diff --git a/src/log4net/Layout/Internal/XmlWriterExtensions.NetFx.cs b/src/log4net/Layout/Internal/XmlWriterExtensions.NetFx.cs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..897ad3fd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/log4net/Layout/Internal/XmlWriterExtensions.NetFx.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+using System.IO;
+using System.Xml;
+using log4net.Util;
+
+namespace log4net.Layout.Internal;
+
+partial class XmlWriterExtensions
+{
+  /// <summary>
+  /// Writes the specified start tag and associates it with the given namespace and prefix
+  /// </summary>
+  /// <param name="writer">Writer</param>
+  /// <param name="fullName">The full name of the element</param>
+  /// <param name="prefix">The namespace prefix of the element (ignored for net4x)</param>
+  /// <param name="localName">The local name of the element (ignored for net4x)</param>
+  /// <param name="ns">The namespace URI to associate with the element (ignored for net4x)</param>
+  internal static void WriteStartElement(this XmlWriter writer,
+    string fullName, string prefix, string localName, string ns)
+    => writer.WriteStartElement(fullName);
+
+  /// <summary>
+  /// Creates an XmlWriter
+  /// </summary>
+  /// <param name="writer">TextWriter</param>
+  /// <returns>XmlWriter</returns>
+  internal static XmlWriter CreateXmlWriter(TextWriter writer)
+    => new XmlTextWriter(new ProtectCloseTextWriter(writer))
+    {
+      Formatting = Formatting.None,
+      Namespaces = false
+    };
+}
diff --git a/src/log4net/Layout/Internal/XmlWriterExtensions.NetStandard.cs b/src/log4net/Layout/Internal/XmlWriterExtensions.NetStandard.cs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..341f6a00
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/log4net/Layout/Internal/XmlWriterExtensions.NetStandard.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+using System.IO;
+using System.Xml;
+using log4net.Util;
+
+namespace log4net.Layout.Internal;
+
+partial class XmlWriterExtensions
+{
+  private static readonly XmlWriterSettings settings = new XmlWriterSettings
+  {
+    Indent = false,
+    OmitXmlDeclaration = true
+  };
+
+  /// <summary>
+  /// writes the specified start tag and associates it with the given namespace and prefix
+  /// </summary>
+  /// <param name="writer">Writer</param>
+  /// <param name="fullName">The full name of the element (ignored for netstandard)</param>
+  /// <param name="prefix">The namespace prefix of the element</param>
+  /// <param name="localName">The local name of the element</param>
+  /// <param name="ns">The namespace URI to associate with the element</param>
+  internal static void WriteStartElement(this XmlWriter writer,
+    string fullName, string prefix, string localName, string ns)
+    => writer.WriteStartElement(prefix, localName, ns);
+
+  /// <summary>
+  /// Creates an XmlWriter
+  /// </summary>
+  /// <param name="writer">TextWriter</param>
+  /// <returns>XmlWriter</returns>
+  internal static XmlWriter CreateXmlWriter(TextWriter writer)
+    => XmlWriter.Create(new ProtectCloseTextWriter(writer), settings);
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/log4net/Layout/Internal/XmlWriterExtensions.cs b/src/log4net/Layout/Internal/XmlWriterExtensions.cs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..d5b17d58
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/log4net/Layout/Internal/XmlWriterExtensions.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+namespace log4net.Layout.Internal;
+
+/// <summary>
+/// Extensions for <see cref="System.Xml.XmlWriter"/>
+/// </summary>
+/// <author>Jan Friedrich</author>
+[System.Diagnostics.CodeAnalysis.SuppressMessage("Style", "IDE0060:Remove unused parameter",
+  Justification = "Compatibility between net4 and netstandard")]
+internal static partial class XmlWriterExtensions
+{ }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/log4net/Layout/XmlLayout.cs b/src/log4net/Layout/XmlLayout.cs
index b30686a6..c23ecf9a 100644
--- a/src/log4net/Layout/XmlLayout.cs
+++ b/src/log4net/Layout/XmlLayout.cs
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@
 using System.Xml;
 
 using log4net.Core;
+using log4net.Layout.Internal;
 using log4net.Util;
 
