STYLE

UNDERSTANDING AND ANALYZING STYLE

Analyzing style can be a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be with just a few reminders of what to look for

Try “deconstructing” the text, that is, pick it apart to identify and analyze its individual parts/features to see what’s there and being employed by the author and the effect it creates

STEP 1: Consider the following:

Form Audience Purpose

By analyzing the form/structure of a piece often tells you what kind of text you’re dealing with (script, poem, article, etc.)By analyzing who the target audience is you can make connections with word choice, diction, and syntax.By analyzing the purpose, you get an understanding of the context out of which the writer is writing and what they are truly trying to communicate to the reader.

STEP 2: Consider the following features of textual

construction: Diction—choices of vocabulary/lexis Figures of speech—such as metaphor, simile,

personification, climax, antithesis, or contrast Structure or cohesion—how the piece fits

together Syntax—the types of phrases and sentence

construction Sound effects—alliteration, onomatopoeia,

rhetorical devices, etc. Tone—persuasive, angry, playful, sad,

reflective, etc.

STEP 3: Consider features of presentation:

PicturesFontLayout

But the focus should be on the language and how linguistic choices “position” the reader/audience as a consumer.

ON YOUR OWN… Using the travel advertisement from

Seven Seas Voyager Cruises, analyze the text for elements of style.

Use the Guide to Textual Analysis and the notes you just took (STEPS 1-3) to help you “DECONSTRUCT” the text. Then discuss your findings with a partner.

LET’S TAKE IT A STEP FURTHER: Now that you have deconstructed the text

and analyzed its “Style,” complete the following activity with a partner: (tape record your conversation using a smart device with recording capability for a future activity on Speech Transcription)

*Using the information in the advertisement text, write a short script for a two-voice radio advertisement for

the same cruise. Try to capture the same “style” as the original in your script

adaptation.*

WHAT’S THE DIFF? With your partner, make notes on the

similarities/differences between the original text and your script, bearing in mind the change of mode and format.

Arrange your notes on a Venn Diagram.

advertisement script

CULMINATING ASSIGNMENT: Using any notes, Venn Diagram, and

both original text and script, write a compare/contrast essay discussing what changed/stayed the same in terms of style between the two texts.