Style Analysis
A path for identifying tone
Please memorize the following
sentence:
Toiling alone during lunch, Fred
frantically developed indoor
plants, ones sitting in slippery,
sharp pots.
This sentence will help you to memorize 15 rhetorical
and stylistic devices which are as follows:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
tone
attitude
diction
language
figurative language
figures of speech
detail
imagery
point of view
organization
structure
irony
sentence structure
syntax
phrasing
TONE
• Tone is defined as the author’s attitude
toward his work or his audience.
• Tone may also be a speaker’s attitude
within a selection.
• Each passage you read will have at least
two different but complementary tones.
• You will need to study lists of tone words
to have a plethora of words to use in timed
situations. One such list is being passed
out, although many more exist!
TONE
• Your primary objective in any style
analysis is to show how the author
created the tones in the passage.
Each of the following units will
address a rhetorical device and its
application to tone.
• Remember: You will always find at
least two tones!
INTEGRATING QUOTATIONS
• When you analyze style, you will
often need to quote from within the
passage to illustrate. Practice
EMBEDDING (or INCORPORATING,
INTEGRATING) quotations so that
they become a natural part of your
own sentence.
INTEGRATING QUOTATIONS
• Here is an example of a poorly integrated
quotation:
The phrase, “the gloom hovering over them,”
shows the ominous feeling of the scene.
• This is better:
The scene with “the gloom hovering over them”
was an eerie and dismal picture.
• If you change the form of a word, use brackets
to show that you did so:
As the “gloom [hovered] over them,” the reader
felt a sense of ominous unrest.
LESSON ONE:
DICTION, LANGUAGE,
and FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
• Diction is defined as the important and individual
words the author uses. Language, while it is
grouped here with diction, is actually the body of
diction used. (In “Casey at the Bat”, for
example, the author uses words about baseball.
Individually, they are considered diction;
collectively, they are the language of baseball
jargon.)
• Diction involves the positive, negative, or neutral
connotations the words have. In order to assess
diction, we must know the difference between
CONNOTATION and DENOTATION.
DICTION, LANGUAGE, and
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
• The DENOTATION of a word is its dictionary
definition while the CONNOTATION is the emotional
baggage that comes along with the word.
• Example: The word “plump” is a person who is
overweight (by definition), but the feelings
associated with the word define it as pleasantly fat.
• Once you have identified an author’s diction, you
must ANALYZE it. This means that you write
commentary about the word and the effect the word
had on you as a reader, or in the passage as a
whole. Some synonyms for COMMENTARY are
ANALYSIS, INTERPRETATION, and EXPLICATION.
DICTION, LANGUAGE, and
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
• Read the following sentence:
John surveyed the class, congratulating himself
for snatching the highest grade on the test
without studying at all, unlike the other dolts in
the class.
• Identify the diction you found in that sentence,
and then consider possible tone words for the
sentence.
• Possible tones include haughty, arrogant,
conceited. These words belong to one “family” of
tone.
DICTION, LANGUAGE, and
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
• The next step is to write commentary for
the diction you highlighted.
• Commentary #1: conveys the idea of
someone looking around as if he were a
king looking at lowly subjects
• Commentary #2: the boy sees himself on
a kind of Mt. Olympus, sitting with other
gods and looking down on lesser mortals.
ASSIGNMENT: Now it is time to practice.
• Read ‘The Rattler” and highlight diction
choices as you read. Remember that diction
is the important individual words the author
uses.
• The next step is to create an introductory
paragraph for this essay.
• Diction analysis is only a tool to achieve another
goal – to identify tone and attitude. Remember
to look for two different but complementary tones
for each passage.
ASSIGNMENT: Read “The Rattler” and
fill in the chart below about the two (or
more) tones of the passage.
Tone One:
Tone Two:
Diction that leads you to Diction that leads you to
this tone:
this tone:
To practice, look over “The Rattler” and
do a quickwrite on two questions:
1) What feelings did the man have about
killing the snake?
2) What feelings did you as a reader have
about the man’s killing the snake?
• We might feel that we are sorry that the
man killed the snake, that we understand
the snake had to be killed.
The next step it to write the introduction
paragraph. In this introduction, you should
identify the two different but complementary
tones, and establish a theme statement.
Here is an example:
The author’s techniques used in “The
Rattler” convey not only a feeling of sadness and
remorse but also a sense of the man’s
acceptance of the snake’s impending death. A
human being has confronted nature, and in
order for him to survive, the snake must be
killed. The reader feels sympathy for the man’s
plight and a reluctant agreement with him for his
decision.
Continue Writing
• Now it is time to write the second paragraph
of the essay. In this paragraph, you will
discuss one of the rhetorical devices found in
the passage. This one will analyze only
diction. This paragraph must begin with a
topic sentence which uses the device which
is to be studied. Here, that word is diction.
