50+ Most Useful Writing Styles for ChatGPT Prompts

Writing is a potent tool for expressing a vast spectrum of emotions, thoughts, and ideas, capable of captivating and engaging any reader. With the advent of advanced AI language models like ChatGPT, creating high-quality content across diverse styles has become more accessible than ever. This guide explores a wide array of writing styles you can leverage in your ChatGPT prompts to produce content that is not only helpful and unique but also deeply engaging.

Whether you’re a seasoned writer, a blogger shaping your next piece, a marketer crafting compelling copy, or a student tackling an academic paper, understanding how to direct ChatGPT with specific styles can elevate your output. We’ll delve into various styles, offering examples and insights into when and how to use them effectively.

Before You Begin: Key Considerations for Styling Your Prompts

Combining Styles: Don’t feel limited to a single style. You can often achieve more nuanced results by combining them. For example, Write a blog post in an investigative journalistic style about the rise of urban gardening, making it humorous.
Specifying Tone: Beyond the overall style, you can guide the emotional flavor of the text by specifying a tone. Words like “optimistic,” “skeptical,” “urgent,” “empathetic,” or “formal” can significantly shape the output. For example, Write a business style email with an urgent tone.
Knowing Your Audience: Consider who you’re writing for. A technical style for experts will differ greatly from one aimed at beginners. Mentioning your target audience in the prompt helps ChatGPT tailor the language, complexity, and depth appropriately.
Understanding AI Limitations: While ChatGPT is powerful, mimicking complex human styles, especially those of renowned authors, is an act of emulation, not perfect replication. The AI will attempt to capture key characteristics, but the depth of human experience and subtle nuance might not always be fully present.
Iterate and Experiment: The examples provided are starting points. The best way to master style prompting is to experiment, iterate on your prompts, and see what ChatGPT produces.

Writing Styles for ChatGPT Prompts

Below are various writing styles, categorized for easier understanding, along with examples and suggestions on when to use them.

I. Academic and Research Styles

This group focuses on formal, objective, and evidence-based communication, often adhering to specific formatting and citation guidelines.

1. Academic Style

Description: A formal, objective, and evidence-based writing style used in scholarly publications, research papers, and dissertations. It prioritizes clarity, precision, and supporting claims with credible evidence.
When to use: For essays, research papers, theses, literature reviews, or any content requiring rigorous argumentation and a formal tone.
Example: Draft an introduction for an academic paper on the socio-economic impacts of renewable energy adoption in developing nations, maintaining a formal and objective academic style.

2. Research Paper Style

Description: Similar to academic style but specifically tailored for presenting original research findings. It typically includes sections like an abstract, introduction, methodology, results, discussion, and conclusion.
When to use: When outlining or drafting sections of a research paper, or summarizing research findings.
Example: Generate a discussion section for a research paper style report, analyzing the findings that suggest a correlation between social media usage and anxiety in adolescents.

3. Scientific Writing Style / Scientific Report Style

Description: Characterized by its precision, clarity, objectivity, and conciseness. It’s used to communicate scientific information and research findings. Often involves specific terminology and structured formats (e.g., IMRaD).
When to use: For lab reports, scientific papers, articles explaining scientific concepts, or summarizing research for a knowledgeable audience.
Example: Write a scientific report style summary of an experiment investigating the effects of different fertilizer types on plant growth, ensuring objective language and presentation of data.

Note: While similar, “Scientific Report Style” might imply a more direct reporting of an experiment’s outcome, whereas “Scientific Writing Style” can encompass broader scientific communication. For most ChatGPT prompts, they can be used interchangeably, but specifying IMRaD structure can be helpful for reports.

4. Expository Style

Description: Aims to explain, inform, or describe a topic in a clear, straightforward, and objective manner. It does not typically include personal opinions.
When to use: For textbooks, how-to articles, informational brochures, or explaining complex topics simply.
Example: Explain the process of cellular respiration using an expository style suitable for high school biology students.

