Description
Book Synopsis“An original and absorbing guide to English style. Get it if you can.”—Wall Street Journal Say it with style—on paper or in person. This book explains why the best writing sounds that way, with hundreds of examples from Lincoln, Churchill, Douglass, and other masters of the language. As Farnsworth says, “Explaining a precept may take just a few words, but only examples can make it familiar to the ear. So we will consider examples from writers and orators who all have lessons to teach.” Farnsworth shows how small choices about words, sentences, and paragraphs put force into writing and speech that have stood the test of time. What was the secret? Knowledge of choices in the selection of words, the arrangement of sentences, the creation of a cadence. Now that knowledge can be yours through hundreds of examples of the very best use of rhetorical devices, classical cadence patterns, hyperbole and much more. This is must for anyone who wants to speak or write with clear, persuasive, enjoyable, unforgettable style. “A storehouse of effective writing, showing the techniques you may freely adapt to make music of your own.”—The Baltimore Sun
Table of ContentsPreface Introduction Choice of Words: Simplicity Choice of Words: The Saxon Finish Choice of Words: The Latinate Finish and Variations Choice of Words: Special Effects Metonymy Hyperbole Lengths of Sentences Sentence Structure Passive Voice Anacoluthon The Rhetorical Instructions The Rhetorical Announcement Cadence: Classic Patterns Cadence: Combinations and Contrasts
