Guidelines effective writing: Voice & tone.

How will your readers “hear” your writing?

As an author, you need to plan in advance how you want to “sound” to your readers. Your writing has a voice and a tone. To be an excellent writer, you need to choose the right voice and tone for your target audience segments. The voice of your writing is the way you express yourself. The tone of your writing is the overall feeling or mood that you create. For example, if you are writing a formal non-fiction book targeting post-doctorate researchers in academia, you would use a more formal voice and tone. If you are writing a commentary on a social topic of interest to the general public, you could use a more informal voice and tone.

Voice

The voice of your writing is the way you express yourself. It is the personality that comes through in your writing. There are two main types of voice: active voice and passive voice.

Active voice is more direct and engaging than passive voice. In active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action. For example:

• The dog chased the cat.

In passive voice, the subject of the sentence receives the action. For example:

• The cat was chased by the dog.

Active voice is generally preferred in writing because it is more concise and easier to understand.

Tone

The tone of your writing is the overall feeling or mood that you create. It can be formal, informal, serious, humorous, or any other mood. The tone of your writing should be appropriate for your audience and the purpose of your writing.

Once again, consider your audience. Will they appreciate and engage with your work if you write in a more professional, authoritative tone? Or, will they find your ideas more compelling and relatable if you write in a more conversational, informal tone? You as the author need to know your audience and make choices early in your writing plan about what kind of tone is best suited for your target audience segments.