Writing in the Disciplines Knowledge Base

Barthes’ distinction… is that for him, if I remember correctly, a writer is someone who wants to convey information. That is, language or writing is a code: I want to tell you how many days a week the Balinese have rituals, and I’m just trying to convey information. The other image is that it’s a theater of language; that is, you’re trying convey a sense of what things are like, and you want to use language itself as a mode of construction. — Clifford Geertz in Olsen, p 251

 

There is something quite amorphous about the word “style” — it is a small word that refers to a huge catalog  of possible meanings. Most problematic for writers is the subjective connotation of goodness (or badness) the word whispers while you work.

Furthermore, “style” implies idiosyncrasy, as though language were merely another accessory for self-expression. Here, we will take the stance that language is a cognitively-entrenched communication system that is governed by an orderly, if abstract, set of principles designed to maximize the likelihood that language users will understand each other. Yes, language permits wild experimentation in pursuit of self-expression! But at its core, we use language to send and receive messages, from simple texts to pick up coffee to the complicated negotiations of dating and grand meditations on the nature of the universe.

Thus, this section of the WiDKB is called “Stylistics”, following the definition in the box. The definition hones in on variation as it occurs in specific contexts, which is pretty much what this guide is all about. First and foremost, we will discuss the cognitively-motivated language choices that maximize reader comprehension; these are the language choices that increase your credibility and success as a communicator through prose. Second, we will recommend “distinctive” language choices found in “particular…genres”; that is,  the preferred patterns of language use found in specific disciplines.

Content

1. Battleground or Garden? General Principles that Shape Writing Sentences and Paragraphs
   1. Make Subjects do Verbs
   2. Come Together: Coherence as a Theory of Everything
2. Scintillating Sentences
3. Comma-Sutra