What's your style?
Academic? Professional? Somewhere in between?
How do academic and professional styles differ? Many planners ask me how to make the transition from writing papers about urban planning to preparing professional documents on a specific issue. Let’s take a look at a few examples that illustrate the differences.
Let’s say the subject is a zoning bylaw. As a student you were probably writing about the concept of zoning; as a planner, you’ll be getting specific about how zoning provisions apply to a particular proposal.
Academic style: "The zoning regulations pertaining to the subject property exhibit a multifaceted approach to land use management, incorporating elements of form-based code and traditional Euclidean zoning."
Professional style: "The property's zoning combines form-based and traditional zoning elements. This allows for mixed-use development while maintaining consistent streetscapes."
Or to describe the outcome of a community meeting:
Academic style: "The participatory planning process revealed a statistically significant preference among residents for increased pedestrian infrastructure and green spaces."
Professional style: "Residents strongly support more walkable streets and parks. More than 75% of survey respondents ranked these as top priorities."
A summary of a transportation study:
Academic style: "The implementation of a bus rapid transit system would necessitate a comprehensive reconfiguration of existing traffic patterns and potentially engender short-term disruptions to local businesses."
Professional style: "Installing a bus rapid transit system will change traffic flows and may temporarily impact local businesses. Benefits include faster commutes and reduced congestion."
Or findings of an environmental impact assessment:
Academic style: "The proposed development's potential ecological ramifications encompass a range of biotic and abiotic factors, necessitating a multifaceted mitigation strategy."
Professional style: "The development may affect local wildlife and water quality. We recommend a three-step plan to protect the ecosystem: [list steps]."
A description of built form in new guidelines:
Academic style: "The architectural vernacular of the district should be preserved through the implementation of stringent design criteria that reflect the historical context while allowing for contemporary interpretations."
Professional style: "New buildings should respect the area's historic character. Use similar materials and scale. Modern designs are encouraged if they complement the surrounding built form."
What’s the difference? Professional writing is more:
Targeted to people who need to make a decision or act based on your analysis
Specific and concise
Directive – focused on recommendations and actions!
It’s not that one style is better than another. It’s that each is meant for a different audience and purpose. An effective professional style always starts with thinking about who your audience is, what they need from you, and how they will understand or use the information you are providing.
Plain language note: How do you write in a professional style that’s also clear to non-professionals? Let’s say you’re presenting at a public meeting. It’s your job to make sure that community members can understand the proposal in the same way that you do. A focus on clear, plain language will help you connect. That means you may have to:
Define complex terms, like “historic character.”
Describe what a “bus rapid transit system” looks like.
Use better, simpler words and phrases that resonate with your audience. For example, when discussing a new park, focus on "safe play areas for children" rather than technical planning terms like "passive recreation areas."
Incorporate maps, diagrams, and infographics to illustrate complex spatial concepts.
Emphasize impacts instead of methodologies. For example, "This transit oriented community will reduce car dependency by 30% and create 500 new jobs within walking distance of homes" will be more effective than describing how you got to that conclusion.
Even other professionals have short attention spans. While at school you’re writing for your professor; when you’re on the job, you’re writing for decision makers, project partners, and the public. Adapt your writing style to drive informed decision-making and successful projects!