Issues Relating To Style and Tone

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Issues Relating To Style and Tone

• Definition of Style
• Definition of Tone
• Gunning Fog Index

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Definition of Style in Professional Communication
Style is the signature or fingerprint that a
writer places on his/her writing by the conscious
and unconscious choices that he/she makes in
diction, syntax, punctuation, use of images and
allusions, and use of ideas the arrangement,
coherence, and emphasis given to these matters
also contribute to style. Style may be
categorized as having three major levels high,
middle, and low. Only the middle style is
suitable for most professional communication
needs. This level of style is usually broken
into three sublevels, each directed at one of the
major audiences of professional
communication High middle style for
experts Middle middle style for managers Low
middle style for the public
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Definition of Tone in Professional Communication
Tone is the attitude toward the audience and/or
subject expressed by a writer, and it contributes
to the effect that writing has on the
audience. Tone should, ideally, be neutral
toward both audience and subject matter however,
variations in the degree of formality expressed
are acceptable in professional communication
i.e., tone may vary from very informal to very
formal, depending on audience needs. Avoid
using a tone that creates bias or prejudice
toward the audience or subject matter.
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The Gunning Fog Index

• The Gunning Fog Index, a means of identifying the
  appropriate audience of a passage of writing, can
  be calculated using the following method
• Take a full passage that is around 100 words (do
  not omit any sentences) and find the average
  sentence length (divide the number of words by
  the number of sentences).
• Count words with three or more syllables (complex
  words), not including proper nouns (for example,
  Djibouti), compound words, words with common
  suffixes such as -es, -ed, or -ing, or familiar
  jargon find the percentage (for example, 13)
  of such words in the passage.
• Add the average sentence length and the
  percentage of complex words.
• Multiply the result by 0.4, giving a number that
  equals the number of years of education needed by
  a reader to comprehend the passage in question.