STYLE MATTERS STYLE MATTERS STYLE MATTERS STYLE MATTERS STYLE MATTERS STYLE MATTERS  STYLE MATTERS

What is style?

Why write? To communicate with somebody, to explain, to argue, to persuade, to be heard… so Golden rule: Stylish writers think of their readers.

Good style means that the reader should : Be able to read your work effortlessly Enjoy reading your work

To improve your style… How did you learn your spoken language? Some ways: Listening, speaking, adopting the patterns of speech & using language others use, just having a go!

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Clarity Conciseness Formality Variety Academic style: General Principles

Clarity Structure – we’ve coveredthis (think of general structure, connectives, intros, paragraphing, conclusions etc) Sentence Structure: come to next week’s study skills lecture…

Clarity: Do you really understand what you are saying? Really? ‘Language is a vehicle for your ideas: if your ideas themselves are muddled and confused, then so too will be your language and style.’ (Greetham, 2001, 212)

Clarity: Word choice Choose simple words over obscure ones. Use specialist language, but make sure you understand it first. Avoid clichés –phrases which have been used so much, they’ve lost their effect. EG: That’s all well and good, but…;

Conciseness Don’t write sentences which are too long as for one thing you risk losing people’s attention and losing people’s attention means that you are not communicating effectively moreover it is also difficult to punctuate long sentences. (Phew!!) Do not write sentences which are too long as you risk losing your reader’s attention. In other words, you are not communicating effectively. Moreover, it is very difficult to punctuate long sentences. (Ahh! That’s better!)

Conciseness: Avoid Phrasal Verbs Find alternatives for the following phrasal verbs: look into look at put up with look down on back up

Possible Alternatives Look into - Investigate Look at - Examine Put up with - Tolerate Look down on - Disdain Back up - Support

Conciseness: Shorten the following sentences from: Rose and Blank have conducted an experiment which compares the effect of.... and... By analysing various different actors in international relations other than the state it is clear that… According to a sociologist, Howard S. Becker, (1963), 'all social groups make rules....'

Possible Changes Rose and Blank (2002) compared the effect of … An analysis of actors in international relations other than the state makes it clear that… According to Becker (1963), ‘…’ or you might paraphrase Becker’s words: Becker (1963) argues/suggests that all social groups make rules.

Using a formal Register: Avoiding colloquialisms. If in doubt: Look up the word in a dictionary (which will say ‘coll’ indicating that the word is colloquial). Imagine what you are reading the news! Would you hear the word in question on the news? If in doubt: look for an alternative.

Avoid general allusions to ‘you’. ‘In order to answer this question, you must first determine what ‘security is’. ‘The Beatles were cast as the boys next door, just like the boys who live next door to you and me, not someone alien or other, but someone you might know and like’.

Using a formal Register: colloquialisms Don’t abbreviate – contractions are colloquial. So: REMOVE Etc.; Don’t; It’s; e.g., wasn’t; etc. etc. etc.

Spot the colloquialisms In contemporary British society, institutional racism is so endemic that ethnic minorities can feel hard done by economically and socially. We can conclude, then, that Marx offers a useful perspective from which to analyse class. Well, no. Not entirely.

Spot the colloquialisms So could another actor hold as much power as the state? Liberals would say ‘yes’, other actors could hold as much power and influence as a state’. Beckham’s appeal goes much further than his footballing ability. His popularity has become so large that we can’t go a day without seeing him on television.’

What is the difference between the following sentences? Which one is easier to read? The blue getaway car was described by the bank clerk. The bank clerk described the blue getaway car. An atmosphere of deep gloom is created by the novelist in the last paragraph of the chapter. The novelist creates an atmosphere of deep gloom in the last paragraph of the chapter. (Greetham, 2001, 218)

Consider using the active voice. How might these sentences be re-written? There are four rules that should be observed:... There were several reasons for the United States' entrance into the war. Also further into the article it reads ‘In 1999…’ From:

Consider using the active voice. To evaluate Hard Times as a historical source there was three things which had to be done; firstly … In Dickens’ novels he focuses frequently on social issues.

Suggested answers Four rules should be observed:... The United States entered the war for several reasons. The article also states that ‘in 1999…’ To evaluate Hard Times as a historical source three things had to be considered: first … Dickens focuses frequently on social issues.

Variety Avoid repeating the same word in close quarters. EG: ‘Beckham is portrayed as a representation of all that is good about the British nation and therefore he represents what we would like to be. He has therefore become a national icon for many of us’.

Test your learning. Rewrite the following sentence. As you can see there are very paradoxical ways of understanding how fandom has been thought about argued about and represented.

George Orwell on style ‘Politics and the English Language’ (1946): Never use a long word where a short one will do. If it is possible to cut out a word, always cut it out. Never use the passive where you can use the active. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.

References Greetham, B. (2001) How to Write Better Essays, Basingstoke, Palgrave OWL at Purdue University and Purdue University ( © ) ‘ Steps in Editing (proofreading) Your Papers ’ [online] gl_stepedit.html (date Accessed; 13/03/04)

Further Reading Creme, P and Lea, M. (2000). Writing at University: a Guide for Students. Milton Keynes: The Open University Press Chapter 7 deals with the issue of finding a voice. Peck, J. and Coyle, M. (1999) The student's guide to writing: grammar, punctuation and spelling, Basingstoke, Palgrave (Look at Chapter 9). For methods of eliminating wordiness, look at: e.html For advice on the active and Passive voice: ass.html

Further Reading This excellent site looks at 4 areas of writing – interpretation, organisation, argumentation and language issues (such as linguistic delicacy): An exhaustive site: Elements of Style: Print.htm m