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SUBORDINATE CLAUSE, 424-27 A clause that begins with a SUBORDINATING WORD and therefore cannot stand alone as a sentence: They feel good when they exercise . My roommate, who was a physics major , tutors students in science . VARYING YOUR SENTENCES Read a paragraph or two of your writing out loud, and listen for its rhythm. Is it quick and abrupt? slow and leisurely? singsong? stately? rolling? Whatever it is, does the rhythm you hear match what you had in mind when you were writing? |
And does it put the emphasis where you want it? One way to establish the emphasis you intend and a rhythm that will keep readers reading is by varying the length of your sentences and the way those sentences flow from one to the other. A string of sentences that are too much alike is almost certain to be boring. |
While you can create effective rhythms in many ways, one of the simplest and most effective is by breaking up a series of long sentences with a shorter one that gives your readers a chance to pause and absorb what you've written. Take a look at the following passage, from an article in the Atlantic about the finale of the Oprah Winfrey Show . |
See how the author uses a mix of long and short sentences to describe one of the tributes to Oprah, this one highlighting her support of Black men: Oprah's friend Tyler Perry announced that some of the Morehouse Men, each a beneficiary of the $12 million endowment she has established at their university, had come to honor her for the scholarships she gave them. |
The lights were lowered, a Broadway star began singing an inspirational song, and a dozen or so black men began to walk slowly to the front of the stage. Then more came, and soon there were a score, then 100, then the huge stage was filled with men, 300 of them. |
They stood there, solemnly, in a tableau stage-managed in such a way that it might have robbed them of their dignity-the person serenading them (or, rather, serenading Oprah on their behalf) was Kristin Chenoweth, tiniest and whitest of all tiny white women; the song was from Wicked , most feminine of all musicals; and each man carried a white candle, an emblem that lent them the aspect of Norman Rockwell Christmas carolers. But they were not robbed of their dignity. |
They looked, all together, like a miracle. A video shown before the procession revealed that some of these men had been in gangs before going to Morehouse, some had fathers in prison, many had been living in poverty. Now they were doctors, lawyers, bankers, a Rhodes Scholar-and philanthropists, establishing their own Morehouse endowment. -CAITLIN FLANAGAN, The Glory of Oprah The passage begins with three medium-length sentences-and then one very long one (seventy-two words!) |
Then come two little sentences (the first one eight words long and the second one, seven) that give readers a chance to pause and absorb what has been said while also making an important point: that the men looked, all together, like a miracle. The remainder of the passage moves back toward longer sentences, each of which explains just what this miracle is. Try reading this passage aloud, and listen for how the variation in sentences creates both emphasis and a pleasing and effective rhythm. |
Morehouse Men surprise Oprah. In addition to varying the lengths of your sentences, you can also improve your writing by making sure that they don't all use the same structure or begin in the same way. You can be pretty sure, for example, that a passage in which every sentence is a simple sentence that opens with the subject of a main clause will not read smoothly at all but rather will move along awkwardly. Take a look at this passage, for example: The sunset was especially beautiful today. |
I was on top of Table Mountain in Cape Town. I looked down and saw the sun touch the sea and sink into it. The evening shadows crept up the mountain. I got my backpack and walked over to the rest of my group. We started on the long hike down the mountain and back to the city. There's nothing wrong with these sentences as such. Each one is grammatically correct. But if you read the passage aloud, you'll hear how it moves abruptly from sentence to sentence, lurching along rather than flowing smoothly. |
The problem is that the sentences are all the same: each one is a simple sentence that begins with the subject of a main clause ( sunset, I, I, evening shadows, I, We ). In addition, the use of personal pronouns at the beginning of the sentences (three I 's in only six sentences!) makes for dull reading. Finally, these are all fairly short sentences, and the sameness of the sentence length adds to the abrupt rhythm of the passage-and doesn't keep readers reading. |
Now look at how this passage can be revised by working on sentence variation: From the top of Cape Town's Table Mountain, the sunset was especially beautiful. I looked down just as the fiery orb touched and then sank into the sea; shadows began to creep slowly up the mountain. Picking up my backpack, I joined the rest of my group, and we started the long hike down the mountain. |
This revision reduces the number of sentences in the passage from six to three (the first simple, the second compound-complex, the third compound) and varies their length. Equally important, the revision eliminates all but one of the subject openings. The first sentence now begins with the prepositional phrase (From the top); the second with the subject of a main clause (I); and the third with a participial phrase (Picking up my backpack). |
