Elements 5: Style

Question 1

C5-1. Place yourself in the background

Answer 1

Write in a way that draws the reader’s attention to the sense and substance of the writing, rather that to the mood and temper of the writer.

To achieve style, begin by affecting none - that is, place yourself in the background

Question 2

C5-2. Never imitate consciously, but do not worry about being an imitator

Answer 2

The use of language begins with imitation; it is almost impossible to avoid imitating what one admires.

Question 3

4. Write with nouns and verbs

Answer 3

It is nouns and verbs, not their assistants (adjectives and adverbs) that give good writing its toughness and color

Question 4

C5-5. Revise and rewrite

Answer 4

Revising is part of writing. Don’t be afraid to experiment with what you have written

Question 5

C5-6. Do not overwrite

Answer 5

Rich prose is hard to digest, generally unwholesome, and sometimes nauseating.

It is always a good idea to reread your writing and ruthlessly delete the excess.

Question 6

C5-7. Do not overstate

Answer 6

When you overstate, everything that follows will will be suspect in the minds of readers

A single overstatement diminishes the whole

Question 7

C5-8. Avoid the use of qualifiers

Answer 7

Qualifiers such as ‘rather, very, little, pretty’ are leeches that suck the blood of words

Question 8

C5-9. Avoid a breezy style (egocentric / spontaneos style)

Answer 8

The author of such style imagines that everything that comes to mind is of general interest and that uninhibited prose creates high spirits

Best to keep a thoughtful rein on the content and for the author to stay out of the act

Question 9

C5-10. Use orthodox spelling

Answer 9

The practical objection to unaccepted and oversimplified spelling is the disfavor with which they are received by the reader

Question 10

C5-11. Do not explain too much

Answer 10

It is seldom advisable to tell all

Let the conversation itself disclose the speaker’s manner or condition (instead of stating it in detail, with excessive use of adverbs)

Question 11

C5-12. Do not construct akward adverbs

Answer 11

Adverbs are easy to build by adding -ly’ but this is best avoided (e.g. tiredly); words that are not used orally are seldom the ones to put on paper

Question 12

13a. Make sure the reader knows who is speaking

Answer 12

Dialogue is a total loss unless you indicate who the speaker is; in long dialogue passages with no attributives, the reader may become lost

Question 13

C5-13b. Make sure attributives do not awkwardly interrupt a spoken sentence

Answer 13

Place attributives where the break would come naturally in speech - that is, where the speaker would pause for emphasis or take a breath

Question 14

C5-14. Avoid fancy words

Answer 14

Avoid the elaborate, the pretentious, the coy and the cute

Question 15

C5-15. Do not use dialect unless your ear is good

Answer 15

The best dialect writers, by and large, are economical in their talents; they use the minimum, not the maximum, of deviation from the norm

Question 16

C5-16. Be clear

Answer 16

Since writing is communication, clarity can only be a virtue

Even to a writer who is being intentionally obscure: be obscure clearly!

When you become hopelessly mired in a sentence, it is best to start fresh

When you say something, make sure you have said it

Question 17

C5-17. Do not inject opinion

Answer 17

Unless there is good reason for it being there, do not inject opinion into a piece of writing

Opinions scattered indiscriminately about leave the mark of egotism on a work

Question 18

C5-19. Do not take shortcuts at the cost of clarity

Answer 18

Do not use initials for the names of organizations or movement unless you are certain the initials will be understood

Many shortcuts are sel-defeating; they waste the reader’s time instead of conserving it

Question 18

C5-20. Avoid foreign languages

Answer 18

It is generally a bad habit

Question 19

C5-21. Prefer the standard to the offbeat

Answer 19

New and eccentric words are more appropriate to conversation than composition; a new work is always up for survival

Language used in advertising, business and finance may not be ideal for writing ordinary prose

In choosing between the formal and informal, the regular and the offbeat, the general and the special, the orthodox and the heretical, the beginner should err on the side of conservatism, on the side of established usage