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6.3: Style

  • Page ID
    69237
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    This chapter is brought to you by this Wikibook72.

    “Style is Created Through Elements Such as Tone, Diction, and Syntax73.”

    DICTION

    The style of a work, as manifested by the choice of vocabulary, phrasing and figures of speech.

    Examples:

    • Casual/colloquial = A bunch of girls are going to that concert.
    • Standard = A group of girls are going to that concert.
    • Casual/colloquial = Trey was kind of upset about the lasagna.
    • Standard = Trey was somewhat upset about the lasagna.
    • Casual/colloquial = There were like ten people at the party.
    • Casual/colloquial = There were maybe ten people at the party.
    • Standard = There were approximately ten people at the party.

    TONE

    The manner in which speech or writing is expressed, such as serious or conversational. According to Kate Prudchenko74: “In general, the tone of a piece may be described as serious, ironic, formal, informal, angry, funny or any other adjective that appropriately defines the implied attitude of the writer or the speaker.” Ask yourself: How does knowing the tone of someone’s writing change the meaning?

    SYNTAX75

    Syntax is the set of rules, principles, and processes that govern the structure of sentences in a given language, specifically word order.

    The following sentence contains an error of English syntax:

    • I is going to the concert tonight.

    If we say this, other English speakers recognized the incorrect grammar; however, they will still understand us.

    Assignments or Questions to Consider

    (Insert ideas from students or teacher here.)

    72 “Rhetoric and Composition/Glossary.” Wikibooks, The Free Textbook Project. 15 Oct 2011, 20:47 UTC. 4 Aug 2016, 23:23 <https://en.wikibooks.org/w/index.php...&oldid=2183089>.

    73 From the chapter on Rhetorical Situation.

    74 Prudchenko, Kate. "How to Identify Tone in an Essay." , https://penandthepad.com/identify-to...ssay-1989.html. Accessed 24 November 2019.

    75 “Syntax.” Definition. Wikipedia. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License


    This page titled 6.3: Style is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Sybil Priebe, Ronda Marman, & Dana Anderson (North Dakota University System) .

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