Famous scholar and writing teacher Richard Lanham names the writing styles in many official documents, such as documents in government, military, law, finance, and other similar fields. He called it "official style," which is a way of writing based on "the dominance of nouns and the shrinking of verbs."
What writing style do you use often? If you've ever read experimental reports, military documents, or financial projections, you might notice one thing: they are very difficult to understand. Adhering to strict grammar [perhaps with the help of formal writing software] and colorless essays are not only unbearable, but also cumbersome to read. In fact, this is part of the charm because they have already done so.
It is especially common in bureaucratic structures, and official style is necessary to some extent. What is worthy of them?
- When you are interested in wanting to confuse the message. Read something from politicians and you will find that their non-recognized statements are based on official writing style.
- When you want to sound unhuman and unbiased.
- When you want to sound very professional. For some reason, people do think that this ironic word is professional, mainly as a conditional response, because many of our laws and procedures are written in this way.
- When you want to sound very smart. Again, it is all the perception. Because lawyers, bankers, and senior officials have been writing this way, when you write in this way, people think you have a title of dignity.
Orignal From: Richard Lanham's official writing style
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