• What are the formal aspects of writing?
• The presentation of the text
• spelling rules
• The use of punctuation marks
• The wording and style

We explain what the formal aspects of writing are, and what is the function of presentation, spelling, punctuation marks and more.

The formal aspects of writing have an important impact on the reader.

What are the formal aspects of writing?

It is known as formal aspects of writing to the set of considerations of presentation, organization and appearance that accompany the text and that have nothing to do with its content. However, these formal aspects have an important impact on the reader and can be essential to capture (or reject) their attention, since they have to do with the way —the way— in which the content of the text is presented.

The formal aspects of writing are very diverse and have to do, fundamentally, with the presentation of the text, the orthography and the drafting, and the correct use of punctuation marks. The total of these elements guarantee, regardless of what the text says, that the reader will be able to locate himself quickly and easily in his reading.

The presentation of the text

The presentation of the text implies both the aesthetic care of the layout of the page and the elements it contains and its organization. The reason is very simple: the more chaotic and disorganized the page looks, the less attractive it will be for the reader. This includes items like:

• The use of a suitable paper, a single font and a unified formal system throughout the text (headings in bold or underlined, for example, or footnotes or at the end of the document).
• Respect for the appropriate margins of the page and the use of the necessary indentations so that the layout of the text is regular and uniform.
• Page numbering and a clear division of the text into its respective segments, as introduction, development or bibliography.
• In the case of handwritten documents, the care of the calligraphy.

spelling rules

Spelling is understood as the formal correction of the writing of the text, that is, compliance with the basic rules of writing. These rules established in the idiom they allow us to handle it in a more or less regular and similar way, so that we can understand each other even though we speak the same language in very different ways.

Paying attention to spelling includes not only knowing how to spell words correctly, words, but also when they are accented and when they are not, and when capitals are used. The correct spelling guarantees that in the text there is the least amount of ambiguity possible, so that the message can be conveyed clearly. The goal is to facilitate communication.

In general, attention should be paid to:

• The correct spelling of words, especially in cases where there is phonetic ambiguity. It is convenient to use a dictionary of the tongue for it.
• The use of capital letters after each full stop or full stop, in the acronym (or the initial letter of the acronyms) or in proper names (of people, countries, geographical accidents, among others).
• The accentuation according to the rules of Spanish.

The use of punctuation marks

Punctuation marks are the accompanying elements of words, which mark the rhythm, intonation and syntactic order of the text. This is key so that a text can be understood, since a bad punctuation interrupts the flow of the prayers (or unifies those that should go separately) and also distracts the reader, deteriorating the quality of reading.

Punctuation marks in Spanish are:

• The point (.). Marks the end of a sentence and the beginning of another (full stop), the end of a paragraph and the beginning of another (full stop), or the end of the entire text (full stop). The period represents a long pause in the text and gives the reader the opportunity to take a breath or to stop reading without losing the thread of the speech.
• The eat . Mark the cadence of the sentences, joining one with another through a brief pause, shorter than the one proposed by the point. The comma marks the style of the text and can produce subsections or clarifications, when it separates a subordinate clause inside the main. It is important never to put a comma separating the subject and the predicate of the sentence, and use it to separate the terms of the enumerations.
• Semicolon (;). Introduces a medium pause and allows the change of the sentence subject or the change of perspectives in what is said. It is a kind of intermediate option between the period and followed by the comma, which is also used to separate the terms of an enumeration when these terms have commas.
• Two points (:). They allow you to introduce elements in the text that require special attention, such as quotes, examples or enumerations announced by a verb. They must go without separation with respect to the sentence chain, and do not require the use of capital letters immediately after.
• Exclamation marks (!?). They convey the intonation of the sentence, either interrogative (?) or exclamatory (!), to tell the reader when a sentence begins and ends. Question or one exclamation. They are always used in pairs (the one that opens and the one that closes) and do not require the use of a period after closing (they already include it).
• Parentheses ().They introduce clarifications in the text, that is, supplementary information that does not interrupt the flow of the sentence. Therefore, what is in parentheses (must always start and close) is considered as an optional addition.

The wording and style

Good writing makes reading easy and pleasant.

Writing is the way in which ideas are combined and organized within the text. Good writing not only makes it easy to read, by presenting the information in a simple and understandable way, but also allows for originality and beauty in the way things are said, something very important for those who write literary works. The latter, that is, the personal and individual way of constructing the texts, is called "style".

To have good writing, you need to look not only at what is said, but also at how it is being said, and try to build texts that have cohesion (that is, that similar ideas are together and not scattered in the text) and coherence (that is, that the ideas are understandable, that the reader understands what the point of what is said is).

The best way to attend to the writing in the writing is the rereading of the text (especially aloud), and the revision of the parts that generate doubts, to try to correct them. Poor writing can prevent the reader from fully understanding the text.