What Are Tone, Style, and Audience?
When you write, you’re not just sharing ideas — you’re also choosing how to say them. That’s where tone, style, and audience come in. These three elements help shape your writing and ensure it fits the situation and the readers.
Audience – Who are you writing for?
Your audience is the person (or group) who will read your writing. Knowing your audience helps you decide what words, examples, and explanations to use.
| Audience | Example Approach |
|---|---|
| Your teacher | Formal, clear, well-organized writing with citations |
| Classmates | Slightly more casual, but still clear and respectful |
| Children | Simple words, short sentences, fun examples |
| Professionals/Experts | Formal vocabulary, technical language, specialized examples |
Tone – What feeling or attitude does your writing express?
Tone is the emotion or attitude behind your words. In academic writing, tone is usually:
- Formal (not casual or conversational)
- Objective (not emotional or personal)
- Confident (without exaggerating)
Examples of tone:
- Neutral: “This study shows a correlation between sleep and memory.”
- Too casual: “This study is super cool and really makes you think!”
Style – What kind of language and structure are you using?
Style refers to the overall way your writing is crafted — your sentence structure, word choice, and grammar.
In academic writing, good style means:
- Using complete sentences
- Avoiding slang or contractions (write do not, not don’t)
- Choosing precise vocabulary
- Staying focused and organized
Example
Informal Style / Casual Tone / Wrong Audience:
You guys should totally check out how lack of sleep messes up your brain. It’s kinda wild!
Formal Style / Academic Tone / Correct Audience:
Sleep deprivation has been shown to negatively impact cognitive performance and memory retention (Smith, 2020).
Final Tip
Before you write, always ask:
- Who will read this? (Audience)
- What feeling should my writing give? (Tone)
- What kind of language and structure should I use? (Style)