Writing Analytically, 6th Edition - Rosenwasser, David & Stephen, Jill.original_ [267]
Despite Strunk & White’s rule (in Elements of Style), three words are not better than six in every rhetorical situation. And their edict against it notwithstanding, passive voice has its place, its own special advantages. As we hope you have seen from the foregoing discussion, active is not always better. Much depends on context. The key to growing as a stylist is learning to see the choices. (See Chapter 1, the Short Take entitled “A Quick Word on Style Guides”.)
EXPERIMENT!
A key idea of this chapter is that there are not necessarily right and wrong choices when it comes to sentence style but instead better and best choices for particular situations. The from-the-hip plain style of a memo or a set of operating instructions for your lawnmower is very likely not the best style choice for a good-bye letter to a best friend, a diplomatic talk on a sensitive political situation, or an analysis of guitar styles in contemporary jazz.
Is style a function of character and personality? Is it, in short, personal, and thus something to be preserved in the face of would-be meddlers carrying style manuals and grammar guides? Well, as you might guess at this point in the book, the answer is yes and no. We all need to find ways of using words that do not succumb to the mindnumbing environment of verbal cliché in which we dwell. It helps then, to become more self-conscious about style and not assume that it is inborn. Staying locked into one way of writing because that is “your style” is as limiting as remaining locked into only one way of thinking.
This chapter has presented some terms and techniques for experimenting with sentence styles. Equipped with these, you might profitably begin to read and listen for style more self-consciously. Find models. When a style appeals to you, figure out what makes it work. Copy sentences you like. Try imitating them. Know, by the way, that imitation will not erase your own style—it will allow you to experiment with new moves, new shapes into which to cast your words.
GUIDELINES FOR THE RHETORIC OF THE SENTENCE
Revise sentences to clarify their meaning by revealing the organization of thought. Align like with like, set difference against difference, and in general use form to emphasize what’s important and demote what is not.
Become aware of your own syntactic habits. What is your “go-to sentence” and how might you build upon it to extend your range and force?
Cut the fat. Don’t use five words (“due to the fact that”) when one will do (“because”). Root out expletives that needlessly subordinate (“It is true that…”). Avoid redundancy.
Tighten the syntax of your sentences by energizing the verbs. The active voice generally achieves directness and economy; it will promote clarity and cut fat.
Look for potentially strong active verbs “lurking” in sentences that use a form of to be. Beware habitual use of to be and passives, since these forms tend to blur or submerge the action, omit its performers, and generally lack momentum.
Look at the order and arrangement of clauses. Are ideas of equal importance in coordinate constructions? Have you used subordination to rank ideas? Have your sentences exploited the end as a position of emphasis?
Look at the shapes of your sentences. Do they use parallelism to keep your ideas clear? Where do you find opportunities for composing periodic and cumulative sentences that revision can bring out?
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Assignments: Stylistic Analyses—The Rhetoric of the Sentence
1. Compare the Style of Two Writers. Analyze the style—the syntax but also the diction—of two writers doing a similar kind of writing; for example, two sportswriters, two rock music reviewers, or two presidents. Study first the similarities. What style characteristics does this type of writing seem to invite? Then study the differences. How is one writer recognizable through his or her style? The American Rhetoric website is a wonderful place to go