 namespace log4net.Layout
@@ -216,19 +217,10 @@ public override void ActivateOptions()
     /// </remarks>
     protected override void FormatXml(XmlWriter writer, LoggingEvent loggingEvent)
     {
-#if NETSTANDARD
-      writer.WriteStartElement(m_prefix, ELM_EVENT, m_prefix);
-      // writer.WriteAttributeString("xmlns", "log4net", null, "http://logging.apache.org/log4net/schemas/log4net-events-1.2");
-#else
-      writer.WriteStartElement(m_elmEvent);
-#endif
+      writer.WriteStartElement(m_elmEvent, m_prefix, ELM_EVENT, m_prefix);
       writer.WriteAttributeString(ATTR_LOGGER, loggingEvent.LoggerName);
 
-#if NET_2_0 || NETCF_2_0 || MONO_2_0 || NETSTANDARD
       writer.WriteAttributeString(ATTR_TIMESTAMP, XmlConvert.ToString(loggingEvent.TimeStamp, XmlDateTimeSerializationMode.Local));
-#else
-      writer.WriteAttributeString(ATTR_TIMESTAMP, XmlConvert.ToString(loggingEvent.TimeStamp));
-#endif
 
       writer.WriteAttributeString(ATTR_LEVEL, loggingEvent.Level.DisplayName);
       writer.WriteAttributeString(ATTR_THREAD, loggingEvent.ThreadName);
@@ -247,11 +239,7 @@ protected override void FormatXml(XmlWriter writer, LoggingEvent loggingEvent)
       }
 
       // Append the message text
-#if NETSTANDARD
-      writer.WriteStartElement(m_prefix, ELM_MESSAGE, m_prefix);
-#else
-      writer.WriteStartElement(m_elmMessage);
-#endif
+      writer.WriteStartElement(m_elmMessage, m_prefix, ELM_MESSAGE, m_prefix);
       if (!this.Base64EncodeMessage)
       {
         Transform.WriteEscapedXmlString(writer, loggingEvent.RenderedMessage, this.InvalidCharReplacement);
@@ -269,18 +257,10 @@ protected override void FormatXml(XmlWriter writer, LoggingEvent loggingEvent)
       // Append the properties text
       if (properties.Count > 0)
       {
-#if NETSTANDARD
-        writer.WriteStartElement(m_prefix, ELM_PROPERTIES, m_prefix);
-#else
-        writer.WriteStartElement(m_elmProperties);
-#endif
+        writer.WriteStartElement(m_elmProperties, m_prefix, ELM_PROPERTIES, m_prefix);
         foreach (System.Collections.DictionaryEntry entry in properties)
         {
-#if NETSTANDARD
-          writer.WriteStartElement(m_prefix, ELM_DATA, m_prefix);
-#else
-          writer.WriteStartElement(m_elmData);
-#endif
+          writer.WriteStartElement(m_elmData, m_prefix, ELM_DATA, m_prefix);
           writer.WriteAttributeString(ATTR_NAME, Transform.MaskXmlInvalidCharacters((string)entry.Key, this.InvalidCharReplacement));
 
           // Use an ObjectRenderer to convert the object to a string
@@ -305,11 +285,7 @@ protected override void FormatXml(XmlWriter writer, LoggingEvent loggingEvent)
       if (exceptionStr != null && exceptionStr.Length > 0)
       {
         // Append the stack trace line
-#if NETSTANDARD
-        writer.WriteStartElement(m_prefix, ELM_EXCEPTION, m_prefix);
-#else
-        writer.WriteStartElement(m_elmException);
-#endif
+        writer.WriteStartElement(m_elmException, m_prefix, ELM_EXCEPTION, m_prefix);
         Transform.WriteEscapedXmlString(writer, exceptionStr, this.InvalidCharReplacement);
         writer.WriteEndElement();
       }
@@ -318,11 +294,7 @@ protected override void FormatXml(XmlWriter writer, LoggingEvent loggingEvent)
       {
         LocationInfo locationInfo = loggingEvent.LocationInformation;
 
