortages-worry-scientists-researchers-n1007151. Note how such pieces show uses of the style tips I describe in Chapters Twelve and Eight.