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Jintian Li
Professor Bryan Kopp
ENG 313
13 May 2015
Noticing Different Prose Style Strategies and Ways of Expressing the Similar Ideas
In our lives, there are so many writing genres that we may or may not be conscious of.
For example, the genre of movie reviews. Have you ever noticed the reviews of the same
movies that are different on Netflix, in a newspaper, or in a magazine? Another example, may
be the topic of love. Have you noticed the readings you read about love in your biochemistry
class are different from fairy tales? We might expect the same topic to be presented
differently in various genres, but even within the same genre, authors use prose style
strategies differently and use different ways of conveying the similar ideas. Have you ever
noticed those differences? I will study academic writings in the field of English Studies to
analyze those differences by using two examples to assist us in finding the answers.
The first example is Sledds Grammar for Social Awareness in Time of Class Warfare.
James Sledd author of Grammar for Social Awareness in Time of Class Warfare was
published by English Journal in Illinois in 1996. The subtitle of the journal is that the journal
of the secondary section of the national council of teachers of English. It is very obvious that
English Journal is for English studies, and its target audiences are teachers of English.
National council means the journal opens to a national level. So, those targeting teachers
are probably from elementary school to college in United Sates. English Journal says James
Sledd is a professor emeritus of English at the University of Texas, Austin (63). So, Sledds
writing for English Journal is academic writing. In the text I choose, Sledd expresses the idea
that Standard English and AAVE (nonstandard English) should be treated equally. The second

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example is Berlins Rhetorics, Poetics, and Cultures: Refiguring College English Studies.
This one is a book called Rhetorics, Poetics, and Cultures: Refiguring College English
Studies published by Parlor Press at West Lafayette in 2003. Berlin is the author of this
book. He was a theorist known for his rhetoric and composition theory. As the title states, this
book is for college English studies, the same genre as Sledds. The audience or users tend to
be English scholars, English teachers and English major college students, especially college
writing teachers and college English writing major students. The audience are at the higher
educational level than most readers of Sledds text. The book also falls under academic
writing. Berlin expresses a deconstructive idea that the meaning of a signified is equal to its
opposite meaning in a binary relation, which is similar to Sledds idea that Standard English
and AAVE (nonstandard English) should be treated equally. We also see that both of their
writings are for English studies. In other words, they are under the same genre.
The following is a piece chosen from Sledds writing. Lets see what prose style
strategies are employed.
It is the language used with approval by the privileged and powerful, the language
which they demand of aspirants to power and privilege, though they themselves may not have
fully mastered it. Its use comes easiest to those who have grown up among its users (those
pupils whom teachers and grammar and usage find consequently most receptive). To the
weak and unprivileged, it is an alien dialect, basically like their own disfavored variety of
English, but differing in hard-to-learn details which commonly strike the frustrated learner as
insignificant (60).
According to readability test, the average grade level is 15.7 and the flesch-kincaid
reading ease is 43.8, which means difficult and academic. The data illustrates that readers
who can understand the text are required to reach the educational level that is at least at the

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15.7th grade. The sentences from above are complicated. The first sentence It is the
language used with approval by the privileged and powerful, the language which they
demand of aspirants to power and privilege, though they themselves may not have fully
mastered it is pretty long. Which they demand of aspirants to power and privilege is a
relative clause that adds more details about what the language is. The language is repeated
after an intervening phrase. This is diacope. Though is subordination as the function to
make the first sentence longer and more complicated. Prepositions are also used, such as,
with and by. Those strategies make the whole sentence verbose and unspeakable, which are
characteristics of official styles. Lets look at another sentence: To the weak and
unprivileged, it is an alien dialect, basically like their own disfavored variety of English, but
differing in hard-to-learn details which commonly strike the frustrated learner as
insignificant. It starts with a prepositional phrase: to the weak and unprivileged. But is
coordination. A relative clause is used again: which commonlyleaner. By looking at the
whole sentence, it is complex, verbose, and unspeakable. We also see that the ideas of the
sentence are ordered in increasing importance. This is a rhetorical device--climax. The idea
after but is the most important one because but is a transition that draws peoples
attention to read what following an author will say. As we see, the official style strategies,
rhetoric devices and sentence-combining strategies are widely used, which make the text
credible and really sound academic.
The following is one example I chose from Berlins text. Lets see what prose styles
are used.
One of the most obvious features of the employment picture today is the decreasing
number of jobs in manufacturing and the increasing number in the service sector. The vast
majority of the latter fall into the two unstable employment tiers and offer few attractions for
most workers In flexible accumulation, markets are as much created as they are identified

