A writer's style gives his or her writing individuality. The more personal a writer's style becomes, the more the readers feel as if the writer is expressing himself or herself. A writer usually tries to develop a style that best reflects him or her as a person.

The elements of style that are likely to be noticed first in writing are tone and attitude. Writers convey feelings through the pieces they write in the same way that people convey feelings through tone of voice. Writers, however, must rely only on the printed word and can not use inflection, volume, or gestures to make their point. The following is an example of a sentence that conveys an arrogant tone:

• John survey his classmates, congratulating himself for snatching the highest grade without studying at all, unlike all the other dolts in the class.

Without specifically saying John was arrogant, the writer has conveyed this idea. "Surveying," "snatching," and "dolts" carry out this feeling.

Word choice is probably the most powerful element of style. Many words have strong connotations, and writers learn to use them on purpose to elicit certain responses from the reader. For example, the words "plump" and "obese" both literally describe a person who is overweight. However, there is usually an emotional "tag" that goes along with a word.

• Example: The word "plump" has the meaning of being pleasantly fat, almost cutely overweight. It describes women more often than men.
• The word "obese," often used by medical personnel, has a more technical meaning. It carries a less emotional, more scientific emotional tag. Both "plump" and "obese" have the same literal definition, but the emotional meanings are different.

The following is an example of a sentence with strong emotional diction:

• The boy surveyed the class, congratulating himself for snatching the highest grade on the test.

The two important words are "surveyed" and "snatching." They are the words with the strongest emotional meanings.

Effective style in writing makes the reader think, "Well said!" The effective writer does not just get a message across in a routine fashion. He or she knows how to make the reader pay attention. He or she knows how to make a point sink in, and how to make the reader remember his or her written words.