Style

Defining Style    

Checklist: Elements of Literary Style

Key Aspects in Analyzing an Author's Style

Discuss the following concepts about writing style:

• Analyzing author's style involves understanding the particular way a piece is written.
• Style in writing is not what is said but how it is said.
• Analyzing author's style involves analyzing the writer's unique way of communicating ideas.
• Styles in writing are created deliberately by the author to convey a specific mood or effect.
• Key aspects in styles of writing include:
1. sentence length, structure, variation, and position
2. the use of sensory details, figurative language, and other literary devices
3. the use of sound devices--alliteration, onomatopoeia, rhythm, repetition
4. the use of dialogue
5. word choice
6. tone
7. the use of local color
8. the use of irony

The style that an author uses influences how we interpret the facts that are presented. Wording and phrasing can tell us about emotions in the scene, the setting, and characters. If you're still not convinced, consider the differences between the following sentences:

He's passed away.

He's sleeping with the fishes.

He died.

He's gone to meet his Maker.

He kicked the bucket.

The version of that sentence that a writer chooses tells us a lot about the situation, the speaker, and the person being spoken to (the audience).