Finally, the revision varies the diction a bit, replacing the repeated word sun with a vivid image (fiery orb). Read the revised passage aloud, and you'll hear how varying the sentences creates a stronger rhythm that makes it easier to read. This brief chapter has only scratched the surface of sentence style. But I hope it says enough to show how good sentences can be your allies, helping you get your ideas out there and connect with audiences as successfully as possible. |
Remember: authors are only as good as the sentences we write! REFLECT! Read an essay you've written aloud, listening for rhythm and emphasis. If you find a passage that doesn't read well or have the emphasis you want, analyze its sentences for length (count the words) and emphasis (how does each sentence begin?). Revise them using the strategies discussed in this chapter. PART 5 LANGUAGE &STYLE / GET ATTENTION Chapter 24 Mixing Languages &Dialects A LANGUAGE IS A DIALECT WITH AN ARMY AND NAVY. |
-MAX WEINREICH How many languages do you know well enough to speak or write? Which languages would you like to know? The United States is often said to be a monolingual country, one where English is the only language needed. In fact, that's never been accurate. Languages other than English have always been present here. |
Today the US Census Bureau estimates that 25 percent of Americans speak a language other than English at home-Spanish, Chinese, and Tagalog are the three most common; and American Sign Language is probably number four. So the United States is a country of many languages. It is also a nation of multiple dialects and registers. |
Dialects are varieties of language spoken by people in particular regions, ethnic groups, or social classes-like the English spoken in Appalachia, the Chicano English spoken primarily by Mexican Americans in the US Southwest, and the Queen's English spoken by the upper classes in the United Kingdom. |
Registers are the ways we speak in various situations-like the formal register used in much academic writing, the legalese used by lawyers, or the way certain words are used in tennis (where love means zero and deuce is a 40-40 score). No matter how many languages you speak, you probably use a number of different dialects and registers. Is the way you speak with close friends different from the way you speak in class or at work? |
Is the way you text a friend different from the way you write an email to an instructor? We bet that it is. Notice all the languages, dialects, and registers you encounter in a day-on signs, in conversations, wherever. I also bet that you probably mix whatever varieties of languages you use, consciously or unconsciously. Language scholars have identified two ways that people do so. |
Code switching is the practice of shifting from one language or dialect to another, whereas code meshing is a way of weaving together languages and dialects. Both are ways of mixing varieties of language for various purposes-to reflect a particular STANCE , for example, or to establish a connection with a certain AUDIENCE . This chapter provides examples and guidelines to help you mix languages, dialects, and registers for various rhetorical situations. REFLECT! |
Think about the varieties of language you speak-your home language(s), and the way you speak at school or at work. And do you belong to any teams or other groups that use special words? Write a paragraph describing what influences the way you speak; include specific examples. Using Englishes What some call standardized English has been taught prescriptively in schools and recognized as the language of power throughout US history. |
As the dominant mode of discourse, standardized English has privileged some while silencing others. Yet it is itself just one of many valid and powerful dialects and languages used in the United States. Today, many writers are pushing against the boundaries of standardized English, and against its claim to primary importance and power. In fact, throughout history many so-called standard languages have been challenged by other dialects and languages. |
English itself once edged out Latin as the language of power. So it's no surprise that in the United States, some have challenged or even rejected standardized English. This chapter provides a number of examples of writers mixing varieties of language in ways that speak powerfully. Such moves are increasingly common, but doing so well requires that you keep your RHETORICAL SITUATION front and center. What's your PURPOSE , and what's at stake? |
Who's your AUDIENCE , and what languages and dialects will they understand and respond to? Using languages and dialects Some who are bilingual (or multilingual) mix languages or dialects routinely, especially when they're speaking with others who speak the same languages. But even those who are not bilingual will use one or more dialects on occasion. Sometimes doing so can help you connect with your audience, or simply get their attention. |
It can also be a way of illustrating a point or evoking a particular place or community. Following are some good examples demonstrating how to use different varieties of language for these purposes. To connect with an audience If you listen to popular music today, you can probably think of examples of lyricists mixing languages to powerful effect. Here are some lyrics from Kenyan rapper Bamboo's remix of the song Mama Africa, first written and sung by Jamaican reggae artist Peter Tosh. |
