Definition and Examples of the Plain Style in English

Definition and Examples of the Plain Style in English In rhetoric, the term plain style refers to speech or writing that is simple, direct, and straightforward. Also known as the  low style, the scientific style, the simple style, and the Senecan style. In contrast to the grand style, the plain style does not rely heavily on figurative language. The plain style is commonly associated with the matter-of-fact delivery of information, as in most  technical writing. According to Richard Lanham, the three central values of the plain style are Clarity, Brevity, and Sincerity, the C-B-S theory of prose (Analyzing Prose, 2003). That said, literary critic Hugh Kenner has characterized plain prose, the plain style as the most disorienting form of discourse yet invented (The Politics of the Plain, 1985). Observations and Examples I am glad you think my style plain . I never, in any one page or paragraph, aimed at making it anything else, or giving it any other merit- and I wish people would leave off talking about its beauty. If it has any, it is only pardonable at being unintentional. The greatest possible merit of style is, of course, to make the words absolutely disappear into the thought.(Nathaniel Hawthorne, letter to an editor, 1851) The only way to write plainly, as a worker should, would be to write like [George] Orwell. But the plain style is a middle-class accomplishment, got by arduous and educated rhetorical effects.(Frank Kermode, History and Value. Oxford University Press, 1988)The plain style . . . is completely unadorned. It is straightforward and void of any figures of speech. It is the style of much contemporary newspaper prose. Cicero thought it was best suited for teaching, and indeed, the plain style is the idiom of the best schoolbooks of our age.(Kenneth Cmiel, Democratic Eloquence: The Fight Over Popular Speech in Nineteenth-Century America. University of California Press, 1990) The Power of the Plain Style In political language, plainness is powerful. Of the people, by the people, for the people. Ask not what your country can do for you. I have a dream. This is especially so for language designed to be heard, like speeches and debate exchanges, rather than read from a page. People absorb and retain information in smaller increments through the ear than through the eye. Thus the classic intonations of every major religion have the simple, repetitive cadence also found in the best political speeches. In the beginning. And it was good. Let us pray.†(James Fallows, Who Will Win? The Atlantic, October, 2016) Cicero on the Plain Style Just as some women are said to be handsomer when unadorned- this very lack of ornament becomes them- so the plain style gives pleasure when unembellished. . . . All noticeable ornament, pearls as it were, will be excluded; not even curling irons will be used. All cosmetics, artificial white and red, will be rejected. Only elegance and neatness will remain. The language will be pure Latin, plain and clear; propriety will always be the chief aim.(Cicero, De Oratore) The Rise of the Plain Style in English At the beginning of the 17th century, the Senecan plain style enjoyed a significant and widespread boost in prestige: this came from playwrights like [Ben] Jonson, low-church divines (who equated ornate persuasion with deceit), and, above all, scientists. Francis Bacon was particularly effective in associating Senecan plainness with the aims of empiricism and inductive method: the new science demanded a prose in which as few words as possible interfered with the presentation of object reality.(David Rosen, Power, Plain English, and the Rise of Modern Poetry, Yale University Press, 2006)The Royal Societys Prescription for a Plain StyleIt will suffice my present purpose to point out what has been done by the Royal Society towards the correcting of its excesses in Natural Philosophy . . ..They have, therefore, been most rigorous in putting in execution the only Remedy that can be found for this extravagance, and that has been a constant Resolution to reject all the amplifications, digre ssions, and swellings of style: to return back to the primitive purity, and shortness, when men delivered so many things almost in an equal number of words. They have exacted from all their members, a close, naked, natural way of speaking; positive expressions, clear senses, a native easiness; bringing all things as near the Mathematical plainness as they can: and preferring the language of Artizans, Countrymen, and Merchants, before that, of Wits, or Scholars.(Thomas Sprat, The History of the Royal Society, 1667) Example of the Plain Style: Jonathan Swift [B]ecause it is idle to propose remedies before we are assured of the disease, or to be in fear till we are convinced of the danger, I shall first show in general that the nation is extremely corrupted in religion and morals; and then I will offer a short scheme for the reformation of both.As to the first, I know it is reckoned but a form of speech when divines complain of the wickedness of the age; however, I believe, upon a fair comparison with other times and countries, it would be found an undoubted truth.For, first, to deliver nothing but plain matter of fact, without exaggeration or satire, I suppose it will be granted that hardly one in a hundred among our people of quality or gentry appears to act by any principle of religion; that great numbers of them do entirely discard it, and are ready to own their disbelief of all revelation in ordinary discourse. Nor is the case much better among the vulgar, especially in great towns, where the profaneness and ignorance of handicraftsm en, small traders, servants, and the like, are to a degree very hard to be imagined greater. Then it is observed abroad that no race of mortals have so little sense of religion as the English soldiers; to confirm which, I have been often told by great officers of the army that in the whole compass of their acquaintance they could not recollect three of their profession who seemed to regard or believe one syllable of the gospel: and the same at least may be affirmed of the fleet. The consequences of all which upon the actions of men are equally manifest. They never go about as in former times to hide or palliate their vices, but expose them freely to view like any other common occurrences of life, without the least reproach from the world or themselves. . . .(Jonathan Swift, A Project for the Advancement of Religion and the Reformation of Manners, 1709) Example of the Plain Style: George Orwell Modern English, especially written English, is full of bad habits which spread by imitation and which can be avoided if one is willing to take the necessary trouble. If one gets rid of these habits one can think more clearly, and to think clearly is a necessary first step towards political regeneration: so that the fight against bad English is not frivolous and is not the exclusive concern of professional writers. I will come back to this presently, and I hope that by that time the meaning of what I have said here will have become clearer.(George Orwell, Politics and the English Language, 1946) Hugh Kenner on the Disorienting Plain Style of Swift and Orwell Plain prose, the plain style, is the most disorienting form of discourse yet invented by man. Swift in the 18th century, George Orwell in the 20th are two of its very few masters. And both were political writers- theres a connection. . . .Plain style is a populist style and one that suited writers like Swift, Mencken, and Orwell. Homely diction is its hallmark, also one-two-three syntax, the show of candor and the artifice of seeming to be grounded outside language in what is called fact- the domain where a condemned man can be observed as he silently avoids a puddle [in Orwells A Hanging] and your prose will report the observation and no one will doubt it. Such prose simulates the words anyone who was there and awake might later have spoken spontaneously. On a written page, . . . the spontaneous can only be a contrivance. . . .The plain style feigns a candid observer. Such is its great advantage for persuading. From behind its mask of calm candor, the writer with political intention s can appeal, in seeming disinterest, to people whose pride is their no-nonsense connoisseurship of fact. And such is the trickiness of language that he may find he must deceive them to enlighten them. . . .What the masters of the plain style demonstrate is how futile is anyones hope of subduing humanity to an austere ideal. Straightness will prove crooked, the gain will be short-term, vision will be fabrication and simplicity an intricate contrivance. Likewise, no probity, no sincerity, can ever subdue the inner contradictions of speaking plainly.(Hugh Kenner, The Politics of the Plain. The New York Times, September 15, 1985)

