WRITING STYLE

BELL RINGER 1.What is a cliché? Look the definition up. Write out the word and the answer. 2.Shorten this sentence: There are twenty-five students who have already expressed a desire to attend the program next summer. It is they and their parents who stand to gain the most by the government grant.

WORD OF THE DAY Antebellum Define the word above, then define the parts of it as listed below. What does the prefix ante- mean? What does the root word bellum mean?

A WORD FROM MR. STRUNK Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell. --William Strunk Jr. in Elements of Style

TEXT READING Read pages 154 through 157. Take notes as you read. You need to have the definition of a “transition” and at least two examples in your notes. (I am checking Friday). This should take you no more than 20 minutes.

OTHER WRITING STYLES Some other options to the “Inverted Pyramid” are: The storytelling style– carries all the hallmarks of a traditional narrative: setting, scene, introduction of characters, narration of events, and the weaving in of facts. PERSONALITY PROFILES, that is, an in-depth look at a person, cannot be done in the inverted pyramid style.

COMBINATION STYLE Uses the summary lead of the inverted pyramid, then presents the story as a narrative below. Essentially, it is this. Summary and spoilers. Specifics and details in the order the occurred.

SIDEBARS This is a story related to but kept separate from another on the same subject. They are usually anecdotes or deeper looks at some specific fact and are very common in feature stories.

ASSIGNMENT Grab a newspaper. Find a story in the Storytelling style. Now, find three transitions. Write the lines above it, the transition, and the lines below it. Under line the transition in your notes. Then, make a side note of what that transition does. I will show you what it looks like on the next page.

ASSIGNMENT Mayor Sid Goldberg today signed over 40 acres of the Pine Ridge Forest Reserve for the grounds of the new Galileo Observatory The Observatory, built with federal funds will provide astronomy research facilities for three area universities. This research capacity will provide the three university with greater prestige and assist in attracting quality students for its astronomy programs. Notice the underlined transitions in each example? Now it’s your turn.