A love song to the African continent, which has in Bamboo's view too often been represented negatively, his remix connects to his international audience of hip-hop and pop music fans by moving back and forth between Swahili and English: tunaishi vizuri check out the way we be livin na tunakula vizuri we always eating the best poteza yako kwa nini why should you settle for less TV haiwezi kuambia they never show on your screen kwa hivyo mi ntawaambia so you can see what I mean Africa maridadi Africa's beautiful baby -BAMBOO, Mama Africa Bamboo uses hip-hop rhythms and dialects to connect with the audiences he wants to reach. |
By using both Swahili and English, he reaches more people than if he'd used just one language-and exposes those who speak just one of these languages to the other. Sandra Cisneros, a Mexican American writer who's fluent in both English and Spanish, makes similar choices in a collection of short stories inspired by her experience growing up in the United States surrounded by Mexican culture. |
See how she mixes languages to speak to an audience that's likely to include both English and Spanish speakers: Ay! The true test of a native Spanish speaker. Ay! To make love in Spanish, in a manner as intricate and devout as la Alhambra. To have a lover sigh mi vida, mi preciosa, mi chiquitita, and whisper things in that language crooned to babies, that language murmured by grandmothers, those words that smelled like your house, like flour tortillas. |
-SANDRA CISNEROS, Bien Pretty As writers and speakers, we have to think carefully about when mixing different varieties of language will help us connect with our audiences-and when it won't. In most cases, writers have a kind of informal contract with readers: while readers may need to work some to understand what a writer is saying, the writer in turn promises to consider the audience's expectations and abilities. |
The end goal is usually accessibility: Will your message be understood by those you are trying to reach? If some members of your audience aren't likely to understand, should you provide a translation? Unless you're choosing not to translate so that your readers experience what it's like not to understand, you'll usually want to be sure they understand what you've written. To illustrate a point Sometimes you'll want to insert words from a different variety of language in order to illustrate a point. |
Prompted by a baffled lady who seemed surprised to find that Lyiscott was articulate, Lyiscott says: Pay attention 'Cause I'm articulate So when my father asks, Wha' kinda ting is dis? My articulate answer never goes amiss I say Father, this is the impending problem at hand And when I'm on the block I switch it up just because I can So when my boy says, What's good with you son? I just say, I jus' fall out wit dem people but I done! And sometimes in class I might pause the intellectual sounding flow to ask Yo! |
Why dese books neva be about my peoples Yes, I have decided to treat all three of my languages as equals Because I'm articulate -JAMILA LYISCOTT, Broken English Watch the video of Jamila Lyiscott's TED Talk at letstalklibrary.com . |
In her performance, which has more than 4 million views online, Lyiscott uses what she calls three tongues-one each for home, school, and friends-to make the point that there are many different ways to be articulate. And she's articulate, all right, in three different dialects. |
And here is Buthainah, a Saudi Arabian student writing a literacy narrative for an education class at an American college: ~~~ I don't want to was my response to my parents' request of enrolling me in a nearby preschool. I did not like school. I feared it. I feared the aspect of departing my comfort zone, my home, to an unknown and unpredictable zone. . . . |
To encourage me, they recited a poetic line that I did not comprehend as a child but live by it as an adult. They said, Who fears climbing the mountains ~~~ Lives forever between the holes. As I grew up, knowledge became my key to freedom; freedom of thought, freedom of doing, and freedom of beliefs. |
-BUTHAINAH, Who Fears Climbing the Mountains Lives Forever between the Holes Reciting the Arabic proverb (which also serves as the title of her essay) draws readers' attention and illustrates the importance of Arabic in her journey to become the writer she is while also letting non-Arabic speakers feel a bit of what it's like to encounter a foreign language they don't understand. |
At the same time, she makes a point of translating the proverb for her readers as the essay progresses-They said, Who fears climbing the mountains ~~~ Lives forever between the holes.' Buthainah's essay illustrates how mixing languages can grab attention and show-instead of tell-your audience something that's important to you. To evoke a place or community Using the language of a specific community or group is a good way to evoke their character. |