3,000 Words Term Paper SFU

3,000 Words Term Paper SFU 3,000 Words Term Paper SFU 3,000 Words Term Paper SFU If you have to write 3,000 words term papers SFU, you will not find a full-text sample written on this topic for several reasons: 1) not a single site will post such a long-paper for free access and 2) the topic is very narrow and specific. Below is a short excerpt of the term paper written on SFU. You may also try to search our paper blog for paper samples on a wide range of topics. is site uniting hundreds of professional paper writers and millions of students from all over the world. There is no term paper topic we cannot handle!Our custom term paper writing services will impress you! Excerpt Term Paper SFU Then in 1870 the Football Association staged in London a match styled ' England v Scotland'the Scots all being resident in the city. The FA secretary wrote to the Scottish newspapers asking for players to take part in a second such game and this triggered off some correspondence which resulted in the captains of five Scottish Clubs issuing a challenge to any XX from England who played the carrying game. This challenge was accepted and led to the playing of the first Rugby International at Raeburn Place in 1871. This challenge may have accelerated the formation of the English Rugby Union in early 1871a body which at once produced its own set of Laws to be used by its member clubs. Several Scottish clubs joined this Union only to secede when the Scottish Football Union was formed in 1873. It was not long before this body began to fret at the Rugby Union who, year after year, made changes in their Laws. Each year these alterations had to be discussed and adopted (often reluctantly) by the SFU at their AGM and the matter came to a head in 1884 when England beat Scotland by a try whose validity was disputed on the field and later in correspondence which ended in a deadlock. As a result fixtures with England were cancelled and a new body, the International Board, was formed by the Irish, Welsh and Scottish Unions to control all international games while leaving the individual Unions to govern their own domestic affairs. The English Union refused to join until 1890 when, the affair having been put to arbitration, they gained their objective of having six delegates out of twelve. It was in this year that the SFU appointed as their Secretary and Treasurer J. Aikman Smitha dominating personality who was connected with the Committee until his death in 1931. His influence on Committee policies was tremendous, especially on matters which smacked of professionalism and his unyielding insistence on the power invested in the Union established the authority it carries today. It was he who saw to it that the Union were the first to own their own field, initially at Inverleith in 1899 and later at Murrayfield in 1925, a venue which later became the first to have underturf heating. All this while the Schools continued to influence the game. It was they who had added the Rugby Laws to their own style of football and for years their former players ruled the Union Committees and formed the bulk of the International teams.