Read the following example of a topic
sentence on diction.
The author’s diction heightens the power and
force behind the snake as it responds to the
man.
Continue Writing
• The next part of the paragraph follows a specific
pattern. You will write one example sentence with
the diction examples you have chosen, then two
sentences of commentary. The commentary must
echo the tones established in the introduction.
This unit of writing – one example and two
commentaries is called a “chunk”. You will need at
least two chunks in each body paragraph.
• In the diction example sentences you will need at
least three examples of diction from several parts of
the passage. Read the example sentence below:
Like a soldier, the snake lay “arrested,” waiting for
the “unprovoked attack” after shaking his “little
tocsin” at the man.
Commentary
• The next step is to write commentary (analysis
or interpretation) for the three quotes you
included in your example sentence.
• Here is a sample of commentary from the
previous example sentence:
– Commentary #1: feeling of adversary vs. adversary
– Commentary #2: snake knows its power but holds
back; doesn’t want to fight but signals that it will
defend itself if necessary
• Commentary does not mean paraphrasing the
quotation. It means thinking about the feeling
behind the quotations and the reader’s
response.
Now You Practice
• Read the sample introduction and
diction paragraph.
• ASSIGNMENT: Read the essay
by Frederick Douglass.
Highlight the passage for
diction. Then write an
introductory paragraph and a
paragraph on diction.
LESSON TWO:
DETAIL AND IMAGERY
• Detail is defined as concrete or specific
information that can be perceived through the
five senses. Detail is literal – the facts of the
selection.
• Detail and imagery are both used to describe
concrete words and phrases. Details and
imagery contrast with diction in that details do
not by themselves have connotation while
diction is purely emotional.
• Return to “The Rattler” passage and highlight in
a different color all of the details you see. Please
feel free to check these with me before you go
on.
DETAIL AND IMAGERY
• The steps for completing this paper are very
much like the diction paper. If this were an
actual paper, you would not need to write
another introduction. The first one will do.
• You would, however, need to write the next body
paragraph. This one is about detail, so your
topic sentence should reflect that change:
The author’s detail supplies the reader with a
well-defined picture of the actions of both the
snake and the man.
DETAIL AND IMAGERY
• Just as with diction, the next part of the essay is an
example sentence. This time, because of the length
of the examples, you will need to incorporate only
TWO. For example:
The snake “merely turned a little to watch” the man
as it waited to see if he would go “back to the ranch
house, [get] a hoe, and [return].”
• The next step involves writing commentary. These
commentary are about the example above:
– Commentary #1: snake not afraid or hesitant; casual
attitude
– Commentary #2: snake’s awareness of its enormous
power, moves slowly (as man does)
DETAIL AND IMAGERY
Read the following paragraph on detail in “The Rattler”:
The author adds to the effect of the passage by giving
elaborate details about the actions of both the man and the
snake. The snake “merely turned a little to watch” the man as
it waited to see if he would go “back to the ranch house, [get]
a hoe, and [return].” The snake is not afraid, hesitant, or easily
unnerved, because it knows its own formidable power. It
turns its head casually, glancing over to see what interesting
but trivial intrusion has arrived. After the man has killed the
reptile, he “does not cut the rattles off for a trophy,” but
instead lets the snake “drop into the bush.” He does not want
to take its life and feels no satisfaction in its death. The man’s
respectful actions in response to the dignified presence of his
opponent are worthy. We commiserate with him as he
performs his distasteful and necessary task.
DETAIL AND IMAGERY
• Read the following example paragraph
from a detail paragraph on “The Rattler.
• ASSIGNMENT: Read the following passage
by Henry James and follow the directions on
that page for writing an introductory
paragraph and a paragraph on detail.
Remember to follow the “chunk” format
described earlier.
•
•
LESSON THREE:
POINT OF VIEW
Read “The Rattler” this time looking for ideas about the
author’s point of view.
Before you start the point of view paragraph, you will need a
topic sentence for it:
The first person point of view brings the reader into the scene
instantly.
•
To do the example sentence for point of view, you will need to
include 2 or 3 short quotations from several parts of the
passage as you write your sentence. Here’s an example:
At the beginning of the story, the man says, “I stopped
short”—his “first instinct” was to let the snake slither away,
because he “never killed an animal” he didn’t have to.
POINT OF VIEW
• The next step is to write commentary for the quotes you
included in your example sentence. This commentary
should echo the tones from the introduction. Before you
begin, it is helpful to know what kinds of commentary to
write. Here are some phrases that appear frequently on
point of view analysis:
– First person: Reader can feel same emotions as narrator,
sense of immediacy, reader reacts in unison with narrator
– Third person limited: Reader feels a sense of distance from
others, and, in addition, is limited to one perspective; narrower
view of the subject, may be biased in only one direction;
distance may be good, may be the goal of the author
– Third person omniscient: Reader feels more distant than with
first person but also has a wider, more panoramic view of the
subject; reader knows everything that an outside observer
could know
POINT OF VIEW
• Here is an example of commentary
based on the topic sentence above:
– Commentary #1: sudden shock, reader
takes a sharp breath with the narrator
– Commentary #2: reader feels narrator
freeze, then reluctance as narrator
recognizes what may happen; comes
from the use of first person, more
personal and immediate as we are there
in the desert with the narrator.
