writing conventions

Rules for prose

Writing conventions are the established rules and practices that govern written language, including spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and grammar.

These conventions vary somewhat across contexts—academic writing follows stricter conventions than casual texting, and British conventions differ from American ones in predictable ways.

Writers learn conventions through education and reading, though many bend or break them deliberately for stylistic effect.

The essay lost points for ignoring basic writing conventions.

Related

headings · subject-verb agreement · active voice · pronoun usage · colons · font styles · sentence fragments · clauses · citations · block quotes · abbreviations · word order · apostrophes · journalistic style · poetic meter · capitalization rules · bullet points · quotation marks

Categories
Opposites
rule-following vs. freeform expression

writing conventionsfree writing

Uncensored, continuous prose generation

stream of consciousness · artistic freedom · experimental writing · automatic writing · rule-breaking

standardization vs. idiosyncrasy

writing conventionspersonal voice

One's distinctive expressive manner

unconventionality · nonconformity · individual expression

formal structure vs. chaos/disorder

writing conventionsdisorganization

Absence of systematic arrangement

formlessness · incoherence · disorder · randomness · illiteracy

Family

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