Style Analysis

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Style Analysis

• Syntax

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What is syntax?

• The word syntax refers to the way words and
  phrases are arranged to form phrases and
  sentences.
• For our purposes, the words syntax, sentence
  structure, and phrasing will all describe the
  same concept.

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What does it include?

• It can include not only syntax, sentence
  structure, and phrasing but elements like
  sentence variety, repetition, parallel structure,
  word order, punctuation patterns, rhythm, and
  cadence.

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Look for the following

• Specific phrasing patterns
• Length of sentences (long or short)
• Number of sentences
• Divisions within a piece with different syntax
  for each
• parallel structure
• Different sentence types (simple, compound,
  complex, cumulative, loose, periodic)
• Specific kinds of punctuation
• Rhythm and cadence in a sentence
• Repetitions
• Subject openers and non-subject openers
• Rhetorical questions

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Why analyze syntax?

• When you analyze syntax, you identify the
  sentence structure and analyze how the
  relationship between the syntax and the content
  reflect the authors purpose.

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Remember

• The word structure means organization but
  sentence structure means syntax.
• You must become an expert at identifying sentence
  patterns and saying why the author uses certain
  syntactic patterns in a passage.

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Method for analyzing syntax

• Like organization, break the passage into three
  partsbeginning, middle, and end.
• The example sentence for each syntax section will
  identify the syntactic pattern in that section.
• The commentary sentences will discuss the
  significance of the examples and say why the
  author chose that particular syntax.

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The Gettysburg Address---modelyea!!!

• Read the piece again.
• Look for places to break it into a beginning,
  middle, and end according to the syntax patterns
  you see.
• Of course, there is no one right place to do
  this, so you wont be wrong---mostly!

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Syntax paragraph

• Topic sentence
• Example sentence for beginning
• Commentary for beginning example sentence
• Commentary for beginning example sentence
• Example sentence for middle
• Commentary for middle example sentence
• Commentary for middle example sentence
• Example sentence for end
• Commentary for end example sentence
• Commentary for end example sentence
• Concluding sentence

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Topic syntence ?

• The authors syntax moves from ______ to _______
  and finally to ______.

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Exsymple

• The authors syntax moves from long and blunt to
  choppy and descriptive and finally to unceasing
  and rhythmic.

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Example sentences

• This will be different from the other ones
  because we will use few or no quotations in a
  syntax paragraph.
• Your example sentences describe the syntax of the
  sectionsbeginning, middle, or end.

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Example of Beginning example sentence

• In the beginning, there is one long sentences
  with inflections at the end of each clause.

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Commentary (analysis or interpretation)

• Two separate sentences
• Firstcomment on the significance of the example
  sentence
• Secondexplain why the author chose this syntax

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Example of Commentary

• The length mirrors the preparation of the nation
  and the proceedings of war itself, while the
  cadence gives a sense of continual perseverance
  and progression.

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Example of 2nd commentary

• The author does this to emphasize the increasing
  magnitude of what is to follow.

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Example of Middle example sentence

• In the middle, the piece is characterized by a
  long-short-long series connected by complex
  parallels.

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Commentary

• Resembling the march-fight-march movement of war,
  Lincolns writing is strategic and yet ironically
  softened by the music of the parallel structure.
• He uses the see-saw style to illustrate the
  frequent and close connections between death and
  duty.

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Example of end example sentence

• In the end, however, the sentences are again
  connected by many dashes.

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Commentary

• Lincolns consistent elaboration reassures the
  people that continuing the war is indeed a noble
  cause.
• He does this to remind the audience over and over
  again of the present needs of the country.

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Concluding sentence

• Thus, the syntax follows a circular path
  grammatical structures tie the beginning and
  ending together just as the speech ties together
  the past and the future of a nation.