By the end of this lesson, you will be able to analyze an author's diction and syntax choices, explain how these choices create tone and support rhetorical purpose, and apply these concepts in your own analytical writing.
What Is Style?
Style refers to how an author says what they say — the particular combination of linguistic choices that makes a piece of writing distinctive. Style is inseparable from meaning: HOW something is said shapes WHAT is communicated.
Diction + Syntax + Tone + Figurative Language = Style
Diction (Word Choice)
Diction is the author's choice of words. Every word carries:
Denotation: the literal, dictionary definition
Connotation: the emotional associations and implications
Diction levels:
Level
Characteristics
Effect
Formal
Precise, complex, no contractions, technical
Authority, distance, seriousness
Informal
Casual, contractions, simpler vocabulary
Approachable, familiar, friendly
Colloquial
Everyday speech, slang, dialect
Authenticity, regional character, relatability
Abstract
General concepts (freedom, justice, beauty)
Appeals to principles and ideals
Concrete
Specific, sensory (the red barn, her cracked hands)
Vivid, immediate, persuasive
Connotation in action: "Home" vs. "house" vs. "dwelling" vs. "lair" — the same referent, vastly different connotations.
Analyzing diction: what emotional associations do the word choices carry? Are they elevated or familiar? Positive or negative? Abstract or concrete? What does the pattern of diction reveal about the speaker's attitude?
Syntax (Sentence Structure)
Syntax refers to the arrangement of words in sentences — sentence length, structure, and pattern.
Key Syntactic Structures
Simple sentence: one independent clause. Direct, clear, emphatic.
"We shall not fail."
Compound sentence: two or more independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction or semicolon. Suggests balance, equality.
"Because the rain had stopped, they walked to the river."
Compound-complex: two or more independent clauses + at least one dependent clause. Shows sophistication and layered thinking.
Important Syntactic Devices
Periodic sentence (suspended syntax): the main clause comes at the END, after modifying clauses. Creates suspense; forces the reader to hold meaning in suspension.
"After the long march, after the defeats and the hunger, after the winter that claimed so many of their brothers — they had won."
Cumulative (loose) sentence: main clause comes FIRST, followed by modifying phrases. The thought flows naturally; creates a sense of accumulation.
"She stood at the edge of the cliff, watching the sea, remembering everything."
Parallel structure (parallelism): repeating the same grammatical form for emphasis and balance.
"We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets..." (Churchill)
Anaphora: repeating words or phrases at the BEGINNING of successive clauses.
"I have a dream..." (King)
Epistrophe: repeating words at the END of successive clauses.
Antithesis: contrasting ideas placed in balanced parallel structure.
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." (Dickens)
Asyndeton: omitting conjunctions for speed and emphasis.
"I came, I saw, I conquered."
Polysyndeton: using many conjunctions, slowing pace, suggesting accumulation.
"We read and we debated and we ate and we argued until dawn."
Rhetorical question: a question posed for effect, not expecting an answer; challenges the reader, emphasizes a point.
Inverted syntax (anastrophe): unusual word order for emphasis.
"Yoda he was."
Syntactic length: short sentences create emphasis, urgency, finality. Long sentences slow the pace, create complexity, suggest thoughtfulness.
Tone
Tone: the author's attitude toward the subject and/or audience, expressed through diction, syntax, and other stylistic choices.
Tone is NOT the same as mood (which is how the reader feels).
Irony: saying the opposite of what is meant (verbal irony); situations turning out the opposite of expected (situational irony); dramatic irony (audience knows more than characters).
Satire: using irony, exaggeration, and humor to critique and expose human folly.
Putting It Together: Analyzing Style
AP Rhetorical Analysis asks: How does the author's style — their choices of diction, syntax, tone, and figurative language — contribute to their argument and purpose?
Template for stylistic analysis:
"[Author] uses [specific stylistic device] to [effect/purpose]. For example, [specific quotation]. This [device] [explains the effect]. By doing so, [author] [connects to the larger rhetorical purpose]."
Example: In his "Letter from Birmingham Jail," King's use of long, syntactically complex sentences loaded with subordinate clauses mirrors the moral complexity of the argument he constructs — he will not let the reader simplify. When he writes, "When you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick, and even kill your black brothers and sisters...," the cumulative, anaphoric structure forces the reader to inhabit the experience before delivering the weight of the argument.
Summary
Diction: word choice; denotation vs. connotation; formal/informal/colloquial; abstract/concrete; always ask what the word choices reveal about the speaker's attitude.
Tone: the speaker's attitude; precise vocabulary; irony and satire are specific tonal stances.
Analysis: always connect stylistic choices to rhetorical purpose — why does the author make these choices? What effect do they achieve? How do they serve the argument?