In the following passage, journalist David Thompson is interviewing Lee Tonouchi, author of Living Pidgin: Contemplations on Pidgin Culture . Responding to a question about his work, Tonouchi uses Hawaiian Pidgin, now one of Hawaii's official languages, to evoke family relationships in his community: [This book is] about finding humor in tragedy. It's about da relationship between one son and his uncommunicative faddah in da wake of da maddah's early passing. |
An den, it's also about da son's relationship with his grandmas as he discovers what it means for be Okinawan in Hawaii. -DAVID THOMPSON, Lee Tonouchi: Pidgin Poet Notice that Tonouchi mixes more academic English and Hawaiian Pidgin within sentences and not just between them, bringing the two into even closer contact. When using the language of a community you don't belong to yourself, take care to do so with respect. |
When possible, ask someone who does speak the language to look over what you've drafted to ensure that it's accurate and respectful. Quoting people directly and respectfully If you're writing about someone you've interviewed, you will want to let them speak for themself. From 1927 to 1931, Zora Neale Hurston, the famed Black anthropologist, interviewed Cudjo Lewis, one of the last living slaves to have made the journey across the Atlantic. |
Lewis's story, told from Hurston's perspective, appears in Barracoon: The Story of the Last Black Cargo. Hurston takes care to let him speak his mind, and in his own words. She begins by telling us, I hailed him by his African name, Oluale Kossula, which she had learned from prior research. In the next paragraph, Lewis speaks: Oh Lor', I kno it you call my name. Nobody don't callee me my name from cross de water but you. You always callee me Kossula, jus' lak I in de Affica soil! |
-ZORA NEALE HURSTON, Barracoon : The Story of the Last Black Cargo Notice how Hurston alternates between standardized English and the actual speech of the person whose words she quotes. Quoting him helps establish her credibility as a careful researcher. Finally, the use of quotations appeals to her audience's emotions; we can hear Lewis's surprise and delight. |
Readers familiar with the dialect Lewis speaks might sense kinship with him, while those who are not will be reminded that Hurston is writing about a context different from their experience. When you're quoting others, let them speak for themselves not only in their own words but also in their own language. And whenever possible, ask your subjects to review any quotations you use to ensure that they're accurate. |
Providing translation One way to stay true to a language or dialect you identify with while still reaching readers who may not understand is to provide a translation. Bamboo's example, which invites English speakers to think about Africa's rich culture in part by including Swahili, demonstrates how translation helps when you're mixing languages. |
When translating, you will usually want to introduce the term in its original language, followed by the translation, as is done on the poster on the following page announcing a conference taking place in the Navajo Nation. Note that the designer places the Navajo title first-and in slightly larger and bolder text-to underscore the importance of the Navajo language at this conference. |
See how linguist Guadalupe Valds uses translation in an ethnographic study of a family of Mexican origin: During his kindergarten year, . . . winning was important to Sal. Of all the cousins who played together, it was he who ran the fastest and pushed the hardest. Yo gan, yo gan (I won, I won), he would say enthusiastically. . . . Sal's mother, Velma, wished that he would win just a bit more quietly. . . . No seas peleonero (Don't be so quarrelsome), she would say. |
Es importante llevarse bien con todos (It's important to get along with everyone). -GUADALUPE VALDS, Con Respeto : Bridging the Distances between Culturally Diverse Families and Schools Note especially that Valds always puts the Spanish words first, as they were spoken, and only then gives the English translation. She could have chosen to put the translation first, or to write only in English, but giving the Spanish first puts the spotlight on her subjects' voices and their own words. |
By including the English translation at all, Valds acknowledges readers who don't speak Spanish and makes sure they can understand what she's written. Like Bamboo and the Navajo conference poster, she translates to make sure her message is accessible to as many people as possible. Notice too that Valds italicizes words that are in a language other than English, which is a common academic convention when mixing languages. |
Conference poster announcing in both Navajo and English a gathering of writers in Window Rock, the capital of the Navajo Nation. Thinking about your rhetorical situation Whether you're mixing standardized English with another dialect, from formal language to informal, or from one language to another, you need to think about how doing so suits your purpose and audience and the rest of your rhetorical situation. Purpose . What do you want to accomplish: to bring attention to something you're saying? |
to let someone you're writing about speak for themself? to illustrate an important point? Audience . Will mixing different registers or dialects-or languages-help you connect with your audience? If you weave in a language they don't understand, will you need to translate? How likely are they to find your language choices engaging? Is anything at risk, like clarity? Stance . How do you want to come across to your audience, and how will mixing registers, dialects, or languages affect that? |
