Writing with clarity and style : a guide to rhetorical devices for contemporary writers

232 Pages·2018·3.46 MB·English

W riting with
Clarity and Style
W riting with Clarity and Style , second edition, will help you to improve your writing
dramatically. The book shows you how to use dozens of classical rhetorical devices to bring
power, clarity, and effectiveness to your writing. You will also learn about writing styles, authorial
personas, and sentence syntax as tools to make your writing interesting and persuasive. If you
want to improve the appeal and persuasion of your speeches, this is also the book for you.
From strategic techniques for keeping your readers engaged as you change focus, down
to the choice of just the right words and phrases for maximum impact, this book will help you
develop a fl exible, adaptable style for all the audiences you need to address.
E ach Chapter Now Includes These Sections
♦ S tyle Check, discussing many elements of style, including some enhanced and
revised sections.
♦ D efine Your Terms, asking students to use their own words and examples in their
definitions.
♦ I t’s in the Cloud, directing students to the Web to locate and respond to various
rhetorically focused items, including biographies and speeches.
♦ S alt and Pepper, spicing up the study of rhetoric by stretching students’ thinking
about how their writing can be improved, sometimes by attending to details such
as punctuation, and sometimes by exploring the use of unusual techniques such as
stylistic fragments.
♦ R eview Questions , providing an end-of-chapter quiz to help cement the chapter
ideas in long-term memory.
♦ Q uestions for Thought and Discussion, a set of questions designed for either
in-class discussion or personal response.
N ew to the Second Edition
♦ Additional examples of each device, including from world personalities and the
captains of industry.
♦ More and longer exercises, with a range of difficulty.
♦ Advice from classical rhetoricians including Aristotle, Horace, Longinus, Cicero,
and Quintilian.
R obert A. Harris (PhD, University of California, Riverside) taught English at college and
university level for more than 25 years. He has also worked in the area of instructional design.
Dr Harris’ other books include Using Sources Effectively: Strengthening Your Writing and Avoiding
Plagiarism (now in its fi fth edition), and The Plagiarism Handbook: Strategies for Preventing, Detecting,
and Dealing with Plagiarism.
W riting with
Clarity and Style
A Guide to Rhetorical Devices
for Contemporary Writers
S econd Edition
R obert A. Harris
S econd edition published 2018
b y Routledge
7 11 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
a nd by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
R outledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2018 Taylor & Francis
T he right of Robert A. Harris to be identifi ed as author of this work has been asserted
by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
1988.
A ll rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised
in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
T rademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks,
and are used only for identifi cation and explanation without intent to infringe.
F irst edition published by Pyrczak Publishing 2001
L ibrary of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
N ames: Harris, Robert A. (Robert Alan), 1950– author.
Title: Writing with clarity and style : a guide to rhetorical devices for
contemporary writers / Robert A. Harris.Other titles: Guide to rhetorical
devices for contemporary writers
Description: Second edition. | New York, NY : Routledge, [2018] | Previous edition
published in 2003. | Includes index.
Identifi ers: LCCN 2017036072| ISBN 9781138560109 (Hardback) | ISBN 9781138560093
(Paperback) | ISBN 9780203712047 (eBook)
Subjects: LCSH: English language—Style. | English language—Rhetoric.
Classifi cation: LCC PE1421 .H37 2017 | DDC 808/.042—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017036072
I SBN: 978-1-138-56010-9 (hbk)
I SBN: 978-1-138-56009-3 (pbk)
I SBN: 978-0-203-71204-7 (ebk)
T ypeset in Book Antiqua
b y Apex CoVantage, LLC
C ontents
T ables xi
I ntroduction 1
T he Method 3
T he Names and Terms 3
N ew to the Second Edition 3
A cknowledgments 4
Chapter 1 Balance 5
P arallelism 5
C hiasmus 8
A ntithesis 10
S tyle Check 1: Rhythm 12
D efi ne Your Terms 1 12
I t’s in the Cloud 1: Losing Distinction 12
S alt and Pepper 1: Titles 13
R eview Questions 13
Q uestions for Thought and Discussion 14
C hapter 2 Emphasis I 15
C limax 15
A syndeton 16
P olysyndeton 18
S entential Adverb 19
S tyle Check 2: Demetrius on Beginning and Ending Stress 22
D efi ne Your Terms 2 23
I t’s in the Cloud 2: Demetrius 23
