What are conventions in writing? From definition to types

Writing seems a seamless process of expressing your ideas and emotions. Although, the trail of thoughts gets your writing nowhere without a structure. You must have proper guidelines to structure your message properly. These writing guidelines are called writing conventions.

Conventions in writing are the primary sets of rules and regulations. Following these rules, you can meet the writing standards of your readers and publishers. 

There are five major types of writing conventions, spelling, grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and formatting. They and a few other types come together for unity in writing.

Let’s get ahead further to learn everything for your query about what are conventions in writing.

Defining Writing Convention: Ease for students and writers

In literal means, writing conventions are a universally accepted set of linguistic rules which makes bring clarity and comprehensiveness to writing. Some basic types of conventions are grammar, spelling, capitalization, punctuation, etc.

Conventions are writing etiquettes that direct the writer about the structuring process of the given writing piece. For example, you can’t write an academic essay randomly in one go, you need to divide it into the “intro, body, and conclusion” paragraph format. With the thesis statement in the introduction paragraph. Each body paragraph should be connected to a single idea of the whole essay for harmony and coherence. Finally, the concluding paragraph summarizes the broader idea of the whole essay.

However, this is one look to the conventions, there are numerous more types of using conventions in writing as per your genre.

Why do Conventions in writing matter?

Before we go ahead, you should know why conventions are important. So, the language convention in writing matters for effective communication. It fulfills the gap between two individual and put them on the same literal norms to understand each other ideas. In a broader sense,

-          Conventions are important for language maintenance.

-          It gives the language a specific fashion for mutual understanding between people.

-          It distinct composition technique of each genre of writing and speaking to deliver ideas

and thoughts specifically. For example, you can talk about “awkward family gatherings” in a stand-up comedy, not in a declamation. Similarly, you can discuss “dating disasters” in a social media post but not in an academic essay.

In this way, conventions are necessary to give a writing style guide for each genre.

From Spelling to Punctuation: 8 main types of language convention in writing

Now that we know the importance of conventions in writing we should know each type of language convention. Languages are different so are the accents, therefore conventions make it easier for people of different regions to build better understanding.

Here we are discussing 8 types of language conventions in writing,

1. Spelling
   

2. Grammar
   

3. Punctuation
   

4. Capitalization
   

5. Subject Verb Agreement
   

6. Paragraphs
   

7. Formatting
   

8. Tone & Style
   

9. Citation and References

Convention #1, Spelling Rules

The first point to consider while writing is the spelling of your words. While you won’t intentionally make a spelling error you can sometimes get stuck in the regional spellings.

For instance, American English would spell the word color while British English spells color. And many other words do so.

Hence, when you write, you have to choose a writing style and keep it consistent for your target readers.

Convention #2, Grammar Rules

Secondly, grammar is the process of structuring sentences and paragraphs to make them sound understandable. Some basic grammar rules in writing conventions are,

-          Presence of subject and verb in each sentence.

-          The adjective should be just before the noun.

-          Place an adjective after a noun if separated by a verb.

-          Use a comma to connect two ideas.

-          Write complete sentences.

-          Use a more active voice and restrain passive sentences.

-          Understand tenses and parts of speeches.

-          Understand articles to use for nouns.

Convention #3, Punctuation Practices

Thirdly, punctuation acts as a guide for reading. When used correctly it clarifies and emphasizes the true idea or emotion of the sentence. Some basic convention rules for punctuation are using parallel punctuation.

Such as if you use a comma at the beginning of a clause, make sure you add it in the last as well. Also, apostrophes show the possessions, commas quote the sayings, semicolons separate two clauses and the functions go on.

Convention #4, Capitalization Usage

Then comes Capitalization, which is extremely necessary for conversational writing. The capital letters speak more than their meanings. Here five of the basic capitalization rules are,

-          The first letter of a sentence is a capital letter.

-          Proper nouns and names start with a capital letter.

-          Titles of your write-ups should have capital letters.

-          “I” as a pronoun is a capital.

-          Avoid capitalization after a colon.

Convention #5, Subject Verb Agreement

Besides everything subject-verb agreement is the most functional and dramatic writing convention. It says a lot about the time in which the scene takes place.

Literally, subject-verb agreement says that a verb in a sentence must agree with the subject in numbers. That means the singular subject should be with a singular verb and the plural subject with a plural one.

For instance, the girl drinks. The “girls” is a 3rd person singular while “Drinks” is a singular verb. Whereas, the sentence “they run a marathon” has “they” as a 3rd person plural while “run” is a plural verb.

Convention #6, Paragraph Structure

Then comes paragraphs which are the defining agents of writing. However, the conventions say that each paragraph speaks in detail about your broad claim. In this manner, each paragraph should have connected ideas.

Moreover, the best practice for structuring a paragraph is to start with a topic sentence and provide evidence with supporting sentences.

Convention #7, Text Formatting

While the paragraph describes it all, the text needs a proper format for better readability. It involves indentations, line spacing, and headings usage. As per your write-up, you should use a uniform font size and name. Also, make use of particular margins.

Convention #8, Style and Tone Consistency

Text format provides consistency to the reader's views but literal consistency requires an even style and tone of writing. In this context, style is the standard writing guidelines about a particular write-up. Style in writing gives a particular character to writing.

Meanwhile, the tone is the consistent way of writing or expressing the ideas of the author. It speaks about the feelings and emotions that the writer expresses.

Convention #9, Bibliography (Citation and References)

Finally, a bibliography involves mentioning the source that you use for research of your writing topic. Here, the in-text citation is a short written text in between the writing. It acts as an evidence of the particular idea.

Whereas references are citations in full detail of your particular source. These bibliographies are also important so someone won’t put a copyright claim on your idea or write-up.

Convention Skill: A technique or a talent?

Summing up the idea, convention is more of a technique than a talent. Although writing involves skills and creative abilities if the writer has command of convention, your writing will touch the skies. So, for your tasks, you must have a skillful writer who does it all.

Similarly, Brilliant Media is a specialized ghostwriting service that knows A to Z about writing. They have several skillful writers who understand conventions from grammatical aspects to tone and style consistency. Your writing becomes a win-win and your book becomes a best seller.