How would it affect your credibility? Genre . If you're writing a NARRATIVE , quoting someone in their own dialect will let readers hear that person's voice; if you're making an ARGUMENT , mixing registers or dialects or languages can help to emphasize what you're saying. If you're making a serious PROPOSAL , however, will doing so detract from your goals? Context . If you're writing in response to an assignment, will it be appropriate to mix languages or dialects? |
Do you have the knowledge to do so accurately and respectfully? Are you writing or speaking in a field that is likely to welcome this kind of language use? Medium. Mixing dialects or registers can help get an audience's attention in a spoken presentation-provided that it fits well with the occasion and the audience. REFLECT! Have you ever used language in any of the ways this chapter demonstrates? |
If not, find something you've written, think about its intended audience, and see if mixing dialects, registers, or languages would help to get their attention or connect with them in some way. Try it! Glossary RHETORICAL SITUATION, 25-28, 81-82 The circumstances that affect writing or other communication, including PURPOSE , AUDIENCE , GENRE , STANCE , CONTEXT , MEDIA , and DESIGN . |
PURPOSE, 25 In writing, your goal: to explore a topic, to express an opinion, to entertain, to report information, to persuade, and so on. Purpose is one element of the RHETORICAL SITUATION . AUDIENCE, 25-26 Those to whom a text is directed-the people who read, listen to, or view the text. Audience is a key part of any RHETORICAL SITUATION . AUDIENCE, 25-26 Those to whom a text is directed-the people who read, listen to, or view the text. Audience is a key part of any RHETORICAL SITUATION . |
NARRATIVE, 186-202 A GENRE that tells a story for the PURPOSE of making a point. Key Features: a clearly defined event - a clearly described setting - vivid, descriptive details - a consistent POINT OF VIEW - a clear point. Also a strategy for presenting information as a story, for telling what happened. When used in an essay, narration is used to support a point-not merely to tell an interesting story for its own sake. Narration can serve as the organizing principle for a paragraph or an entire text. |
Key Features: an explicit POSITION - a response to what others have said - appropriate background information - a clear indication of why the topic matters - good REASONS and EVIDENCE - attention to more than one POINT OF VIEW - an authoritative TONE - an appeal to readers' values PROPOSAL A GENRE that argues for a solution to a problem or suggests some kind of action. |
Key Features: a precise description of the problem - a clear and compelling solution - EVIDENCE that your solution will address the problem - acknowledgment of other possible solutions - a statement of what your proposal will accomplish. See also PROJECT PROPOSAL STANCE, 17-19, 26-27, 26-27 A writer's attitude toward the subject-for example, reasonable, neutral, angry, curious. Stance is conveyed through TONE and word choice. |
PART 6 DESIGN / MAKE AN IMPRESSION Chapter 25 Designing What You Write FONTS, COLORS, CONTRAST, CAPITALIZATION, SPACING, PROXIMITY-ALL THESE AFFECT WHETHER OR NOT PEOPLE READ YOUR WORDS. -JOHN SAITO, HOW TO DESIGN WORDS DESIGN IS ALL ABOUT STORYTELLING. . . . ABOUT COMMUNICATING WITH AN AUDIENCE THROUGH IMAGES AND LANGUAGE AND COLOR AND TYPE AND SCALE AND NUANCE AND SUBTLETY AND TEXTURE. |
-STEPHEN DOYLE Once upon a time writers had little control over the way their texts were designed: black type on white paper was pretty much it. But that was then. Today we can choose from hundreds of fonts, use color, add images of all kinds. So you need to know something about design. |
Whether you're drafting an essay, creating slides for a presentation, or writing up a lab report, you'll need to think about how you can design them so that readers will be able to follow, understand, and remember what you say. What fonts should you choose? Do you need headings? Is there anything you want to highlight? This chapter is here to help. THINKING RHETORICALLY ABOUT DESIGN The way you design a text plays a big role in how well you reach your audience and whether your text achieves its purpose. |
And the fact that you can design what you write gives you a lot of control over how effectively you present your message. In short, you have more than black ink and white paper at your disposal. Let's take a look at two McDonald's images to see the difference that design can make. The one on the left is an ad run in the United States in the 1950s; the one on the right is a sign seen recently in the Czech Republic. |
The ad provides information that might make someone think of McDonald's when they're looking for a quick meal: 15 cents, speedee service, over 100 million sold. The focus is on the words, especially the largest one: hamburgers . But nowadays the McDonald's brand is so well known that the recent sign consists simply of the famous golden arches with two words: M hlad -in English, are you hungry?-and an arrow pointing the way. The colors, image, and two-word message work to conjure up the brand. |