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and so "control over information flow and over the vehicles for propagation of public taste
and culture have likewise become vital weapons in competitive struggle" (Harvey 1989,
160) (Berlin, 2003).
After pasting the piece at the Readability-Score.com website, the result shows that the
Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease is 27.3, which is low, and the average grade level is 16.2, which
is a high level to public readers. This data indicates that this text is not easy for the public to
read. People who can understand the text totally or at least mainly, are required to achieve the
educational level at least at 16.2 grade. Lets look at the text closely. At the first sentence
One of the most obvious features of the employment picture today is the decreasing number
of jobs in manufacturing and the increasing number in the service sector, the subject One of
the most obvious features of the employment picture today is very long and is embellished
by many words by using prepositions. This is euphemistic, verbose and slow sentence
opening that are three of the features of official style. The first sentence also uses the
exemplum of rhetorical devices. This strategy means providing a concrete example. In this
sentence, the decreasing number of jobs in manufacturing and the increasing number in the
service sector is the specific example of one of the most obvious features of the
employment picture. This sentence also use hyperbole that exaggerates the importance of
something. One of the most obvious features emphasizes the importance of the decreasing
number of jobs. The most presents the extreme degree of obvious. At the first and
second sentences, prepositional phrases are widely used, for example, One of the most of
the number of jobs in and the in the. Here are eight prepositional phrases, which
make these sentences longer. The second sentence uses coordination. And connects the first
part and the second part into one sentence. Whats more, fall and offer share the same
subject the vast majority of latter, which is parataxis that clauses are equally emphasized.

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I would like to analyze the last sentence. In flexible accumulation, markets are as
much created as they are identified and so "control over information flow and over the
vehicles for propagation of public taste and culture have likewise become vital weapons in
competitive struggle. In flexible accumulation- a prepositional phrase - appears again.
According to the readability test, Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease is pretty low, only 6.9, much
lower than that of the whole paragraph. The Average Grade Level is 20, also higher than that
of the whole paragraph. The words per sentence is 37! This might be very hard for most
readers even college students. Markets are as much created is passive voice, which shows
the official style again. Looking at the whole sentence roughly, we can see there are three
and coordinating different short sentences. The strategy used here is what we call
Polysyndeton that is opposite to Asyndeton, but it also demonstrates the effect of multiplicity,
energetic enumeration, and building up. Besides and, lets look at this sentence closely, and
then we will see these prepositions: in.asasoverforofin and thats why this
sentence is long, shapeless and unreadable.
As we have seen so far, even though sentence-combining strategies are largely used in
both examples, such as relative clause and prepositional phrases, rhetorical devices are used
differently. In Sledds piece, diacope and climax are used, which cannot be found in Berlins
piece. In Berlins, exemplum and hyperbole are employed while there are not used in Sledds
text. In addition, official style is more applied in Berlins text. Except complex sentences that
are verbose and unspeakable, in Berlins text, slow sentence opening and passive voice are
also used. This can explain why the result of their readability text are different. In Berlins
piece, the Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease is 27.3, which is low, and the Average Grade Level is
16.2. In Sledds piece, the Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease is 43.8 and the Average Grade Level
is 15.7. It is shown that Berlins text is harder to understand.

