A Professional Writing Style: What Exactly Does That Mean?

Does this email sound professional?

This is my personal statement for my graduate school application. Can you check to make sure the writing style is professional?

Please polish up my writing so it’s more professional.

At TextRanch, we get many requests from customers who want to make sure their writing sounds professional. Whether they are working on a cover letter, a business report, a work email, or an academic paper, they understand that a professional writing style is essential for success. But what exactly does it mean when someone says they want their writing to “sound professional”?

Well, let’s take a deep dive and find out! In this article, we will examine the characteristics of a professional writing style and provide some helpful tips and tricks.

1. Consideration: Knowing your audience

Developing a professional writing style isn’t about mastering one set of rules that can be used for all types of people in all situations. Rather, it means you know how to adjust your writing to fit your audience.

Before you begin any actual writing, think about who your reader(s) will be. Is it the co-worker you socialize with outside of the workplace? Is it someone in a position of authority, such as a professor or a supervisor? Is it the CEO of a company where you are applying for a position? Is it a group of middle school students who are interested in your field? Is it someone whose culture has different expectations of formality compared to yours?

Knowing your audience will help you determine the appropriate level of formality, how much field-specific language you should use, and what other sorts of adjustments you should make to your writing.

2. Clarity: Getting straight to the point

If you want your writing to sound professional, it needs to be easy to understand. You don’t want your readers to left scratching their heads and wondering what you’re trying to communicate.

Clarity also means striking the right balance between field-specific jargon and plain English. For example, if you’re writing a memo to your team members at work, using jargon might be the most efficient way to communicate. But if you’re writing to someone outside of your field, you may need to explain the special terms you are using.

In any case, you will sound more professional if you take out unnecessary “fancy” words and cumbersome phrases. If your writing has a lot of lengthy sentences, look for ways to shorten some of them.

• Unclear: We would like to bring your attention to the necessity of implementing numerous adjustments in order to attain improved outcomes in the future.

• Clear: We need to make several adjustments to improve future results.

3. Formality: Finding the right tone

If your writing sounds too casual for a professional setting, your audience might think you don’t take your work seriously. However, “professional” doesn’t have to mean “stiff and overly formal”. If you are writing to a team member who is also a friend, a more casual tone is probably appropriate.

This article on formal vs. informal English can help you determine which level of formality is right for your situation and how you can adapt your writing accordingly. But here are some quick tips:

• Avoid slang, emojis, text talk (e.g., “ur” instead of “you are”), or overly casual expressions.
• In emails and letters, use the appropriate opening and closing salutations.
• Use polite and respectful language, even when you’re writing a complaint or feeling angry about a bad situation.
• Keep a consistent tone throughout the text.

4. Correctness: Mastering grammar and style

When you want your writing to be professional, errors in grammar, punctuation, and spelling can have the opposite effect. So take the time to check your work and make sure everything is written correctly.

The following are some key areas to check:

• Are you using the correct verb tense?
• Are there any issues with punctuation (e.g., commas, apostrophes)?
• Do you see any typos?
• Are there any spelling mistakes?
• Have you confused two similar words (e.g. loose/lose or they’re/there/their)?

Our TextRanch editors can help you with all of the above—and more.

5. Conventions: Using the right format

For some types of writing—scholarly papers, CVs/resumes, work presentations, newspaper articles—you will be expected to adhere to certain formatting standards. Your writing itself might be superb, but if it isn’t formatted correctly, your readers will have doubts about your professionalism.

If you find yourself in a situation where you have to format your writing in a certain way, here are some tips:

• Ask someone in authority (e.g., your supervisor, your advisor at school, an experienced colleague) for specific guidance on how to format your text.
• Consult the style manual used by professionals in your field.
• For resumes/CVs, look online for templates or examples.

Also, make sure your documents are visually pleasing and easy to read. Avoid cluttered layouts, weird fonts, tiny print, eccentric color choices, or anything else that’s likely to give your readers a headache!

How TextRanch can help

At TextRanch, we specialize in helping writers polish their professional communications. From emails to reports to presentations to academic papers, we ensure your documents are clear, correct, and effective. Our editors are located in different time zones throughout the world, so we are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

If you want to make sure your writing sounds professional, just click the blue box below to get started.