Of course, the designers' rhetorical situations were drastically different. Those designing the ad were probably limited to black and white and could assume an audience of readers, whereas those who designed the sign could use colors-and were able to be much more playful, knowing that the golden arches would be familiar to anyone passing by. |
You may not be called on to design a McDonald's ad, but you too will need to think carefully about how to design the texts you write so that they capture your audience's attention and deliver your message effectively. In short, you'll need to think rhetorically about how to design what you write. Think about your rhetorical situation Purpose . What are you trying to accomplish-provide information? persuade readers to do something? record a memory?-and what design elements will help you to do that? |
If you're writing a NARRATIVE about a soccer match, you might include photos. But if you're creating a poster to publicize a concert, you'll need to make the name of the group large enough to be seen from a distance and put the time and place in one place on the poster. Audience . Are there any design elements they are likely to need, or expect? If you're writing a market ANALYSIS for a business class, will it include data that readers will expect to see in a graph or chart? Stance . |
How do you want to come across to readers: as serious? objective? outraged? What fonts or might help establish such a stance? Bright red words might signal outrage on a poster for a protest, but that would not be appropriate on a rsum. Genre . Does your genre have any design requirements? A lengthy REPORT , for instance, may require headings to label its parts. Medium . For a print text, you might use black type on white paper and include headings in a bold font. |
But if you're planning a video for a VLOG , you'll need to think about what you'll wear and what you'll have in the background. Context . Does your assignment specify any design requirements? And when is it due? Do you have time to find or create visuals? What do you want readers to focus on, and how can design help? Your message may start with words, but it doesn't end there. |
Whether you write out your words by hand or put them in a certain font, whether you arrange them on a page or a screen, the way you design your text focuses your message in a certain way and gives it a certain look. It also affects how easy your message is to read-and sometimes whether it gets read at all. So give some thought to what you want readers to focus on, and how you can design your text to help them do that. What do you want them to look at first? What do you want them to look at next? |
And after that? Is there anything you want to highlight? How do you want readers to move through the text-and how can you help them to do so? And what goes with what? Following are some principles from graphic designer Robin Williams that can help you design your texts so that they're easy to read and navigate. Glossary NARRATIVE, 186-202 A GENRE that tells a story for the PURPOSE of making a point. |
Key Features: a clearly defined event - a clearly described setting - vivid, descriptive details - a consistent POINT OF VIEW - a clear point. Also a strategy for presenting information as a story, for telling what happened. When used in an essay, narration is used to support a point-not merely to tell an interesting story for its own sake. Narration can serve as the organizing principle for a paragraph or an entire text. |
See also LITERACY NARRATIVE ANALYSIS, 132-56 A GENRE of writing in which you look at what a text says and how it says it. Key Features: a SUMMARY of a text or other subject - attention to CONTEXT - a clear INTERPRETATION or judgment - reasonable support for your conclusions REPORT, 157-85 A GENRE of writing that presents information to inform readers on a subject. |
Key Features: a topic carefully focused for a specific AUDIENCE - definitions of key terms - trustworthy information - appropriate organization and DESIGN - a confident TONE that informs rather than argues. See also IMRAD ; PROFILE VLOG, 499-503 A blog that's delivered in video, often on YouTube . FOUR BASIC PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN Contrast draws our eyes to certain parts of a page or screen. A contrasting color , a bold font , a larger type size : these are all ways of getting readers to focus on something. |
The first letter of each chapter in this book, for example, is gigantic, as if to say start here! The bold heading on this page does the same: it's larger and bolder than most of the words on this page, so it gets your attention. And later in this chapter you'll find a Reflect! prompt, highlighted with a pale blue background to make it easy to spot. Repetition of key words, images, fonts, and colors can help readers move through a text-as the bold italics do on this page. |
Alignment refers to where text and images are positioned on a page. Most of the text in this book is aligned flush with the left-hand margin; the examples and bulleted lists, however, are indented, making them easier to spot on the page. Proximity involves putting ideas, images, or text that are related close, or proximate, to one another. Images need to be near to where they're discussed in the text, and captions need to be next to the images they label. |
And of course closely related ideas need to be connected visually, as the four basic design principles are here. DESIGN ELEMENTS Fonts The fonts you use affect how easy your text is to read-and they also contribute to the look of what you write. You'll want to choose fonts that suit your genre and purpose, and that reflect your stance: academic, playful, businesslike, informal, whatever. |
