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Style: English 0950 March 2009

Style is defined as an awareness of writing options and how they affect a piece, going beyond just grammar. It is based on both the writing situation and the writer's own preferences. The document discusses principles of style including sentence patterns, openings, length, and variety. It notes that different patterns, openings, and lengths can achieve emphasis, clarity, connection, or interest depending on how they are used.

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Roy Turner
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85 views

Style: English 0950 March 2009

Style is defined as an awareness of writing options and how they affect a piece, going beyond just grammar. It is based on both the writing situation and the writer's own preferences. The document discusses principles of style including sentence patterns, openings, length, and variety. It notes that different patterns, openings, and lengths can achieve emphasis, clarity, connection, or interest depending on how they are used.

Uploaded by

Roy Turner
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Style

English 0950
March 2009
Style Defined
• Style is an awareness of the options you have as
a writer and how those options affect your
writing
• Style is one step beyond grammar
• Style is based on the constraints of the writing
situation and your own preferences and
personality as a writer
Principles of Style
• Sentence Patterns
• Sentence Openings
• Sentence Length
• Sentence Variety
Sentence Patterns
• Simple sentences embody concision
• Compound sentences showcase similarity or
contrast
• Complex sentences highlight relationships of
cause & effect or time/place
• Compound-Complex sentences demonstrate
intricacy of thought
Sentence Openings
• A sentence can begin with an independent
clause, a dependent clause, or other stuff
• Beginning with an independent clause results in
a direct sentence
• Beginning with a dependent clause sets up the
independent clause
• Beginning with other stuff provides background
before the main idea
Sentence Length
• Short sentences provide emphasis for key ideas
• Short sentences can also seem choppy and
clumsy
• Long sentences tend to let ideas unfold and
connect
• Long sentences can also become unclear and
exhausting
Sentence Variety
• Varying sentence patterns shows an intellectual
flexibility
• Varying sentence beginnings makes a piece of
writing more interesting to read
• Varying sentence length disrupts monotony in
reading

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