-#if NETSTANDARD
-        writer.WriteStartElement(m_prefix, ELM_LOCATION, m_prefix);
-#else
-        writer.WriteStartElement(m_elmLocation);
-#endif
+        writer.WriteStartElement(m_elmLocation, m_prefix, ELM_LOCATION, m_prefix);
         writer.WriteAttributeString(ATTR_CLASS, locationInfo.ClassName);
         writer.WriteAttributeString(ATTR_METHOD, locationInfo.MethodName);
         writer.WriteAttributeString(ATTR_FILE, locationInfo.FileName);
diff --git a/src/log4net/Layout/XmlLayoutBase.cs b/src/log4net/Layout/XmlLayoutBase.cs
index eb572284..798fcc6b 100644
--- a/src/log4net/Layout/XmlLayoutBase.cs
+++ b/src/log4net/Layout/XmlLayoutBase.cs
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@
 
 using log4net.Util;
 using log4net.Core;
+using log4net.Layout.Internal;
 
 namespace log4net.Layout
 {
@@ -196,18 +197,7 @@ public override void Format(TextWriter writer, LoggingEvent loggingEvent)
       {
         throw new ArgumentNullException("loggingEvent");
       }
-#if NETSTANDARD
-      var settings = new XmlWriterSettings
-      {
-        Indent = false,
-        OmitXmlDeclaration = true
-      };
-      using var xmlWriter = XmlWriter.Create(new ProtectCloseTextWriter(writer), settings);
-#else
-      using XmlTextWriter xmlWriter = new XmlTextWriter(new ProtectCloseTextWriter(writer));
-      xmlWriter.Formatting = Formatting.None;
-      xmlWriter.Namespaces = false;
-#endif
+      using XmlWriter xmlWriter = XmlWriterExtensions.CreateXmlWriter(writer);
       // Write the event to the writer
       FormatXml(xmlWriter, loggingEvent);
 
@@ -252,4 +242,4 @@ public override void Format(TextWriter writer, LoggingEvent loggingEvent)
 
     #endregion Private Instance Fields
   }
-}
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/log4net/Layout/XmlLayoutSchemaLog4j.cs b/src/log4net/Layout/XmlLayoutSchemaLog4j.cs
index 448b145f..ef69e23f 100644
--- a/src/log4net/Layout/XmlLayoutSchemaLog4j.cs
+++ b/src/log4net/Layout/XmlLayoutSchemaLog4j.cs
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@
 
 using log4net.Core;
 using log4net.Util;
+using log4net.Layout.Internal;
 
 namespace log4net.Layout
 {
@@ -112,7 +113,7 @@ public string Version
     <log4j:data name="some string" value="some valuethird"/>
   </log4j:MDC>
   <log4j:throwable><![CDATA[java.lang.Exception: someexception-third
-   at org.apache.log4j.chainsaw.Generator.run(Generator.java:94)
+  at org.apache.log4j.chainsaw.Generator.run(Generator.java:94)
 ]]></log4j:throwable>
   <log4j:locationInfo class="org.apache.log4j.chainsaw.Generator"
 method="run" file="Generator.java" line="94"/>
@@ -172,11 +173,7 @@ protected override void FormatXml(XmlWriter writer, LoggingEvent loggingEvent)
       }
 
       // Write the start element
-#if NETSTANDARD
-      writer.WriteStartElement("log4j", "event", "log4net");
-#else
-      writer.WriteStartElement("log4j:event");
-#endif
+      writer.WriteStartElement("log4j:event", "log4j", "event", "log4net");
       writer.WriteAttributeString("logger", loggingEvent.LoggerName);
 
       // Calculate the timestamp as the number of milliseconds since january 1970
@@ -191,11 +188,7 @@ protected override void FormatXml(XmlWriter writer, LoggingEvent loggingEvent)
       writer.WriteAttributeString("thread", loggingEvent.ThreadName);
 
       // Append the message text
-#if NETSTANDARD
-      writer.WriteStartElement("log4j", "message", "log4net");
-#else
-      writer.WriteStartElement("log4j:message");
-#endif
+      writer.WriteStartElement("log4j:message", "log4j", "message", "log4net");
       Transform.WriteEscapedXmlString(writer, loggingEvent.RenderedMessage, this.InvalidCharReplacement);
       writer.WriteEndElement();
 
