Speaking and Writing...

1. Speech is universal. Everyone acquires a native language. Not everyone knows how to read & write.
2. Spoken language has dialect variations. Written language generally demands standard forms of grammar & vocabulary.
3. Speakers use their voices (pitch, stress, rhythm) and bodies (gestures & facial expressions) to help convey their ideas. Writers have to rely on the words on the pages to express their meaning
4. Speakers use pauses & intonations. Writers use punctuation.
5. Speakers pronounce. Writers spell.
6. Speaking is usually spontaneous & unplanned. Most writing takes time. It is planned. We can go back & change what we have written.
7. A speaker speaks to a listener who is right there. For the writer, the reader's response is either delayed or non-existent. The writer has only that one opportunity to convey information that is interesting enough & accurate enough to hold the reader's attention.
8. Speech is usually informal & repetitive. Writing on the other hand, is more formal & compact. It progresses logically with few explanations.
9. Speakers use simple sentences connected by a lot of conjunctions (and, or, but). Writers use more complex sentences with connecting verbs (like, however, who, in addition).