Style is a key part of all writing, and everyone has different styles of writing. We can categorize writings into different styles. There are 4 mains styles of writing, such as, the Plain style, the Pompous style, the Grand style, and the Official Style. Style is also used to connected variations with sentence structures. These include; using punctuation to the writers advantage. The Greeks had a word for the variation of normal word order and usage called anastrophe. Greek orators commonly practiced the inversion of usual word order.
Absolute Phrases is a sentence modifier that functions as a loner standing beyond the sentence. These types of phrases are also noun phrases that use the formula determiner + noun headword + participial phrase. Though absolute phrases sometimes use a pattern with a participial phrase as the postword modifier.
Many variations that writers use for special effects occur in connection with coordination structures, which are, pairs and series of sentences and their parts. One change in deviation is the use of conjunctions. This variation of writing is called by the Greeks polysyndeton where the use of an extra “and”. There is also a Greek style called asyndeton, which is opposite of the extra “and” that uses a series of no conjunctions. The omission of the conjunctions contributes to the strictness and frugal style that echoes the words themselves.
We also use repetition, which could be taken positively or negatively because it can also be considered redundancy. Our discussions in everyday speech are confined to repetition in coordination structures that make readers sit up and notice what we are speaking about. The Gettysburg address is a prime example of coordination structure because most cannot remember anything other than “Four score and Seven years ago.” Though through the structure of repetition we can also remember “government of the people, by the people, and for the people.” Lincoln’s uses of similar grammatical form are also known as an Isocolon. A contrasting view would be to look at the way President Kennedy stirs his words by reusing “any” in an asyndeton way. The word variation goes on to almost end his sentence during his sentence. Repetition of a clause opening is called an anaphora. This type of repetition is different then all other forms because the others are used in the middle of a sentence, where as, an anaphora is used to open a sentence with repetition.
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I think it is intriguing that there are four distinct types of style. This is because I don't think that anyone writes in one particular style. Writing is not something that can fit neatly into a box that was created by grammarians.
I would say that most writing involves a mixture of all of the four styles. Also, writers use different styles of writing at different times. For example, when writing a note to myself I would probably use plain style. However, if I was giving a presentation I would most likely use something that sounds more official.
I didn't realize that writing was categorized into these different "styles". I'm actually surprised there aren't more categories of style, including types that are mixtures of other styles.
I must also admit that I found all of this technical jargon a little confusing. After reading for a bit, all of the Greek terms and coordintation structures started to blend together. I would definitely have to study this in depth for it to make sense to me.
First and foremost, I have to agree with Julie, that the technical terms used to describe the four "styles" of writing were a bit confusing. As I have progressed over the years through school and obtained a higher education, it is easier to see that different people have different writing styles. Also, different styles are used at different times, depending on the situation. For instance, in our research essay's that we are writing, I am trying to use a more sophisticated style of writing because it is meant to come across as a formal piece of academic literature. However, if I am leaving my mom a note at home, I would probably use plain style, without much emphasis on sentence structure and word usage. Overall, I think each and every person has their own style of writing, which is why I was also surprised that there were not more than just four "styles" of writing.
So many factors can influence style: culture, personal experience, the writer's current mood, etc. I know that I am not the same writer today that I was five years ago. Even now, I cannot guarantee that a paper I write today will use the same style as a paper I might write tomorrow.
I can't say that I like the idea of lumping all pieces of literature into one of four categories. I'm sure that are writers who fall into the cracks between these styles. It just can't be that simple.
I also found a lot of the technical jargon used in this article confusing. I kept getting them mixed up. I can see why learning these styles could be useful, because each style can be used for a different effect. It would be helpful for consciously picking a style that lends itself to a particular audience.
One thing that surprised me is that there were only four different styles. It seems as if there should be more because of the wide and varied nature of writing. I agree that there are probably some writers that don't fit firmly into one of these categories. There is definitely crossover between these styles, with stylistic variations within writing.
I did not realized that there were four specific categories of writing style. This surprised me. I always thought that everyone had their own writing style, therefore there would be millions of styles. I have a hard time believing that everyone writes in one of these four styles. We are seem to write differently, so how can all styles fit into these four? Possibly everyone's writing is a mixture of these styles, and we all mix them differently.
Style is such a subjective influence on writing, I'm not sure that the categories hear effectively portrayed all of the different sorts of styles. There is so much that goes into a style of writing, that I don't really believe the categories given are valid. Of course, that is always the issue when it comes down to stylistic categorization,as there will always be variations and exceptions to the rules.
I have to agree wholeheartedly with most of what has already been said here. Style is not only subjective, but also fluid and changing. I don't believe any person writes in one style all the time. While there are always similarities between writing styles, to say that people always fall into one of four cookie-cutter categories is a little bit far fetched.
I believe everyone has their own unique style. I can't believe that there are only four types of style. I have read lots of different styles and I think that there are so many unique styles. I see the styles being mixed quite often which makes the writing very enjoyable.
The different styles of writing is what makes up the English language. Because Standard English is so diverse,many people create their own styles of writing according to some rules of Standard English. Honestly, i believe that their are more than four forms of writing because people make up forms of writing everyday and they should be accounted for.
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