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)

Last Minute ACT Prep Programs

Last Minute ACT Prep Programs SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips If you don’t have much time left before the ACT, you may be wondering how you can maximize your scores with a short term study plan. If you’re looking for a big score improvement and you only have a few days before the test, you might not be able to reach your goal this time, but you can get a good head start towards it (and you’ll be better prepared to study harder before your next test session). But if you only need to improve by one or two points, really intense studying for a few hours could get you where you want to be, if you have some clear weaknesses you didn't know about! In this article I'll show how to create a last minute ACT study program and give last minute ACT tips to boostyour score. Time-Based Study Plans The first thing you should do is think about how many hours you can realistically devote to ACT prep in the short time you have before the test.Make sure to factor in sleep and all of your other commitments! The 5 Hour Plan If you can only fit in 5 hours of prep time between now and the ACT (and this is your first time studying), your best bet is to just take a practice test.This can help give you a little bump in your scores, especially if you don’t have much experience with the test until now.Make sure you take your practice test with realistic time constraints and with all the resources you will have on the real test (calculator, scrap paper, quiet environment). On the other hand, if you’ve already taken a bunch of practice tests, taking another one at this point probably isn’t going to do much. Instead, spend your five hours looking into mistakes you’ve made on questions in the past and planning how to avoid them. If that's too broad of a target, just focus on the section that is most difficult for you. You should also make sure you’re doing ok on time. Get a sense of how long you’re spending on questions so you know when to move on when you take the real test. On th ACT this means no more than a minute for Math questions, no more than 30 seconds for English questions, and no more than 45 seconds for Reading and Science questions. If you find yourself spending more time than this on a question, you need to skip it and move on to the next question so you don’t run out of time. You don’t want to miss easy points at the end of a section because you got stuck on a tough question! The 15 Hour Plan With fifteen hours of prep, you still have enough leeway to make significant improvements in your scores. Here's a rough idea of how you might spend your study time: Hours 0-5: Take a Practice Test Use this time to take a practice test so you can see where you stand score-wise and which questions are giving you the most trouble. Again, make sure you replicate the time constraints of the real ACT so you will know if time pressure is a problem for you. Hours 5-10: Dig Into Your Mistakes For each question you answer incorrectly, make sure you know why your choice was incorrect and how to arrive at the correct answer. You should also review questions where you had to resort to guessing (even if you got them right).There are four maincategories of mistakes on the ACT: 1. Time Crunch: You didn’t make it to the question Study Game Plan: Practice doing questions within the time constraints for the ACT so you get used to moving faster. You should be comfortable with skimming reading passages and skipping questions that are taking up too much of your time. Remember that you get a minute for Math questions, 30 seconds for English questions, and 45 seconds for Reading and Science questions. 2. Question Comprehension: You were tricked by the question or misinterpreted it Study Game Plan:Train yourself to slow down a bit and read questions more carefully. It's often helpful to write down the question in simpler form before answering to prevent yourself from getting confused. You should also practice similar questions so the format becomes more familiar to you. 3. Unfamiliar Content: You didn’t know the material covered in the question Study Game Plan: This is where a program like PrepScholar could really help you because it focuses on your weak content areas.Alternatively, find a source for lesson material on the topic you don’t understand and practice more questions that are similar. This poor guyencountered an ACT question with unfamiliar content AND entered into a cube-based alternate reality from which there is no escape. Luck was just not on his side today. 4. Silly Mistake: You should have known the correct answer, but you spaced out Study Game Plan:Work on your time management so you leave yourself time at the end of a section to go over your answers. You should also make sure you’re not going through questions faster than you need to and making careless mistakes as a result. Hours 10-15: Zero in on Your Problem Areas Now that you know the nature of your mistakes, focus on the specific test sections or types of questions where you have the most difficulty.Practice relevant questions and review any content that seems unfamiliar. You might also consider getting the PrepScholar program, which has shown a1-2 point ACT score improvement for 15 hours of use. It does your work for you by diagnosing your weak spots on the test and helping you practice questions in those areas until they become second nature. You can also use PrepScholar to study for subsequent tests if you’re planning on taking the ACT again. Some Final Advice for Last Minute Studying Here are a few overall tips for last minute ACT studying that will help you stay on track with your prep program. Make sure you know the formulas and grammar rules that you’ll need for the test The ACT does require you to know some formulas for the math section, so be sure you’re prepared.It’s also helpful to know the grammar that’s being tested so you’ll feel more confident in your answers on the English section. Analyze your mistakes on practice questions This is what’s going to help you make the most progress in the shortest amount of time.Make sure you fully understand your mistakes and know how to avoid them in the future if you come across similar questions. Check your timing As detailed in the 5 hour plan, make sure you’re not lingering on questions.Get used to how it feels to spend 30 seconds or a minute on a question so you can judge your efficiency during the real test. If you’re taking ACT with writing, come up with some examples you might use in your essay It’s really important to include concrete support for your essay argument.Try to come up with a couple of versatile examples you could incorporate into your essay so that you have something ready to go! Not an acceptable essay, no matter how much teen angst you feel. Looking Ahead If you think you will take the ACT again after this, try to plan your studying further ahead of time for the next test date.If you're looking for big point improvements, you’re probably not going to get there with a bunch of short cram sessions.Improving more than six points, for example, might take over 100 hours of prep. Here are estimates for the number of hours of studying that correspond to certain point improvements: 0-1 ACT Composite Point Improvement: 10 hours1-2 ACT Point Improvement: 20 hours2-4 ACT Point Improvement: 40 hours4-6 ACT Point Improvement: 80 hours6-9 ACT Point Improvement: 150 hours+ Start by figuring out your target ACT score and then determine what you’re going to need to do to get there.Take a look at these study plans to start thinking about how you might structure your time before your next shot at the ACT.Remember that last minute prep can be helpful, but it shouldn't be the only way you study! What's Next? Check out ourfast ACT prep planfor more ideas on how to make the most of last minute studying and dramatically raise your score. Are you trying to find some better study materials? Take a look at this list of the best ACT prep books of 2015. Want to improve your ACT score by 4 points? Check out our best-in-class online ACT prep program. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your ACT score by 4 points or more. Our program is entirely online, and it customizes your prep program to your strengths and weaknesses. We also have expert instructors who can grade every one of your practice ACT essays, giving feedback on how to improve your score. Check out our 5-day free trial: