FIVE ELEMENTS OF STYLE: A MNEMONIC

FIVE ELEMENTS OF STYLE: A MNEMONIC

     Five elements of style to remember, which I've adapted, as a memory device, so that each element starts with the letter C, include:

1.  CORRECT.  That is, your style should be correct in terms of grammar, syntax (sentence construction), and use of words and idioms.

2.  CLEAR.  Your writing should be clearly understood by a reader.

3.  CONCRETE.  You should be concrete and specific; nothing should be vague or general or abstract; there should be enough description and definition of ideas.

4.  CONSISTENT.  Your style should be consistent with your subject and audience (readers).  Some styles are appropriate for one subject matter but wrong for another.  This is commonly called "decorum," but decorum begins with a D!

5.  CHOICE.  By this I mean, to keep the C pattern, a choice use of language so that people remember it.  You can see where the writer has to keep a balance between using CHOICE language and being CLEAR in one's language.  It's a question of not going too far in either direction.
     This is a model that may help in the future but will not be used in tomorrow's class.  

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