The

Segregating

Style

Grammatically simple, expresses a simple idea.

Consists of relatively short, uncomplicated sentences.

He writes at most 750 words a day, He writes and rewrites, He polishes and re-polishes. He works in solitude.  He works with agony. And that is the only way to work at all.

Useful in descriptive and narrative writing.

Analyzes complicated perception or action into its parts and arranges these in significant order.

Simple yet effective, emphatic and adds variety,

Less useful in exposition where you must combine ides in subtle gradations of logic and importance.

Can become too simplistic and lose its character.

Narratives, descriptive passages

Emphasis for longer sentence

The

Freight-train

Style

Couples short, independent clauses to make longer sequential statements:

Multiple coordination—uses “and” to link coordinating clauses

Parataxis—independent clauses linked by semi-colons

Triadic Sentence—3 clauses using MC or parataxis

And the rain descended and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon the house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.

MC-It was a hot day and the sky was bright and the road was white and dusty.

Parataxis-- The habits of the natives are disgusting; the woman hawk on the floor; the forks are dirty; the trees are poor; the Pont Neuf is not a patch on London Bridge; the cows are too skinny.

Can link a series of events, impressions, feelings, or perceptions as immediately as possible, without judging their relative value or imposing a logical structure upon them

Does not handle idea subtly, and implies that all linked thoughts are equally significant.

Cannot show precise logical relationships (cause and effect)

Can continue without stopping places.

Children’s writing or childlike visions

Experience of mind descriptions

“Stream of consciousness”

The

Cumulative

Style

Initial independent clause followed by many subordinate constructions which accumulate details about the person, place, event, or idea.

A creek ran through the meadow, winding and turning, clear water running between steep banks of black earth, with shallow places where you can build a dam.

She was then twenty-one, a year out of Smith College, a dark, shy, quiet girl with a fine mind and a small but pure gift for putting her thoughts on paper.

Can handle a series of events

Can act as a frame, enclosing the details

Details may precede or follow the main clause—using these, those, this, that, and such as preceding nouns

Can be open-ended like freight train

Description, character sketches

Less often used in narration

The

Parallel

Style

Two or more words or constructions stand in an identical grammatical relationship to the same thing. All subjects must be in the same form.

In its energy, its lyrics, its advocacy of frustrated joys, rock is one long symphony of protest.

Impressive and pleasing to hear

Economical, using one elements to serve three or four others

Enriches meaning by emphasizing subtle connections between words

Suits only ides that are logically parallel—three or four conditions of the same effect

Is formal for modern tastes

Can be too wordy just by being  parallel structure

Can be used in all forms of writing for emphasis or description—emotional or intellectual

The

Balanced

Sentence

Two parts, roughly equivalent in length.  It may also be split on either side.

In a few moments everything grew back and the rain poured down like a cataract.

Visit either you like; they’re both mad.

Children played about her, and she played as she worked.

The constructions may be balanced and parallel.

Pleasing to eyes and ears and give shape to the sentence

Uses objectivity, control, and precision

Unsuitable for conveying the immediacy  of raw experience r the intensity of strong emotions

Formality is likely to seem too elaborate for modern readers

Irony and comedy or just about anything else

The Subordinating

Style

Expresses the main clause and arranges the points of lesser importance around it, in the form of phrases and clauses

Loose construction—main clause comes first

Periodic structure—main clause follows subordinating parts

Convoluted construction—main clause is split in two; subordinating parts intruding

Centered structure—main clause occupies the middle of the sentence

Loose sentence- We must always be weary of conclusions drawn from the ways of the social insects, since their evolutionary track lies so far from ours.

Periodic sentence—If there is not future for the black ghetto, the future of all Negroes is diminished.

Convoluted sentence—White men, at the bottom of their hearts, know this.

Centered sentence-Having wanted to walk on the sea like St. Peter, he had taken an involuntary bath, losing his mitre and the better part of his reputation.

Loose sentence- puts things first, like we talk

Periodic sentence—Emphatic, delays the principle thought, increasing climax

Convoluted sentence—Simply offers variety in style and emphasis for the words before and after commas

Centered sentence-Good in long sentences, can order events or ideas

Loose sentence- Lack emphasis and easily becomes formless, no clear ending points

Periodic sentence—Too long of a delay can be confusing.

Less advantageous in informal writing

Convoluted sentence—

Formal and taxing, interrupting elements grow longer and more complicated

Centered sentence-Not as emphatic as periodic or as informal as loose

Loose sentence- Colloquial, informal,  and relaxed

Periodic sentence—Formal and literal

Convoluted sentence—

Formal writing, used sparingly

Centered sentence-Formal, for long and complicated subjects to include event as well as grammatical order

The

Fragment

Single word, phase, or dependent clause standing alone as a sentence

I saw her. Going down the street.

Sweeping criticism of his style throws less light on the subject than on the critic himself.  A light not always impressive.

Emphasis

Unsupported fragments become grammatical errors --fixed by rejoining the modifier with the sentence

Formal and informal writing for emphasis