It’s A Matter of Style
Do you merely see grass or
countless summertime
memories?
 Your
life experiences
How
you view the world—humor,
sarcasm, irony, optimism, negativity
 What
you choose to draw your
audience’s attention to
What
 Your
How
 Your
How
you find important to share
word choice
you say what you say (diction)
syntax
you word your sentences (structure)
 Your


slowdown, still yourself, and listen—“Psst…hey,
I’m trying to tell you something over here.”
Don’t ignore your voice: tap into it.
 Your

style and voice come from within
voice comes from YOU
Don’t try to write like someone else. It will sound
unnatural, stilted.
 Write

What do you really think about that song?
 Your

as honestly as possible.
style will emerge naturally.
Trust the process.
 You’ve
summarized, paraphrased, and
quoted from your sources. Now what?
 It’s time to hear from you…



What “big idea” do you think the artist was
imparting on the listener?
How do you think the triggering event changed
the political culture in our country?
Why do you think the song is still relevant today?
Remember—you chose the song for a reason,
now tell us why!
What can I do to make my
writing flow smoothly and
come to life?

Remember these?


Sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste
Why do we need to use the senses in a song
analysis?

The back story of the song is filled with intrigue,
mystery, horror, suspense, or the unbelievable. Let
the reader experience it firsthand.

Drop them into the world that spawned the
song. Let them feel Ed Gein’s sofa made of
human flesh, see Matthew Shepard tied to the
fencepost splayed like a scarecrow, taste the
blood in Rodney King’s mouth during his brutal
beating by the police.
Without the sense (yawn)
With the senses (wow!)

Matthew Shepard was
tied to the fencepost, Which is
and he looked like a more visual?
scarecrow to passersby.


Ed Gein made furniture
out of the skin of his Can you feel
it?
victims.

With life and vitality
bludgeoned out of him,
Matthew Shepard’s body
stood as lifeless as a
scarecrow, appearing to
passersby as nothing more
than a farmer’s attempt to
protect his crops against an
annoying flock of birds.
“New leather chair, Ed?”
one may have asked
innocently, stroking the
hide’s smooth, cool
texture. Little did anyone
know that her name was
Mary.
When any old word won't do…
Words are an author’s tools to shape, color, and
mold the richness of the text he/she is creating.
 Choose your words wisely, just as an artist
carefully selects his brush and a color from his
palette.



Appeal to emotion with connotative language
 House vs. home, beat vs. torture, scared vs. terrified
Use active verbs to avoid passive writing
 He was hoping that no one would smell…
vs.
He prayed no one smelled…
Paint a picture
 use vivid, fresh, original thoughts
Avoid redundancy
 don’t beat the dead horse
Use natural words. Technical words jolt the reader.
Avoid unnecessary words which bog down the
sentence, stripping away the immediacy.
 that, so, just





The words, the order, the flow…

Don’t bore your reader with the same old
line…Vary your sentence structure.
 Instead of…
 Mellencamp grew up in rural Indiana…
 Mellencamp has used his music to draw…
 Mellencamp has been involved in Farm Aid.
 Try…
 Growing up in rural Indiana…
 As a result, Mellencamp has used his music…
 For several years, this song artist has been
involved in Farm Aid.
They are your friends!
Conjunctive Adverbs
also, besides, indeed
 likewise, as a result
 furthermore, in
addition
 undoubtedly, now,
meanwhile, still,
nonetheless
 in fact, certainly
 nevertheless, instead,
 however, then, finally

Subordinating Conjunctions
as long as, so that,
since, now that,
unless
 rather than, as, if,
though, provided
 until, when, even if
 as though, because,
whereas, whether
 before, once, if only

Why not try those
nifty conjunctions
you just reviewed?
Change directions…
Maybe use those nifty conjunctions?


Focus on blending the discussion of the song lyrics,
song analysis, poetic devices, and literary devices.
Choose your most powerful points.



You need not use all of them. Don’t overwhelm the reader.
Blend them together naturally for maximum impact.
Example (transitions underlined):

In her song titled “Scarecrow,” Melissa Etheridge
repetitively uses the word “scarecrow” as a metaphor for
Matthew Shepard (“Scarecrow,” line12). While scarecrows
are harmless, they are feared by predators. Through the
use of this metaphor, Etheridge imparts to the listener that
an innocent man was feared by his assailants simply for
living a lifestyle different from theirs. In addition,
Etheridge’s tone suggests…
Today you’re focusing on blending the discussion of the
song lyrics, song analysis, poetic devices, and literary
devices.
 Choose your most powerful points. You need not use all of
them. Don’t overwhelm the reader.
 Blend them together naturally for maximum impact.
For example: In her song titled “Scarecrow,” Melissa
Etheridge repetitively uses the word “scarecrow” as a
metaphor for Matthew Shepard (“Scarecrow,” line12).
While scarecrows are harmless, they are feared by
predators. Through the use of this metaphor, Etheridge
imparts to the listener that an innocent man was feared by
his assailants simply for living a lifestyle different from
theirs. In addition, Etheridge’s tone suggests…

Now, get busy!