There are two basic kinds of fonts: serif fonts such as Times New Roman, Garamond, and Century Schoolbook, which have short cross lines at the ends of letters; and sans serif fonts such as Calibri, Helvetica, and Futura, which do not have such cross lines. This book is set in three different fonts: what you're reading here is set in Freight Text Book, the examples in the book are set in Freight Sans , and the blue headings are set in Clarendon . Most fonts have bold , italic , and underlined versions. |
You might use bold for headings in an academic text or for getting attention on posters or other texts that will be read from a distance, and italic to emphasize or highlight certain words. Italics are also used for titles of books, magazines, movies, and other full-length works ( Don Quixote, The Atlantic, Mamma Mia! ). Sometimes you'll be required or expected to use certain fonts. |
MLA specifies only that you use a font that's easy to read, whereas APA recommends several specific fonts, including Calibri , Arial , Times New Roman , and others. Whatever fonts you decide to use, make sure that they are legible: depending on the font, anything smaller than 11 or 12 point will be difficult to read. Color and white space Color can help highlight certain things and guide your readers. You might use one color for all the headings, for example, which would make them easy for readers to spot. |
In digital texts, you might use color to signal that certain words are links. Notice the use of color in this book, for instance: the parts are color-coded (note the gold band at the top of this page), the main headings are blue and the secondary ones are black , and key terms are in red -all designed that way for the purpose of helping you find your way through the book. Choose colors that are easy to see, and remember that contrast is key. |
Dark type on a light background-or light type on a dark background-will provide the kind of contrast that makes the text easy to read and that can highlight something you want to emphasize. Remember, however, that some members of your audience may not be able to see certain colors (especially green and red), so it's best not to use these colors together. If you use more than one color in a text, be careful to choose colors that complement one another. |
Take a look at the color wheel on the next page, which shows colors that work well together. But remember that too many colors jousting for the reader's attention can be a distraction. And be sure as well that any color you use has a purpose-and is not there as mere decoration. A color wheel. Finally, don't forget white space. Leave a one-inch margin around your text, and add some space above headings, above and below lists, and around any visuals. |
Layout No matter how many different elements a text has, they all have to be arranged in some way-and elements that are related need to be near to one another. Paragraphs, lists, graphs, and charts If you're writing a print text that's organized in paragraphs, you'll generally want to double-space the text and indent each paragraph five spaces. Online, however, you should single-space your text, skip a line between paragraphs, and begin each paragraph flush left, without indenting. |
If there's anything that you want to set off as a list, use bullets to make it easy to see-or numbers if you want to put items in a certain sequence. If you're including numerical data, would it be easier for readers to understand if you presented it in a graph or chart? For more on creating graphs and charts, see Chapter 26 . Headings can help guide readers through a written text, and sometimes on slides with an oral presentation. |
You may not need them for very brief texts, but they can be very helpful in long or complex texts. Make sure that your headings are parallel in structure. They might be noun phrases: The Dangers of Vaping . They could also be gerund phrases: Assessing the Dangers of Vaping . Or even questions: Why Has Vaping Hooked So Many Teens? But whatever form you choose, use it consistently: all noun phrases, all gerunds, and so on. |
If you have both headings and subheadings, you can distinguish them by using bold, italics, underlining, or all caps. For example: FIRST-LEVEL HEADING Second-Level Heading Third-Level Heading If you're following a particular documentation style, check to see if it has any requirements about headings. Both MLA and APA require that you use the same font for headings that you do in the rest of the text-APA requires that headings be boldface. |
Visuals Putting them at the top or bottom of a print page will make it easy to lay out pages. If your text is online, however, you'll have more flexibility to put visuals wherever you wish. Be careful, though, that image files not be too large; save them as JPEGs or GIGs, compressed files that readers will be able to download. See Chapter 26 for more on creating visual texts. REFLECT! Look over this book's use of fonts, color, and headings. How do they help you follow the text? |