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After analyzing prose style strategies, lets see how the two authors express their
ideas. First, how dose Sledd present his idea? Sledd uses terms: Standard English and AAVE
to express that both of them are important and no one is superior to another. He says that
forced assimilation . . . is far less important than the social analysis (62). Forced
assimilation means pushing Standard English upon students, which is not important in his
view. Standard English is not the only important language. Keeping nonstandard English is
also important. He explains that the great majority of those who learn a nonstandard dialect
in their childhood will continue to use it, more or less modified by schooling and adult
experience but still recognizable, as long as they live. They should not be asked to use the
standard, or punished for not using it (62) because he thinks that to ask the weak and
unprivileged to completely abandon the language of their daily livesis inhumane, brutal,
and futile (60). Another reason is that it would be stupid to stifle diversity altogether (60).
So in Sledds opinion, Standard English and AAVE are binary and equal. He wants to change
peoples hierarchical view about the two categories of language, especially for teachers of
English.
Next, lets look at how Berlin wrote his deconstructive idea. In Berlins writing, he
applied Derridas diffrance to express his signifier and signified on rhetoric ideas. He quoted
the explanation of Derridas diffrance from Vincent Leitch (1983), (1) to differto be
unlike or dissimilar in nature, quality, or form; (2) differre (Latin)to scatter, disperse; and
(3) to deferto delay, postpone Berlin explained a term has meaning because it stands in
oppositional relation to other terms of its class (63). Berlin said a term has meaning
because it stands in oppositional relation to other terms of its class (61). He means all
meanings in the world have to be deconstructive. This is Derridas to scatter. If a signified
is meaningful, according to Berlin, it is because of the relations between a signifier and other
signifiers. The opposite meaning anther signifiers gives make the signified meaningful.

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Otherwise, the signified means nothing. So, signifier and signified have no connection. This
is Derridas to differ. As he said, signifiers have meaning as a result of their relation to
other signifiers in a structured system of signs (61). As we know, language is used by
human being. Meanings are made up by people through language. We become signifiers, but
we, as human being, are not perfect. We cannot reach the real truth. This is Derridas to
defer. As he said, Derrida denied that the sign signifier can ever capture the external
signified (64). Therefore, it cannot say which one is absolutely right or wrong. In Berlins
opinion, there is no hierarchy relation between signifiers and signifiers.
According to Berlin, all meanings of signified are equal within horizontal relation,
which is similar to the Sledds horizontal view towards the relation between Standard English
and nonstandard English. However, the way he expressed is very different from Sledds.
Berlin applies Derridas concepts of diffrance, which is very terminology and abstract, and
is not easy to understand. To the contrary, Sledd uses a very practical and concrete sample:
Standard English and nonstandard English.
In conclusion, from the analysis I have already discussed above, Sledds Grammar for
Social Awareness in Time of Class Warfare and Berlins Rhetorics, Poetics, and Cultures:
Refiguring College English Studies are both under the genre of academic writing for English
studies, but rhetorical devices are also used differently and Berlins text is more inclined to be
official style. In term of the different ways of conveying the similar ideas, Berlin applies
Derridas concepts of diffrance, which is very terminology and abstract, and is not easy to
understand. To the contrary, Sledd uses a very practical and concrete sample: Standard
English and nonstandard English. However, since the differences have been discuss, there are
questions needed to think about in order to push the genre study into a deeper level: what
factors cause the two writings different? What is the main factor? As the title of Berlins text
shows, his writing aims at college English studies. So, Berlins audience (English scholars,

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English professors or English major students, as we mentioned above) are at higher level than
Sledds audience who arrange from low educational level English teachers to college English
teachers. Do you think the audience is the main factor that causes Berlins text more elusive?
If so, why does Berlin do that? Is it in order to challenge or instruct aspiring English scholars
or professors? What about Sledd?

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References
Berlin, James. A. Rhetorics, Poetics, and Cultures: Refiguring College English Studies. West
Lafayette, IN: Parlor Press, 2003. Print.
Sledd, James. Grammar for Social Awareness in Time of Class Warfare. English Journal.
95.7 (1996): 59-63. Print.