Elements of Style:
Diction
Syntax
Diction: Word Choice
• “The difference between the right
word and almost the right word is
like the difference between
lightning and the lightning bug.”
Mark Twain
Diction: Word Choice
• Diction is the analysis of how a
writer uses language for a distinct
purpose and effect, including WORD
CHOICE and FIGURES OF
SPEECH.
Ways to Characterize Diction
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1. Informal
- personal writing
Bug
Folks
Job
Kid
2. Formal
- academic or literary writing
•Germ
•Relatives
•Position
•Child
Ex. He is two fries short of a Happy Meal. (slang=highly informal)
He’s crazy. (informal)
He’s schizophrenic or insane. (formal)
Take it another step…
•Colloquial—conversational language
•Dialect- example – Southern Dialect/Minnesota
Dialect
•Slang—highly informal and not appropriate for
most writing
•Jargon—the special language of a profession or
group (lawyer or teacher talk, medical terminology,
technical words) that is usually formal
Ways to Characterize Diction
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Ex.
General
Look
Walk
Sit
Cry
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Specific
Gaze, stare, peer, ogle
Stride, slink, trot, shuffle
Slump, squat. Lounge
Weep, sob, bawl
The dishes fell to the floor with a loud noise (crashed or clattered).
He walked along slowly (ambled, sauntered).
He looked at her in an angry way (glowered, glared).
Ways to Characterize Diction
• Monosyllabic (Anglo-Saxon-think of the Germans who brought us
the English language-kill and grunt story-curse words)-one syllable
• Polysyllabic (Latinate/Greek-think of Renaissance and beautiful
words and adjectives)-many syllables
• The more polysyllabic words, the more difficult
the text
Ways to Characterize Diction
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Denotative
(Referential-dictionary)
Public servant
Law Officer
Legislative consultant
Investigator
Soldier of fortune
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Connotative
(Emotive-emotional)
Bureaucrat
Cop
Lobbyist
Spy
Hired killer
Ways to Characterize Diction
• Abstract is
• Not material
• Representing a
thought
• Concrete is
• Real, actual
• Specific, not general
Syntax: Sentence Structure
• Examine sentence patterns and variety for
an effect.
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Function: What is the function of the sentence?
Declarative (statement)
Interrogative (question)
Imperative (command)
Exclamatory (exclamation)
Simple Compound Complex
Compound-Complex
Grammatical: Which type is the sentence?
Simple Sentence (one subject, one verb)
The singer bowed her head to her adoring audience.
Compound Sentence (two independent clauses
joined by a conjunction or a semicolon)
The singer bowed to the audience, but she sang no encores.
Go and speak.
Simple Compound Complex
Compound-Complex
Complex Sentence (one independent, one or more
subordinate clauses)
When I heard the concert, I enjoyed it because she sang beautifully.
When I really understand grammar and when I actually put it to use,
my grades in English will improve. (two dependent clauses, one
independent clause)
Compound-Complex (two or more independent
and one or more subordinate clauses)
The singer bowed while the audience applauded, but she sang no
encores.
Where you go I will go, and where you dwell I will dwell.
Sentence Patterns:
Natural, Inverted, Split Order
• Natural Order-the subject comes first followed
by the predicate.
– Oranges grow in California.
• Inverted Order (Sentence Inversions)-the
predicate comes before the subject.
– In California grow oranges.
• Split Order- the predicate is divided into two
parts with the subject coming in the middle.
– In California oranges grow.
(Syntax)
Syntax Continued
• Juxtaposition-a poetic and rhetorical device in which
normally unassociated ideas, words, or phrases are placed
next to one another, creating an effect of surprise.
– The apparition of those faces in the crowd; Petals on a wet, black
bough…
• Repetition- a device in which words sounds, and ideas
are used more than once for the purpose of enhancing the
rhythm and creating emphasis.
– …government of the people, by the people, for the people…
• Rhetorical Question-a question which expects no answer
used to draw attention to a point and is usually stronger
than a direct statement.
– If Chase is always right, as you have said, why did he fail the writing
exam?