College Composition / Unit 29 CMP 0719 worked example, 60 to 90 seconds
Analyzing Stylistic Choices
The idea
Analyzing stylistic choices means asking why the writer chose particular words, figures, images and rhythms, and what they add to meaning.
In practice
Ask the questions in order. First, why this word instead of a synonym? Second, how does it relate to other words in the passage? Third, how do figurative comparisons affect meaning or tone? Fourth, how does sensory language affect meaning or tone? Fifth, does an element represent more than itself? Sixth, how does sound or rhythm support meaning? In the anchor's example, a student notices that a poem's opening word, cool, also suggests being put on ice, and connects that double meaning to the poem's anticipation of early death.
Where people slip
Every claim about a stylistic choice must be tied to a specific word or phrase. Without that evidence, an analysis of style becomes a list of impressions.
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