5. Citation-Specific Styles (APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, Oxford)

Description: These are not writing styles in the same way as “descriptive” or “narrative,” but rather formatting and citation systems crucial for academic integrity.
- APA Style: Commonly used in social sciences, psychology, education.
- MLA Style: Often used in humanities (literature, arts).
- Chicago Style: Used in humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences; known for its flexibility (notes-bibliography and author-date systems).
- Harvard Style: A generic term for author-date referencing, variations exist.
- Oxford Style: Primarily used in the UK, similar to Chicago’s notes-bibliography.
When to use: When writing academic papers, essays, or articles that require specific citation formats.
Important Note: While ChatGPT can attempt to follow these styles, always double-check citations and formatting for accuracy, as AI can make mistakes with precise citation rules.
Example (APA): Generate a brief literature review on the psychological effects of remote work, attempting to follow APA style for in-text citations and referencing (though I will verify them).
Example (MLA): Write a short analysis of symbolism in 'The Great Gatsby,' using an MLA style approach for discussing literary works.
Example (Chicago): Draft a historical account of the French Revolution, and try to use footnotes in a Chicago style for sourcing information (understanding I'll need to refine them).

II. Professional and Business Communication Styles

These styles are geared towards clear, concise, and effective communication in professional, legal, and technical contexts.

1. Business Style

Description: Professional, clear, concise, and goal-oriented. Focuses on conveying information efficiently and persuasively in a business context.
When to use: For memos, reports, business proposals, executive summaries, presentations, and professional emails.
Example: Draft a business style memo to employees outlining a new remote work policy, ensuring clarity and a professional tone.

2. Technical Writing Style

Description: Focuses on providing clear, concise, and precise information about technical subjects. It’s often instructional and aims to make complex information accessible.
When to use: For user manuals, API documentation, standard operating procedures, technical specifications, and FAQs.
Example: Write a technical writing style guide on how to troubleshoot common Wi-Fi connectivity issues for a non-technical audience.

Formatting Note: For technical documentation, you might also prompt for specific structures like numbered steps or tables.

3. Legal Writing Style

Description: Precise, formal, and often uses specific legal terminology and structures. It relies heavily on authority (statutes, case law) and logical reasoning.
When to use: For drafting legal documents, briefs, memoranda, or analyzing legal issues.
Example: Summarize the key arguments in a hypothetical legal brief concerning a breach of contract, using a formal legal writing style.

Disclaimer: AI-generated legal content is not a substitute for advice from a qualified legal professional.

4. Grant Proposal Style

Description: Persuasive and professional, focused on demonstrating a need, outlining a clear plan, and convincing funders of the project’s merit and feasibility.
When to use: When drafting sections of a grant application, outlining project goals, or justifying a budget.
Example: Write the 'needs assessment' section for a grant proposal style document, aiming to secure funding for a community literacy program.

5. Resume Writing Style

Description: Concise, factual, and action-oriented, highlighting skills, experience, and accomplishments to impress potential employers.
When to use: When drafting or updating a resume or curriculum vitae (CV).
Example: Craft three bullet points in a resume writing style to describe achievements in a customer service role, starting each with an action verb.

6. White Paper Style

Description: An authoritative report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body’s philosophy on the matter. It’s meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision.
When to use: For presenting in-depth analysis, policy recommendations, or solutions to industry problems.
Example: Outline a white paper style document discussing the future of artificial intelligence in healthcare, focusing on ethical considerations.

7. Advertising Copy Style

Description: Persuasive, engaging, and often creative, designed to grab attention and motivate an audience to take a specific action (e.g., buy a product, sign up for a service).
When to use: For creating advertisements, marketing emails, product descriptions, social media ads, and promotional content.
Example: Generate three headlines in an advertising copy style for a new eco-friendly water bottle, emphasizing its durability and sustainability.

III. Creative and Narrative Styles

These styles focus on storytelling, evoking emotion, and engaging the reader’s imagination.

1. Narrative Style

Description: Tells a story, usually with characters, a setting, a plot, and a sequence of events. Can be personal or fictional.
When to use: For short stories, novels, personal essays, anecdotes, or case studies presented as stories.
Example: Write a short narrative style piece about an unexpected encounter during a solo hike.

2. Descriptive Style

Description: Focuses on creating vivid imagery by detailing sensory experiences (sight, sound, smell, taste, touch) of a person, place, object, or event.
When to use: To enrich storytelling, create atmosphere in creative writing, or provide detailed product descriptions.
Example: Use a descriptive style to portray a bustling an open-air market in Marrakech, focusing on the sights, sounds, and smells.

3. Fiction Style

Description: Broad category for imaginative storytelling that is not based on fact. Encompasses many sub-genres (fantasy, sci-fi, romance, etc.).
When to use: For creating short stories, novel excerpts, character backstories, or plot ideas.
Example: Develop a plot outline in a fiction style for a mystery story set in a remote research station in Antarctica.

