Instructor's GuideLesson Plan: Finding the "Right" Style

This lesson plan is designed to help students think critically about style in writing, moving away from static ideas about "one" correct style and towards more situated/contextual understanding of style.

The lesson plan involves a group activity that asks students to collaboratively create a list of style tips for their peers. Then groups SWAP their lists and offer critique (thinking of things like audience expectations, race/identity, purpose, etc.). Following the SWAP, the class will engage in a whole group discussion, aiming toward some consensus that applies to the classroom.

Learning Objectives

Students will be collaboratively write a list of style tips for writers.
Students will be able to critique the style tips of their peers.
Students will be able to articulate the situatedness of style guidelines.
Students will be able to discuss why context and identity matters when it comes to style.

Lesson Plan

CLASSROOM EPISODE 1: Lecture on Style

What is style in writing? (Below lecture notes taken from the open-access website Writing Commons.)

Style, most simply, refers to how you say something as opposed to what you say. The style of your writing matters because audiences are unlikely to read your work or consider it seriously if they dislike its style. This article summarizes multiple definitions of style; explores the role style plays in interpretation, composing, and communication; and presents strategies you can employ to adopt an appropriate style for any rhetorical situation.

The terms style and voice are sometimes used synonymously. Yet style is a broader term than voice: style refers to all of the choices a writer makes when composing. For instance, style may refer to

the way a writer uses evidence or leverages the power of visual language to strengthen the authority of their text
how the writer establishes the currency, relevance, authority, accuracy, and purpose of the evidence and sources they cite
whether the writer uses a deductive or inductive organization
how the writer crafts their prose.

All communicative acts are imbued with style. Even the bot that answers the phone when you call in to question your Verizon Communications bill has a style. During deliberations on a legal matter, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart once remarked “I know it when I see it” to indicate what does and doesn’t constitute obscenity (Lattman 2007). Likewise, people recognize style when they see it, yet they may have trouble defining it. Style can be challenging to concretely define. It’s a bit like like trying to catch a handful of sand—just when you think you’ve grasped it, it slips through your fingers.

because styles of writing change as culture, technologies, and media evolve
because a writer’s style may evolve over time as they adapt to different genres, audiences, or purposes
because different aims of discourse, exigencies, call for different styles of writing
because people have different perspectives on what style is or what style of writing is appropriate for a particular exigency and situation
because the interpretation of style can be based on subjective impressions, intuitions–inklings.
- How an audience interprets style is deeply subjective. For instance, readers of books, movie goers, and art critics may disagree with one another about how to describe a character’s style.
- People may disagree with one another about whether a particular speaker’s style is appropriate for a given situation.
- The judgment of critics about a particular writer’s style may vary over time. Thanks to sociocultural, economic, and technology changes, different audiences over time are likely to have different ideas about what constitutes an appropriate or effective style.

Those reservations aside, scholars (especially in rhetoric, writing studies, and corpus linguistics) have studied style and its role in persuasion and communication. This research and scholarship has led to ten major insights about what style is and role it plays in interpretation, composing, and communication:

Style refers five stylistic principles for exceptional writing
Style refers to the textual and linguistic attributes of a text
Style refers to the rhetorical aspects of a text
Style refers to “the shape of content” (Shahn 1992)
Style refers to the unique ways a writer expresses themselves
Style refers to a writer’s intentional departure from convention
Style refers to sociocultural and historical processes, including changes to the writing space
Style refers to textual or linguistic attributes at the global or local level
Style refers to evaluative criteria that writers, editors, teachers, and audiences use to evaluate the quality of a written work
Style refers to an organic as opposed to a mechanical process that writers employ to make meaning and connect with their audience

See this condensed powerpoint slideshow and feel free to add/remove content: Style_Writing Commons.pptx

CLASSROOM EPISODE 2: Small Group Work

Ask students to get into groups (ideal group size is 4-5 students). Tell them to move their desks so that they are all facing one another. They should designate one notetaker for the group. Encourage them to all participate in the discussion and remain engaged throughout group conversation time. Tell them how much time they will have in groups (about 5-10 minutes is usually adequate). Working collaboratively, they should come up with a list of style tips. Instruct students to create a large list (encouraging them to come up with a list of at least a dozen or so tips). Then they should cull their list down to their top 5. Tell them to write legibly because they'll be giving their document to another group.

CLASSROOM EPISODE 3: Swap!

Once all groups have completed their list of 5 style tips, tell them to swap with another group. Once they get another group's top 5, they should work to respectfully and constructively critique the style tips. For example, they might engage with one or more of the following critical questions:

Does this style tip work in both academic and professional spaces? Why or why not?
Does this style tip apply to social writing? Why or why not?
Does this style tip feel inclusive to a wide range of perspectives, personalities, and identities? Why or why not?
Does this style tip seem appropriate to this class? To my other classes? Why or why not?
Does this style tip reflect modern writing? Why or why not?
Does this style tip reflect writing with technologies? Why or why not?

To access these questions as a printable handout, click here.

They should jot down some notes and designate a speaker.

Option 1: have students write/revise directly on the original group's list and then swap again.
Option 2: have students to prepare verbal comments, sharing their critical discussion.
Option 3: have students rank the other group's top 5.

CLASSROOM EPISODE 4: Whole Class Discussion

After the swap, instructor leads a whole class discussion, talking through each group's work. Going from one group to the next, instructor first asks the group to share the 5 style tips and their subsequent critiques. The group should explain and defend their critiques. After all groups have shared, work to build consensus around which style tips are most applicable to this class (and perhaps also outside of this class).

CLASSROOM EPISODE 5: Reflective Writing

After these activities have concluded, ask all students to get out a sheet of paper and something to write with. Tell students to spend 5 minutes addressing the following reflective prompts:

What did you learn about style today?
How can you apply what you learned about style to the writing you will do in this class?
How can you apply what you learned about style to the writing you will do beyond this class?

To assess student achievement of your lesson objectives, you could collect one or more of the following:

group notes
swap handout
reflective writing

Media

Additional Resources

If the video didn't leave you fully satisfied with your comprehension of the concept of rhetorical situation, browse the resources below for additional information:

Purdue OWL "Style"

Writing Commons "Style"

UNC Writing Center Handout on Writing Style