S alt and Pepper 2: Coordinating Conjunctions 23
R eview Questions 24
Q uestions for Thought and Discussion 25
C hapter 3 Emphasis II 27
I rony 27
U nderstatement 29
L itotes 30
H yperbole 32
S tyle Check 3: Emphatic Positioning 33
D efi ne Your Terms 3 34
I t’s in the Cloud 3: Email Etiquette 34
S alt and Pepper 3: Stylistic Fragments 35
R eview Questions 35
Q uestions for Thought and Discussion 36
v
C hapter 4 Transition 37
M etabasis 37
P rocatalepsis 39
H ypophora 42
S tyle Check 4: Transitions of Logic 45
D efi ne Your Terms 4 46
I t’s in the Cloud 4: Writing Analysis Apps 46
S alt and Pepper 4: A Pari and A Fortiori 46
R eview Questions 47
Q uestions for Thought and Discussion 48
C hapter 5 Clarity 49
D istinctio 49
E xemplum 51
A mplifi cation 53
M etanoia 54
S tyle Check 5: Clear Versus Opaque Writing 55
D efi ne Your Terms 5 56
I t’s in the Cloud 5: Aristotle 56
S alt and Pepper 5: The Rhetoric of Punctuation 56
R eview Questions 58
Q uestions for Thought and Discussion 58
C hapter 6 Syntax I 61
Z eugma 61
D iazeugma 62
P rozeugma 63
M esozeugma 65
H ypozeugma 66
S yllepsis 68
S tyle Check 6: Cumulative and Periodic Sentences 69
D efi ne Your Terms 6 71
I t’s in the Cloud 6: The Rhetoric of Advertising 71
S alt and Pepper 6: A Banquet of Rhetoric 71
R eview Questions 71
Q uestions for Thought and Discussion 72
C hapter 7 Syntax II 73
H yperbaton 73
A nastrophe 75
A ppositive 77
P arenthesis 79
S tyle Check 7: Parataxis and Hypotaxis 80
D efi ne Your Terms 7 82
vi
I t’s in the Cloud 7: Subordinating Conjunctions 82
S alt and Pepper 7: Cooking Rice 82
R eview Questions 83
Q uestions for Thought and Discussion 84
C hapter 8 Figurative Language I 85
S imile 85
A nalogy 89
M etaphor 91
C atachresis 95
S tyle Check 8: Demetrius on Metaphor 97
D efi ne Your Terms 8 98
I t’s in the Cloud 8: Effective Blog Posts 98
S alt and Pepper 8: Pleonasm 98
R eview Questions 99
Q uestions for Thought and Discussion 100
C hapter 9 Figurative Language II 101
M etonymy 101
S ynecdoche 104
P ersonifi cation 106
S tyle Check 9: Freshness 109
D efi ne Your Terms 9 109
I t’s in the Cloud 9: Quintilian 110
S alt and Pepper 9: Euphemism 110
R eview Questions 111
Q uestions for Thought and Discussion 112
C hapter 10 Figurative Language III 113
A llusion 113
E ponym 115
A postrophe 117
T ransferred Epithet 118
S tyle Check 10: Persona 120
D efi ne Your Terms 10 121
I t’s in the Cloud 10: Structured Writing 121
S alt and Pepper 10: Pompous Proverbs 121
R eview Questions 122
Q uestions for Thought and Discussion 123
C hapter 11 Restatement I 125
A naphora 125
E pistrophe 127
S imploce 129
vii
S tyle Check 11: Demetrius on Using Short Sentences 131
D efi ne Your Terms 11 132
I t’s in the Cloud 11: Ethos 132
S alt and Pepper 11: Anaphora With Prefi xes and Suffi xes 133
R eview Questions 133
Q uestions for Thought and Discussion 134
C hapter 12 Restatement II 135
A nadiplosis 135
C onduplicatio 136
E panalepsis 138
S tyle Check 12: What Is Style? 140
D efi ne Your Terms 12 141
I t’s in the Cloud 12: Longinus 141
S alt and Pepper 12: Using Semicolons and Commas 141
R eview Questions 143
Q uestions for Thought and Discussion 144
C hapter 13 Restatement III 147
D iacope 147
E pizeuxis 148
A ntimetabole 150
S cesis Onomaton 151
S tyle Check 13: Demetrius on Increasing Vividness 153
D efi ne Your Terms 13 154
I t’s in the Cloud 13: Cicero 154
S alt and Pepper 13: Metaphor Challenge 154
R eview Questions 154
Q uestions for Thought and Discussion 156
C hapter 14 Sound 157
A lliteration 157
O nomatopoeia 160
A ssonance 162
C onsonance 164
S tyle Check 14: Texture and Tone 165
D efi ne Your Terms 14 166
I t’s in the Cloud 14: George Orwell 167
S alt and Pepper 14: The Marriage of Sound and Sense 167
R eview Questions 168
Q uestions for Thought and Discussion 169
C hapter 15 Drama 171
R hetorical Question 171
A poria 173
viii
A pophasis 175
A nacoluthon 177
S tyle Check 15: The Levels of Style 178
D efi ne Your Terms 15 178
I t’s in the Cloud 15: Writing Generators 179
S alt and Pepper 15: Who’s Who 179
R eview Questions 179
Q uestions for Thought and Discussion 180
C hapter 16 Word Play 181
O xymoron 181
P un 183
A nthimeria 186
S tyle Check 16: The Future of Style 187
D efi ne Your Terms 16 189
I t’s in the Cloud 16: Reading Grade Level 189
S alt and Pepper 16: Did You Say Rhetoric? 190
R eview Questions 190
Q uestions for Thought and Discussion 190
A ppendix A Rhetoric in Context I. Blog Posting 193
A ppendix B Rhetoric in Context II. Business Email 197
A ppendix C Rhetoric in Context III. Counselor’s Report About a Client 201
A ppendix D Rhetoric in Context IV. Graduate School Application Essay 205
A ppendix E Rhetoric in Context V. Short Story 209
A ppendix F Winston Churchill—A Speaker’s Rhetoric 213
I ndex 217
ix