4. Creative Non-fiction Style

Description: Blends factual reporting with literary techniques typically associated with fiction, such as narrative structure, character development, and vivid description, to tell a true story engagingly.
When to use: For memoirs, personal essays, feature articles, and narrative journalism.
Example: Write an opening paragraph for a creative non-fiction style essay about the experience of learning a new language as an adult.

5. Autobiographical Style / Memoir Style

Description: A first-person account of the writer’s own life or specific experiences. Memoir often focuses on a particular period or theme, while autobiography can be more comprehensive.
When to use: For personal reflections, journaling, or drafting memoir excerpts.
Example: Write a short passage in an autobiographical style reflecting on a significant childhood memory and its impact.

6. Poetic Style

Description: Uses language for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its ostensible meaning. Employs rhythm, rhyme (optional), imagery, metaphor, and other figurative language.
When to use: For writing poems, song lyrics, or adding lyrical passages to other forms of writing.
Example: Compose a short poem in a free verse poetic style about the feeling of solitude in a big city.

7. Humorous Style

Description: Aims to entertain and amuse the reader through wit, satire, irony, absurdity, or other comedic elements.
When to use: For blog posts, social media content, speeches, fictional stories, or any content where levity is desired.
Example: Write a short, humorous style story about the misadventures of a time traveler who accidentally lands in a garden gnome convention.

8. Action-packed Style

Description: Features fast-paced, exciting, and thrilling scenes. Characterized by dynamic descriptions, a sense of urgency, and high stakes.
When to use: For fight scenes, chase sequences, suspenseful moments in fiction, or dynamic descriptions in scripts.
Example: Describe a high-speed chase scene in an action-packed style, focusing on vivid verbs and a sense of immediacy.

9. Fantasy Writing Style

Description: Involves elements of magic, supernatural phenomena, mythical creatures, and often takes place in imaginary worlds with their own rules and history.
When to use: For writing fantasy stories, world-building, creating character concepts, or designing game narratives.
Example: Describe a meeting between a young sorceress and an ancient dragon in a fantasy writing style, emphasizing the magical atmosphere.

10. Horror Writing Style

Description: Aims to evoke feelings of fear, dread, suspense, and terror in the reader. Uses atmosphere, psychological tension, and sometimes shock.
When to use: For horror stories, suspenseful scenes, or creating eerie descriptions.
Example: Write a short paragraph in a horror writing style describing an abandoned house at twilight, building suspense.

11. Mystery Writing Style

Description: Revolves around a puzzle, crime, or unexplained event that needs to be solved. Focuses on clues, investigation, suspense, and often a detective or amateur sleuth.
When to use: For mystery stories, plot development, creating clues, or character profiles for detectives.
Example: Draft a scene in a mystery writing style where the detective discovers a crucial but cryptic clue at the crime scene.

12. Science Fiction Writing Style

Description: Explores imaginative concepts often based on scientific or technological advancements, space exploration, alternate realities, or future societies.
When to use: For sci-fi stories, conceptualizing futuristic technologies, or world-building for sci-fi settings.
Example: Write a short passage in a science fiction writing style describing the first human landing on Mars.

13. Script Writing Style

Description: Used for screenplays (film/TV) and stage plays. Focuses on dialogue, action descriptions, and character cues, adhering to specific formatting conventions (e.g., scene headings, character names centered).
When to use: For drafting scenes, writing dialogue, or outlining a play or screenplay.
Formatting Note: While ChatGPT can generate script-like text, you’ll likely need to use dedicated scriptwriting software for proper industry formatting.
Example: Write a short dialogue scene in a script writing style between two characters arguing about a lost map.

14. Epistolary Style

Description: Tells a story or conveys information primarily through letters, diary entries, emails, or other documents.
When to use: For unique narrative approaches in fiction, historical accounts, or to create a sense of intimacy or realism.
Example: Write a diary entry in an epistolary style from the perspective of a scientist who has just made a groundbreaking discovery.

IV. General and Conversational Styles

These styles are often less formal and aim for direct communication or specific types of address.

1. Blog Writing Style

Description: Often informal, conversational, engaging, and may include personal opinions or experiences. Usually structured with clear headings, shorter paragraphs, and sometimes calls to action.
When to use: For blog posts, articles, newsletters, and some types of social media content.
Example: Write an introduction for a blog writing style post about the benefits of mindful meditation for beginners, using a friendly and approachable tone.

