An Art of Choice: Style and Sentences (Part 1)

Théo Van Rysselberghe, En juillet - avant midi of Le verger, 1890, Oil on canvas, 1890, Kroller Muller

By Dr. Melvin Hall,
Ph.D. in Composition and Rhetoric
from the University of Wisconsin — Madison.

❝ Eloquence will never be mature and robust unless it develops strength by much practice in writing. Without the models supplied by reading, the whole effort will be adrift, and there will be no one at the helm. 

• Quintilian, The Orator’s Education

❝ It cannot be doubted that a large part of art consists of imitation. Invention of course came first and is the main thing, but good inventions are profitable to follow. Moreover, it is a principle of life in general that we want to do for ourselves what we approve in others.

• Quintilian, The Orator’s Education
   

What is Style?
 

How Do Writers Develop Their Style?

Writers, like painters and composers, develop their style through imitation and practice. By learning to be attentive to and recognize other authors’ (and their own) repeated forms, writers absorb an unconscious and spontaneous repertoire of linguistic techniques. They develop their personal style by dwelling in the style of writers past and present.  Writers emulate and, ideally, over time, refine and surpass their carefully studied models (Corbett, 1971, p.  244). 

If we attend to form, we discern the repeated forms that constitute the writing styles juxtaposed in Sample 1. I invite readers to take a moment to study the attributes of the two styles juxtaposed in Sample 1. Do you notice the repeated forms in each style? Can you enumerate the attributes of each style? The authors of both texts carefully chose their sentences’ forms and arrangement to achieve a style they have in mind. Put another way, they consciously shape their sentences to communicate to readers their character and attitude toward the topic they describe. But without training in how to read closely for style, we will not discern nor even notice the authors’ contrasting writing styles. 

The authors write in different genres: Thomas the reflective, formal essay; Cooks and Holden the standardized, scientific article. Because the authors of both genres make a conscientious effort to realize an ideal and design their texts to achieve a purpose, they provide us with two styles both wonderful and instructive. 

The two texts are foils. Their contrast accentuates their styles for easier examination and pedagogical benefit.  I have labeled Thomas’ writing style baroque counterpoint, and Cooks and Harden’s, telegraphic minimalism.  Thomas' style strives toward the vital counterpoint in the Prelude to Bach’s Partita for violin in E major arranged for piano by Sergei Rachmaninoff. Cooks and Harden’s style aspires to achieve the limpid minimalism in Philip Glass’ Opening.  Listening to the musical representations of the authors’ styles helps us perceive (or hear) the ideal or model the authors are trying to imitate in their writing styles (sentences’ form).  In the rest of Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3, we will train ourselves to read closely for style. Part 2 is an analysis of Thomas’ style. Part 3 is an analysis of Cooks and Harden’s style. Our goal is to practice close reading and dwell in the two styles. 

Why Should Economists (Scholars) Study Written Style?
 

An economist is a writer that explores the creation and preservation of wealth. An economist that is not a writer remains a potential economist, a quasi-economist. To be a writer-economist, a scholar must express his- or herself by reproducing the discipline’s style. In the age of specialization, efficiency, and labor-saving devices, the first half of the hyphenate is often dropped. We are left with one who knows (potential economist with knowledge), but cannot eloquently express their knowledge (quasi-economist). 

We have forgotten, perhaps, that disciplinary eloquence is a scholar’s ultimate achievement. A scholar reaches their full potential by making the stylistic choices that allow them to communicate specialized knowledge to a variety of readers and audiences. Put another way, an economist (any scholar) reaches their full potential only through disciplined and eloquent expression. After all, style and thought are the same thing. When one studies sentence formation and order (grammar and style) one is also studying rhetoric’s rudimentary forms of rational argument. 

Thus, the study of style is its own end and virtue. The ideal we strive to realize is not scholar or scientist but rather writer-scholar, writer-scientist, a noble craftsman who takes pride in the expressive forms that give writer-scholars and their discipline character.

How Do We Notice and Closely Read for Style?

Students of written style must train themselves to toggle between looking at sentences (grammar) and looking from (or through) sentences to style (rhetorical choice and order) (Polanyi 1311; Corbett and Connors 3-5). We must learn enough grammar (phrases, clauses, and the four English sentences) to analyze the lower order forms with which writers design higher order style. Put simply: first we learn what language can do (grammar); then we learn what we can do with language (style/rhetoric). This is similar to van Rysselberghe and Seurat studying the chemistry and optical science of color (lower order principles) to develop their grammar of brush strokes (dots of color) and then integrating the grammar of dots on a higher level (form and image) to create their pointillist style. 

So, first we analyze technique on a lower level then we synthesize (reintegrate) these forms in different orders and arrangements on a higher level to create style.  Readers dwell in authors’ styles by shuttling between lower and higher order forms while reading. Writers, too, by shuttling between lower and higher order forms imitate these models and weave their original style into their texts.  This weaving together of the lower and higher order forms is the origin of style. (See Diagram 1 for an illustration of the hierarchy of forms).  

Where Do We Begin?

To begin and prepare for the analysis in Part 2 and Part 3, we must learn to identify grammatical types of sentences and their structures. This requires discipline and dedication to rigorous, hands-on, sentence-by-sentence close reading of a small sample. (I suggest a text no longer than 15 to 20 paragraphs, between 1000 and 2000 words). 

I begin with biologist Thomas’ essay “Social Talk.” I identify the four grammatical types of sentences in his essay using a color code (See Image 1):

1. Simple (S) - Green

2. Compound (Cp) - Blue

3. Complex (Cx) - Red

4. Compound-Complex (Cp-Cx) – Purple. 

Second, I identify the four grammatical types of sentences in the article written by chemists Cooks and Holden. I use the same color code (To view the color-coded text – click here). 

The first stage’s goal is to learn and ingrain the four basic sentence patterns, phrases, and clauses. We are learning the lower-order principles of style. We are looking at sentences and their grammatical structure. The more often a writer practices identifying sentence types in an article the more efficient (even pleasurable) identification and analysis become.

In Part 2 and Part 3, I demonstrate how to closely read for style.  Gradually, we will describe the two contrasting writing styles juxtaposed in Sample 1. As we work through the analysis, each stage of the process will gradually unfold. Writers can imitate and incorporate this method into their own study and practice of writing style by taking the parts useful to them and altering them to fit their needs. I simply work through a close reading process allowing readers to look over my shoulder and adopt the aspects of the process most useful to them.