Many people believe your writing style is a true reflection of your personality. And although you may have a distinctive writing style, every piece of content has a distinct purpose, meaning your writing style should be tailored to meet that purpose.
For children, understanding the various writing styles can be a bit confusing at first. Thankfully, with your help as a parent, you can easily help them understand different forms of writing. Even better, you can help them perfect their writing voice in each piece of content they create. Here is a brief overview of four different writing styles and tips you can share with your child to assist them in becoming a better writer.
Descriptive
A descriptive piece of writing describes something, such as a character, an event, or a geographical location. This writing style is very detailed and includes numerous adjectives to paint a clear picture of the thing, person, or place being described. Many descriptive writing pieces have a poetic nature and are used when journaling or creating descriptive passages in a piece of fiction.
Parents can help their children become better descriptive writers by having them:
- Describe their surroundings
- Describe their favorite toy
- Describe their favorite thing to do
Narrative
A narrative piece of writing tells a story. Much like the descriptive writing style, a narrative tends to be full of detail to help the reader obtain a clear mental image of the story being told. Many narratives tell the story of a person's life or an event. Much of the writing is usually in dialogue and each piece will have a precise beginning, middle, and end, with the middle oftentimes being broken down into multiple intervals.
Parents can help their children improve their narrative writing skills by:
- Explaining and having them use action verbs
- Explain and having them use transition words
- Having them use numbers, like 77 mph or 11.03 PM
- Having them use repetition
- Having them use texture words, like damp, gritty, etc.
Expository
The expository writing style has a purpose of explaining something without introducing biases or personal opinions. There is much research involved in this type of writing and the primary goal is to present facts and figures. Many teachers require students to complete expository pieces of writing to explain past events. A recipe is an example of an expository piece of writing as well as how-to articles and textbook writing.
Parents can help their children expand their expository writing skills by:
- Giving them topics about their favorite sports to research and write about
- Giving them facts to verify and write about the verified facts
Persuasive
The main purpose of a persuasive piece of writing is to convince the reader. This writing style is very different from the expository style because it does include biases and personal opinions. Advertisements and editorial newspaper pieces are excellent examples of persuasive writing. Other examples include letters of recommendations, letters of complaints, reviews of restaurants and movies, and even cover letters used for employment purposes.
Excellent ways for parents to help their children improve their persuasive writing skills include:
- Having them explain why they think their favorite sport is the best
- Having them explain why they enjoy their favorite vacation spots
- Having them explain what it is about their best friends they like
With Genie Academy's English Language Arts program, every week, your child works to develop one of these four writing styles. They are peer edited and given individualized feedback on what they did well and what they need to work on to make a truly substantial essay. With the continued support of their classmates and teachers, the students in Genie Academy's English Language Arts program strengthen their writing skills week after week, surpassing even their own writing class in school.
Don't wait, sign up your child for Genie Academy today!