@@ -207,11 +200,7 @@ protected override void FormatXml(XmlWriter writer, LoggingEvent loggingEvent)
         if (valueStr != null && valueStr.Length > 0)
         {
           // Append the NDC text
-#if NETSTANDARD
-          writer.WriteStartElement("log4j", "NDC", "log4net");
-#else
-          writer.WriteStartElement("log4j:NDC");
-#endif
+          writer.WriteStartElement("log4j:NDC", "log4j", "NDC", "log4net");
           Transform.WriteEscapedXmlString(writer, valueStr, this.InvalidCharReplacement);
           writer.WriteEndElement();
         }
@@ -221,18 +210,10 @@ protected override void FormatXml(XmlWriter writer, LoggingEvent loggingEvent)
       PropertiesDictionary properties = loggingEvent.GetProperties();
       if (properties.Count > 0)
       {
-#if NETSTANDARD
-        writer.WriteStartElement("log4j", "properties", "log4net");
-#else
-        writer.WriteStartElement("log4j:properties");
-#endif
+        writer.WriteStartElement("log4j:properties", "log4j", "properties", "log4net");
         foreach (System.Collections.DictionaryEntry entry in properties)
         {
-#if NETSTANDARD
-          writer.WriteStartElement("log4j", "data", "log4net");
-#else
-          writer.WriteStartElement("log4j:data");
-#endif
+          writer.WriteStartElement("log4j:data", "log4j", "data", "log4net");
           writer.WriteAttributeString("name", (string)entry.Key);
 
           // Use an ObjectRenderer to convert the object to a string
@@ -248,11 +229,7 @@ protected override void FormatXml(XmlWriter writer, LoggingEvent loggingEvent)
       if (exceptionStr != null && exceptionStr.Length > 0)
       {
         // Append the stack trace line
-#if NETSTANDARD
-        writer.WriteStartElement("log4j", "throwable", "log4net");
-#else
-        writer.WriteStartElement("log4j:throwable");
-#endif
+        writer.WriteStartElement("log4j:throwable", "log4j", "data", "log4net");
         Transform.WriteEscapedXmlString(writer, exceptionStr, this.InvalidCharReplacement);
         writer.WriteEndElement();
       }
@@ -261,11 +238,7 @@ protected override void FormatXml(XmlWriter writer, LoggingEvent loggingEvent)
       {
         LocationInfo locationInfo = loggingEvent.LocationInformation;
 
-#if NETSTANDARD
-        writer.WriteStartElement("log4j", "locationInfo", "log4net");
-#else
-        writer.WriteStartElement("log4j:locationInfo");
-#endif
+        writer.WriteStartElement("log4j:locationInfo", "log4j", "locationInfo", "log4net");
         writer.WriteAttributeString("class", locationInfo.ClassName);
         writer.WriteAttributeString("method", locationInfo.MethodName);
         writer.WriteAttributeString("file", locationInfo.FileName);
@@ -276,5 +249,4 @@ protected override void FormatXml(XmlWriter writer, LoggingEvent loggingEvent)
       writer.WriteEndElement();
     }
   }
-}
-
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/log4net/log4net.csproj b/src/log4net/log4net.csproj
index 12a0e025..b641bccd 100644
--- a/src/log4net/log4net.csproj
+++ b/src/log4net/log4net.csproj
@@ -106,8 +106,13 @@
   <ItemGroup Condition="'$(TargetFramework)'=='netstandard2.0'">
     <PackageReference Include="System.Configuration.ConfigurationManager" Version="4.5.0" />
   </ItemGroup>
- <ItemGroup>
-    <Compile Remove="Log4netAssemblyInfo.cs" />
+  <ItemGroup Condition="$(TargetFramework.StartsWith('net4'))">
+    <None Include="**\*.NetStandard.cs" />
+    <Compile Remove="**\*.NetStandard.cs" />
+  </ItemGroup>
+  <ItemGroup Condition="$(TargetFramework.StartsWith('netstandard'))">
+    <None Include="**\*.NetFx.cs" />
+    <Compile Remove="**\*.NetFx.cs" />
   </ItemGroup>
   <ItemGroup>
     <None Include="..\..\log4net.snk">