2. Journalistic Style / News Writing Style

Description: Objective, factual, concise, and aimed at informing the reader about current events or specific topics. Often follows the “inverted pyramid” structure (most important information first).
When to use: For news articles, press releases, factual reports, or summarizing events objectively.
Example: Write a lead paragraph in a journalistic style for a news article about a recent local election.

3. Formal Style

Description: Characterized by strict adherence to grammar and punctuation rules, complex sentence structures, and an objective, impersonal tone. Avoids slang, contractions, and colloquialisms.
When to use: For official documents, academic papers, formal letters of complaint or inquiry, and official speeches.
Example: Draft a formal style letter to a government official regarding a civic issue.

4. Informal Style

Description: Conversational, relaxed, and personal. May use contractions, colloquial language, simpler sentence structures, and a more direct address to the reader.
When to use: For personal emails, blog posts, social media, friendly letters, or creative writing where a casual tone is intended.
Example: Write an informal style email to a colleague congratulating them on a recent success.

5. Letter Writing Style

Description: Can range from formal to highly informal, depending on the recipient and purpose. Involves specific conventions like salutations and closings.
When to use: For correspondence of all types – personal, professional, official.
Example: Compose a letter writing style note to a friend you haven't seen in a while, sharing some personal news.

6. Speech Writing Style

Description: Crafted to be spoken aloud. Emphasizes clarity, engagement, rhetorical devices (like repetition or calls to action), and a structure that is easy for an audience to follow.
When to use: For preparing presentations, keynote addresses, toasts, or any spoken address.
Example: Write the opening for a motivational speech writing style piece intended for recent graduates, aiming to inspire and engage.

7. Persuasive Style / Argumentative Style

Description: Aims to convince the reader or listener to accept a particular point of view, adopt an idea, or take a specific action. Uses logic, evidence, emotional appeals, and rhetorical strategies.
When to use: For opinion essays, editorials, debates, marketing copy, proposals, and speeches.
Example: Write a short paragraph in a persuasive style arguing for the importance of arts education in schools, using a logical appeal.

8. Imaginative Style

Description: Focuses on creativity, originality, and often explores unconventional ideas or scenarios. It’s about thinking outside the box.
When to use: For brainstorming, creative writing prompts, developing unique concepts, or problem-solving.
Example: Describe a city where gravity works differently, using an imaginative style.

9. Medical Writing Style

Description: Clear, precise, and uses specific medical terminology accurately. It’s focused on conveying complex medical information to healthcare professionals or, when adapted, to patients.
When to use: For medical reports, case studies, patient information leaflets (adapted for clarity), or research summaries in the medical field.
Example: Summarize the symptoms and common treatment approaches for Type 2 diabetes in a clear medical writing style suitable for a patient brochure.

Disclaimer: AI-generated medical information should always be verified by qualified healthcare professionals.

Emulating Author Styles

ChatGPT can attempt to mimic the distinct writing style and tone of well-known authors. This can be a fun way to generate creative text or explore different literary approaches.

How to Prompt for Author Styles:

Use a format like: Write a [genre or type of writing] in the style of [Author's Name], focusing on [specific theme or topic].

Examples of Author Styles to Explore:

Douglas Adams Style

Known for: Witty, satirical, and absurd humor, often found in science fiction contexts. His style includes playful language, footnotes, and a distinctive narrative voice.
Example: Explain the concept of quantum physics in the style of Douglas Adams, making it humorous and slightly absurd.

Edgar Allan Poe Style

Known for: Macabre themes, gothic atmosphere, psychological depth, and ornate language.
Example: Write a short paragraph describing an old, creaky house in the style of Edgar Allan Poe, emphasizing suspense and decay.

Emily Dickinson Style

Known for: Unique poetic style – with its characteristic short lines, slant rhymes, unconventional capitalization, and dashes – focusing on themes like nature, death, spirituality, and the inner self.
Example: Compose a short poem about the arrival of spring, in the style of Emily Dickinson, using her typical punctuation and thematic concerns.

Ernest Hemingway Style

Known for: Sparse, direct prose, short sentences, understatement, and a focus on action and dialogue.
Example: Describe a simple meal between two old friends in the style of Ernest Hemingway, using minimal adjectives.

F. Scott Fitzgerald Style

Known for: Lyrical, evocative prose, rich imagery, and themes of the Jazz Age, aspiration, and disillusionment.
Example: Describe a lavish party scene in the style of F. Scott Fitzgerald, focusing on the sensory details and an underlying feeling of melancholy.