Now look at something you've written that's fairly lengthy. How have you used those same elements? If you did not use headings or color or more than one font, how do you think doing so might help readers follow your text more easily? Glossary MLA STYLE, 305-56 A system of DOCUMENTATION established by the Modern Language Association and used in the humanities. APA STYLE, 357-403 A system of DOCUMENTATION used in the social sciences. APA stands for the American Psychological Association. |
MLA STYLE, 305-56 A system of DOCUMENTATION established by the Modern Language Association and used in the humanities. APA STYLE, 357-403 A system of DOCUMENTATION used in the social sciences. APA stands for the American Psychological Association. DESIGNING VISUAL TEXTS The basic design principles of contrast, repetition, alignment, and proximity apply to all kinds of texts, visual ones included. |
Take a look at the two ads that follow, and consider how these principles are put to good use-and how they help us read each one. In this poster, the subtle color contrast draws our eyes to the large, all-caps word VOTE, which ripples out beneath the water's surface. |
In this case, the repeated rippling draws our eyes down, where the color smooths out to match the darker blue of VOTE and then further down, from cause (voting) to effect: Cause an effect. This phrase, presented in sharply contrasting white letters in the classic Century Schoolbook font, also plays on the familiar phrase cause and effect in ways that make readers stop and pay attention to the difference between a familiar three-word phrase and a somewhat unexpected three-word command! |
This poster was created by award-winning designer Stephen Doyle for the American Institute of Graphic Arts, a professional design association, so we can assume it had two purposes: to persuade viewers to vote, and to demonstrate design at its very best. How well do you think he succeeded? Created by Lisa Congdon , an award-winning artist and author of books about drawing and art, this poster also urges viewers to cause an effect. The design choices, however, are very different from Stephen Doyle's. |
Here the large, sharply contrasting candy-stripe letters in all caps leap out at us. These colors are repeated-red, blue, red, blue-as our eyes are drawn down the poster, focusing on the central message: we need to show up. At first glance you may focus on the imperative-SHOW UP-since SHOW is in the middle, and ING is on the next line. Clustered at the bottom of the poster is the pertinent information inviting viewers to show up at a particular fund-raising event (No. |
9) sponsored by Still We Rise supporting the work of four specific groups. The quirky, hand-drawn font also gets our attention, suggesting that this is something out of the box and important, something viewers will want to show up for. Look at your design with a critical eye, get response-and revise It's a good idea to test-drive your design by asking classmates, friends, or family members to react to it. |
Whether it's a web page, an illustrated essay, or a formal report, your document will benefit from getting response to its design. Here are some questions that will help you or someone else look at your design with a critical eye. Does the overall look suit your RHETORICAL SITUATION -and does it reflect your STANCE ? Are the fonts you've used appropriate for your GENRE and PURPOSE ? If you're writing for an assignment, have you followed any design requirements? |
Will your AUDIENCE find the text easy to navigate and read? If it's long or complex, have you included headings-and if not, would they help? Is there enough white space? Check the margins and any spacing around lists and headings to be sure it's adequate. If you've used color, does it suit your purpose, and have you used it to provide emphasis where it's needed? Is there any information that would be easier to understand if it were set off in a list? |
If you've included any statistics or other data, should it be presented in a chart or graph? If your text includes any VISUALS , what do they contribute to your point? If they are mostly decorative, consider deleting them. Glossary RHETORICAL SITUATION, 25-28, 81-82 The circumstances that affect writing or other communication, including PURPOSE , AUDIENCE , GENRE , STANCE , CONTEXT , MEDIA , and DESIGN . |
STANCE, 17-19, 26-27 A writer's attitude toward the subject-for example, reasonable, neutral, angry, curious. Stance is conveyed through TONE and word choice. GENRE, 27, 82, 245 A way of classifying things. The genres this book is concerned with are kinds of writing that writers can use to accomplish a certain goal and to reach a particular AUDIENCE . |
As such, they have well-established features that help guide writers, but they are flexible and change over time, and can be adapted by writers to address their own RHETORICAL SITUATIONS . Genres covered in this book include ANALYSES , ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHIES , ARGUMENTS , NARRATIVES , REPORTS , SUMMARY/RESPONSE , and VISUAL ANALYSES . PURPOSE, 25 In writing, your goal: to explore a topic, to express an opinion, to entertain, to report information, to persuade, and so on. |
Purpose is one element of the RHETORICAL SITUATION . AUDIENCE, 25-26 Those to whom a text is directed-the people who read, listen to, or view the text. Audience is a key part of any RHETORICAL SITUATION . VISUAL ANALYSIS, 63-65, 139 A GENRE of writing that examines an image, video, or some other visual text and how it communicates its message to an AUDIENCE . |