Style
style
The way the words are put together to tell
the story, develop the argument,
dramatize the play or compose the poem
Style is individual and unique
An author’s style will change depending on
diction
Same as word choice.
There are three basic degrees of word
Formal diction
Formal diction is more “elegant.”
It employs more polysyllabic words, word order is
correct, no contractions.
“They resolved to leave me and neither of ingress
nor egress to the sudden impulses of despair or frenzy from within. The abbey was amply
provisioned. With such precautions the courtiers might bid defiance to contagion.” -Poe, “The
Neutral diction
Ordinary, standard vocabulary. Not a lot of big words.
Contractions as necessary.
If there are long words, they’re not hard. Very conversational.
“What surprised them in the second place was that when
Informal
Language is relaxed and casual.
Use of colloquialisms, slang expressions is
common.
Good for dialogue, in certain
circumstances.
“In walks these three girls in nothing but
Degree of explicitness
Specific v. General
“My dog barks.” v. “Dogs make good
pets.”
It all depends on the intent of the writer.
General and abstract words are usually
Concrete v. abstract
Concrete words show some immediate
perception.
Abstract words are broader.
“Cold” is concrete, because it is a specific
Analyzing style
You can count elements of writing: number
of words in a sentence, types of sentences, number of syllables in words. You can
conclude one author is brief if sentences are 12 words or less, or expansive if sentences average 35 words. Short sentences with
Style: Look at sentence types
When analyzing style, look at diction and
sentence types. This helps to determine how to describe them.
Recognizing sentence types is one aspect
Sentence types
Simple – one subject and verb (used
often with action and dialogue)
Compound – two simple sentences
Sentence types, cont’d
Complex – main clause and a subordinate
clause (often focuses on cause-effect relationships and analysis and reflection)
Compound-complex – two main clauses
Examples
“Nora sat in front of me by the confession box.”
“Later he felt the need to talk but no one wanted to
hear about it.”
“It was the Wawanash River, which every spring
overflowed its banks.”
“And yet, though the elder person was as simply clad
Parallelism
A rhetorical device that uses the repetition of the same
grammatical form to balance expressions, conserve words, build climax and intrigue.
“I grew, day by day, more moody, more irritable, more
regardless of the feelings of others.”
--more moody --more irritable
--more regardless of the feelings of others
This shows the increase in his depression through the
Another example
“Then quickly and quietly, looking at the piece of
canvas frequently, he slipped the records into the case, snapped the lid shut, and carried the
phonograph to his couch.”
Quickly and quietly -- both -ly words
Slipped, snapped, carried --all past tense verbs, all
ending in –ed
Parallelism can be found within paragraphs as well,
Writing about style
Make sure you know the meanings of all the
words. Look them up if you don’t.
Are the words commonly used, or not? Why is
that important?
Pay attention to word length and sentence
Writing about style…
Look at sentence types; lots of
complex-compound sentences are harder to discern
Look at specificity v. generality. Why would the
author choose one over the other and how does it affect the topic/theme/story?
Pay attention to level of diction in dialogue.
What does it say about character?
What’s the point of slang? Jargon?
Pay attention to rhetorical devices and and the
Writing about style…
Focus on one aspect of style unless length
requirements or the prompt says to do otherwise. Look at:
Levels of diction
Specific/General description, language Simple/Complex sentence structure
Example
“Though the passages are narrative, the mark of Twain’s style is to underscore how the
hero’s blundering foolishness is always saved by luck. In every respect –
Assignment
Read Frank O’Connor’s short story “First Confession” on
pages 360-365.
Write a paragraph that contains at least one sentence for
each of the following elements of style as is pertains to the story. Be sure to include a quote from the story for each description.
Describe the author’s syntax
Describe the author’s use of imagery/fig. lang. Describe the author’s diction
Then, write a one-sentence thesis explaining the