Gabriel García Márquez Style

Known for: Magical realism, lush, detailed descriptions, long, flowing sentences, and the seamless blending of fantastical elements with everyday reality.
Example: Describe a family dinner where something magical unexpectedly happens, in the style of Gabriel García Márquez.

George Orwell Style

Known for: Clear, precise, and direct prose, often with a focus on political and social critique. His style is unadorned yet powerful.
Example: Rewrite this company mission statement in the style of George Orwell, emphasizing clarity and cutting through corporate jargon.

H.P. Lovecraft Style

Known for: Cosmic horror, elaborate and often archaic vocabulary, a sense of dread and the unknown, and detailed, unsettling descriptions of the indescribable.
Example: Write a short paragraph describing an ancient, alien artifact in the style of H.P. Lovecraft, evoking a sense of cosmic dread.

J.D. Salinger Style

Known for: Distinctive conversational, colloquial first-person narration. Excellent for prompting strong character voice, authenticity in dialogue, and capturing an adolescent or alienated perspective.
Example: Write a monologue from the perspective of a cynical teenager observing adults at a social event, in the style of J.D. Salinger.

J.R.R. Tolkien Style

Known for: Epic scope, detailed world-building, formal and often archaic language, and themes of good versus evil.
Example: Describe a mythical forest in the style of J.R.R. Tolkien, focusing on its ancient history and hidden dangers.

Jane Austen Style

Known for: Witty, satirical prose, with a focus on social manners, relationships, and nuanced character observations, often using free indirect discourse.
Example: Write a brief social observation about a dinner party in the style of Jane Austen, highlighting subtle social cues.

Langston Hughes Style

Known for: Incorporating the rhythms of jazz and blues, using vernacular language, and powerfully addressing themes of African American life, identity, and resilience in his poetry and prose.
Example: Write a short poem about dreams and aspirations, in the style of Langston Hughes, reflecting the rhythms of blues music.

Mark Twain Style

Known for: Humorous, satirical writing, often employing vernacular language, regional dialects, and a critical look at society.
Example: Tell a short, humorous anecdote about a misunderstanding in the style of Mark Twain.

Maya Angelou Style

Known for: Lyrical, powerful, rhythmic prose, often autobiographical, exploring themes of identity, resilience, and the human spirit.
Example: Write a short reflective piece on the meaning of courage in the style of Maya Angelou.

Raymond Chandler Style

Known for: Hardboiled detective fiction, cynical protagonists, witty and sharp dialogue, and vivid descriptions of urban settings.
Example: Write a short internal monologue for a private detective observing a suspicious character in a dimly lit bar, in the style of Raymond Chandler.

Toni Morrison Style

Known for: Lyrical, powerful prose, rich symbolism, magical realist elements, and deep exploration of themes like race, history, memory, and trauma within the African American experience.
Example: Describe a character grappling with a painful memory from their past, in the style of Toni Morrison, using vivid imagery and symbolic language.

Virginia Woolf Style

Known for: Stream of consciousness, lyrical prose, introspection, and a deep focus on the characters’ inner lives and perceptions.
Example: Describe the experience of waiting for a bus in the style of Virginia Woolf, focusing on the internal monologue and sensory details.

Prompting for Authors Not Widely Known to the AI

If ChatGPT isn’t familiar with a specific author, or to get a more nuanced emulation, try describing the key characteristics of their style:

Write a product description in a style that is [adjective 1, e.g., witty], [adjective 2, e.g., concise], and uses [specific literary device, e.g., unexpected metaphors], similar to the way [Author's Name] writes their advertisements.
Generate a blog post opening. The style should be [characteristic 1, e.g., highly academic but accessible], use [characteristic 2, e.g., many historical analogies], and have a [characteristic 3, e.g., slightly skeptical tone], like you might find in the works of [Lesser-Known Author's Name].

Also, Check These Prompts:

Ready to apply these styles? See them in action with our list of over 100 Prompt Examples.
For writers, these styles can be a game-changer. Get started on your next masterpiece with our Prompts for Book Writing.

The key to unlocking ChatGPT’s potential with writing styles is experimentation. Mix and match styles, add tonal instructions, specify your audience, and don’t be afraid to refine your prompts. The more precise you are, the better ChatGPT can tailor its output to your needs.

What are your favorite styles to use with ChatGPT? Have you discovered any unique combinations or techniques? Share your experiences and suggestions in the comments below – let’s learn together!