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What makes a writer’s style unique?

Some people have a very unique way of dressing themselves or styling their hair. They may have a distinct way of walking. Their friends can recognize them from a distance, long before seeing the facial features that would normally identify a person. These people have their own style, and everyone knows it.

young man dressed in a nice suite

A writer’s style is what makes his or her work unique and recognizable. If an author has been widely published, fans may be able to identify the author’s words easily—because of how the writer chooses words and puts them together. Style may include a writer’s usual level of formality, or use of “proper” language, as well as the kinds of details and sentence patterns typically found in his or her writing.

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Let's Practice

Each of the sentences below is written in a different style. One is simply descriptive, one is poetic, one is explanatory, and one is very literary and relies on lots of figurative language. See if you can identify the adjective that best describes the style of each sentence. Then click the sentence to check your answer.

The orange sun rose over the snow-covered mountains, revealing a blue and cloudless sky.

This sentence is very descriptive—in a simple, straightforward way.

Every morning, when the sun returns, I rise like a shining diamond, all glitter and gumption.

This sentence contains many poetic devices, including sound effects like alliteration and assonance (repeating of vowel sounds).

As Earth slowly rotates around the Sun, orange and yellow light begins to appear across the distant horizon.

This sentence sounds as though it belongs in a scientific article or video—something that requires an explanatory style.

The ball bounced toward Night’s hand, but Day reached in, and shot the glowing sphere into the awakening sky.

This sentence is the most literary in style—it relies entirely on personification and metaphor to create its effect.