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Measuring Style Statistically
In Tough, Sweet, and Stuffy, Walker Gibson notes that most types of writing fall into one of three loose categories. He refers to these as follows:
"tough" (concise and straight-forward, but mostly formal in tone--the sort of writing one expects from Hemingway)
"sweet" (informal and friendly, the sort of writing one expects in an advertisement)
"stuffy" (ultra-formal, intentionally vague, the sort of bad writing one expects in jargon, government documents, and "legalese")
Statistically broken down, the numbers look like those in the chart below (click here to download a PDF version):
The Style Machine: Criteria for Measuring Style
(Taken from Walker Gibson, Appendix A, page 13 of Tough, Sweet, and Stuffy, Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1966).
| |
TOUGH (or plain) |
SWEET |
STUFFY |
| 1. Monosyllabic words |
over 70% |
60-70% |
60% or less |
| 2. Words of three syllables and more |
under 10% |
10-19% |
20% or more |
| 3. First and second person pronouns |
1 I or we per 100 words |
2 you per 100 words |
no 1st or 2nd person pronouns |
| 4. Subjects: neuters versus people |
1/2 or more people |
1/2 or more people |
2/3 or more neuters |
| 5. Finite verbs |
over 10% |
over 10% |
under 10% |
| 6. To be forms of finite verbs |
over 1/3 of verbs |
under 1/4 of verbs |
under 1/4 of verbs |
| 7. Passive voice verbs |
less than 1 in 20 verbs |
none |
more than 1 in 5 verbs |
| 8. True adjectives |
under 10% |
over 10% |
over 8% |
| 9. Adjectives modified |
fewer than 1 per 100 words |
1 or more |
fewer than 1 |
| 10. Noun adjuncts |
under 2% |
2% or more |
4% or more |
| 11. Average length of clauses |
10 words or less |
10 words or less |
more than 10 words |
| 12. Clauses, proportion of total words |
1/4 or less |
1/3 or less |
over 40% |
| 13. "Embedded" words |
less than 1/2 S/V combinations |
less than half |
more than twice as many S/V combinations |
| 14. The definite article the |
8% of total words |
under 6% |
6-7% |
| 15. Contractions and fragments |
1 or more per 100 words |
2 or more per 100 words |
none |
| 16. Parentheses and other puncutation |
none |
2 or more per 10 words |
none |
Most readers (and I) prefer reading the "tough" style. That means little or no passive voice, no obscure vocabulary, and no stacked adjectives. However, a good writer is perfectly capable of switching back and forth from one style to another. For instance, some research papers may require a slightly "stuffier" style in order to convey a formal tone. A useful exercise is to take a memo and rewrite it three ways--plain, sweet, and stuffy. Be as extreme as possible when using each style. That exaggeration will help you "feel" the differences between each one.
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