Democracy - Canadian essays

Democracy - Canadian essays What constitutes a democracy? Why is democracy thought of as such a great way to govern a country? In order to understand the true meaning and purpose of it, we have to look at the different factors in which democracy is run. In order to analyse the purpose of a government, I am going to first formulate my own understanding of a democracy. I think a democracy is a basic right for citizens of that particular country to express their personal opinions, vote freely on any issues, and make a decision based on the popular beliefs of the masses. Democracy is a form of organization and a way of dealing with issues that affect the citizens of the country. I believe that in order to have a country that functions and operates to the liking of the whole, a country cannot be a pure democratic society. There are contrary opinions of some key philosophers that argue against a democratic governance. Democracy has come a long way since man has existed. As you study history, you will find that many people have not been used to a society in which democracy has been the basis of ruling a country. Throughout recorded history, most people have been ruled by kings and other dictators. Democracy is not purely bad nor purely good but I think that democracy is sometimes overrated and people think of it as a saviour to the many problems that man has faced over the years. When we look at todays society, it consists of many different cultures, religion, and social class that divide us. A democracy states that all people are free to voice their opinion and that they are allowed to participate in the electing of a government. However, you have to look at the situation from all angles. First, you have the divisions in religion. A person is allowed to voice their opinion, but when you are involved in a certain religious group, you are very much constricted from making your own decision because if you do, that group will consider you as a t...

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 13

Assignment Example At the weak ends, the demand is expected to touch 2300 Kg. During the period November to January the demand is expected to double due to celebrations, Christmas and New Year. First and foremst it is imprtant to meet the increased demand on weak ends. This is done by increasing regular production from average of about 1500 Kg of cakes during Monday-Friday and by maintaining a buffer stock of extra 500 Kg of cakes (not older than 24 hour old stock) of different types. The stock is build out of leftover cakes from sales (not older than 24 hour). The time left out of 8-Hour shift (8 Hours- 7Hours 20 Minutes = 40 minutes) is utilized to pre-process ingredients using Step-2 and Step-3 and keep the material ready for Step-4. This saves 70 minutes of normal days [3 stations for Step-1(120/3=40 minutes) and 2 steps of Step-2 (60/2=30 minutes). Total time saved for a working day: 70 minutes. Thus, ten days buffer stock of pre-processed material is maintained. Two-way information flow between workers and managers is essential for the enterprise success. Orders from customers are received and entered into order book. Vital information from last week average sales are also used to decide the production for the next day. Their awareness and training on a particular issue concerning ingredients, process, production, qu(Cakes freshness being very important, any batch produced must be sold out within 24 hours of its production). antity, quality etc. The firm has several processes which are controlled by some or the other technologies. These technological resources help speed up the process of production with precision, accuracy, and help maintain quality of the product made. Some of the technologies used and their importance is covered

Racial segregation in schools Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Racial segregation in schools - Essay Example This case had been by parents of Topeka city and called for the Board of Education to reverse racial segregation since educational in these schools were unequal (Miller, 3). The Mendez case of 1947 challenged segregation in education successfully. It involved Mexican-American California farmers who took their children to a local school but were rejected by the administration (Straum, 1). The parents had to take their children to a separate school reserved for Mexican Americans. The Plessy case legalized the establishment of separate schools for different races. These schools were supposed to have equal facilities but the races would never mix. The Brown and Mendez cases challenged racial segregation in the educational sector in Kansas and California states. Racial segregation in the education center has existed for several years since the legalization of separate public facilities in the ruling of the Plessy vs. Ferguson case. Racial segregation is a violation of the Fourteenth const itutional amendment that gives every child the full protection by the law. The separate public facilities were supposed to have equal resources. ... These conditions undermine student achievement and can be blamed for the small number of Latinos and Africans in higher learning institutions (Camille and Siebens, 5). White schools have qualified teachers, appropriate learning materials and environment, and adequate facilities. According to the educational report, majority of the students in colleges and universities are white (Camille and Siebens, 4). Blacks and Latinos have the lowest number in the overall number of citizens who have a bachelor’s degree, masters, doctorate or professional degree. This can be termed as the racial opportunity gap that disadvantages African American and Latino students. Asians have the highest percentage of people with bachelors, masters, professional, and doctorate degrees among nonwhite citizens. This opportunity gap greatly undermines the educational and career life chances of California Black and Latin students. This crisis can be attributed to under qualified teachers, little access to le arning materials, and few instruction days due to overcrowding. Racially segregated schools have lower API scores compared to those recorded in white schools. The state emphasizes the use of standards-based tests to evaluate schools, which requires sophisticated teaching, learning materials, and uncrowded school buildings (ULCA, pp.8). According to Strum, segregated education is damaging to Mexican-American children on the grounds of psychological, social, and pedagogical costs (Strum, 1). The struggle between Mendez and Westminster provided Latinos with equal educational opportunities in public schools. These students were considered to be white but experience a language deficiency. The ULCA report indicates that most segregated schools have few text books and

Current Event Article Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Current Event Article - Research Paper Example When the budget is referred to as a deficit package, it is requested to relax the ceilings for the sake of new borrowings. The current scenario states that the government will sooner be defaulted. It was given to retire the old treasury bills till March 2013 but it has not been exercised yet. For instance the consequential debt imposes immense detrimental effects over the economic scenarios. Generally surplus is not a positive symptom for the government. It creates dissatisfaction among people that they are paying (tax charge) more than they are getting benefitted. To retire the treasury bills, government may go for cutting the dollar value such that they can pay back in consideration with cheaper value. But this special purpose value decrement will not be suitable for other dimensions of the economy including world economic environment as dollar is a standard currency. The deficit, surplus and debt are the key macroeconomic variables which have enough impact over the economic growth as well as

Thomson Greenhouse Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

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