POINT OF VIEW
• Read the following example
paragraph from a point of view
paragraph on “The Rattler.”
• ASSIGNMENT: Read the following
passage by Gustave Flaubert.
Write an introductory paragraph
and a paragraph on the point of
view of the passage.
LESSON FOUR:
ORGANIZATION
• In analyzing organization, you must watch for a
broader structure or framework in the piece of
writing. Look for a larger pattern.
• The following is a list of things you might watch
for:
–
–
–
–
–
the beginning and ending of a passage
a particular sequence that is important
a noticeable chronology
any prominent literary techniques
a focus or emphasis on any one part that makes it
stand out
ORGANIZATION
•
The process in studying organization is similar
to others you have learned. Here are the
steps:
1. Number the paragraphs in the passage. If there is
only one paragraph, watch for logical divisions in it.
2. Read the passage and note any points of
organization in the margins.
•
Now go back to “The Rattler” passage. Read
for the author’s organization, making notes in
the margins as you read.
ORGANIZATION
•
As you begin writing the organization paragraph, you will need a
topic sentence. Here is a sample:
The author’s organization helps the reader understand the man’s
conflicting feelings.
•
•
In the example sentence you won’t necessarily quote from the
passage, although you may if you wish. Simply state your
observations.
Here is a sample:
The author’s organization carries the reader through early evening
in the desert as if it were a complete short story in a few
paragraphs. It begins with the setting and foreshadowing in the
exposition, and continues to a climax in paragraph 4, extends to a
second climax in paragraph 5, and finishes with a short resolution.
ORGANIZATION
•
To write the commentary, ask yourself two
questions:
– Why did the author use this organization?
– How did it affect you as the reader or the tone of the
passage?
•
Here is an example of commentary for the
example from “The Rattler”
– Commentary #1: gives the feeling of development in
one short page, traditional short story
– Commentary #2:effect of second climax on reader to frighten reader (and narrator) after lulling them
into careless complacency.
• The following paragraph is a sample
organization paragraph from “The Rattler.”
• ASSIGNMENT: Read the following passage
by Charles Dickens and follow the directions
on that page for writing an introductory
paragraph and a paragraph on organization.
Remember to follow the “chunk” format
described earlier.
LESSON FIVE:
SYNTAX, SENTENCE
STRUCTURE, PHRASING
• Syntax refers to the way words and phrases are
arranged to form phrases and sentences. Like
organization, identifying syntax can be difficult to
do. Here is a list of items you might look for
when analyzing for syntax:
–
–
–
–
–
specific patterns of phrases and sentences
divisions within a piece with different syntax for each
parallel structure
different sentence types
specific kinds of punctuation
• Of course, this list is only a partial one. There
are many other patterns you might look for.
SYNTAX, SENTENCE
STRUCTURE, PHRASING
• When you are analyzing syntax, follow these
steps:
– Number the sentences in the passage. This will aid
your discussion of the syntax.
– Mark observations about the syntax in the margins as
you read.
• Read the passage by Frederick Douglass which
was given to you previously. Make observations
about the syntax as you read the passage. The
attached pages may give you an insight into the
kinds of things to look for.
SYNTAX, SENTENCE
STRUCTURE, PHRASING
• The next step is to write a topic sentence for the syntax
paragraph. Here is a sample:
The author’s syntax reflects the speaker’s torturous
feelings.
• The second step is to write an example sentence. You
may quote if you wish, but it is not required. Read the
following example:
The dashes at the end of paragraph one set off
information about Douglass’s escape in parallel clauses
and finish the sentence in a rhythmic and skillful way.
SYNTAX, SENTENCE
STRUCTURE, PHRASING
• Next, as usual, write commentary, observations
about the author’s syntax. Ask yourself two
questions:
– Why did the author use this syntax?
– What effect does it have on the reader or the tone?
• The following examples are commentary for the
passage by Douglass.
– syntax is controlled as he discusses his escape and
even feeling threatened.
– as long as expectations are clear in his mind and
come to pass, syntax is under control
• Read the attached sample paragraphs on
the Douglass passage.
• ASSIGNMENT: Read the following
passage by Charles Dickens and follow
the directions on that page for writing
an introductory paragraph and a
paragraph on syntax. Remember to
follow the “chunk” format described
earlier.
FINAL ASSIGNMENT
• Review the unit to prepare for a final timed
essay on a new passage.