The document discusses various stylistic techniques used in writing to enhance its aesthetic, emotional, or intellectual appeal. It emphasizes the importance of varied sentence structure, conciseness, transitional phrases, and figurative devices in creating engaging writing. Additionally, it mentions unusual techniques for creative writing, such as sentence fragments and double voices, which can contribute to dramatic effect.

1. STYLISTIC
TECHNIQUES USED
FOR WRITING

2. Writing is a craft. Skilled writers incorporate stylistic
techniques into their writing for rhetorical effect. In other
words, stylistic techniques enhance a piece of writing’s
aesthetic, emotional or intellectual appeal. Certainly, the
content of a text is important, but a writer who can organize
his ideas in a unique and provocative way can increase
his/her writing’s allure.

3. Varied Sentence Structure
English allows for four main sentence constructions: simple,
compound, complex and compound-complex, and skilled
writers use all of these. Using too many simple sentences in
a row sounds monotonous. A simple sentence consists of one
subject and one verb, as in “She laughed.” The other
sentence constructions incorporate more subject-verb
patterns.

4. Conciseness
No matter the genre, whether poetry or essay writing, skilled
writers aim for conciseness. Conciseness in writing means
eliminating any unnecessary words. Writing all sentences in
active voice, where the subject precedes the object, helps
achieve this goal. Paring down prepositional phrases, such
as “with regard to,” which writers can replace with the
briefer “regarding,” tightens writing.

5. Transitional Phrases
Transitional phrases include “however,” “in addition” and
“on the other hand.” These phrases link ideas in sentences to
create coherence between them. Like signposts, they guide
readers along from one idea to another. Without transitional
phrases, readers struggle to make connections between ideas
and the writing sounds choppy.

6. Figurative Devices
Writers can use their imaginations to express ideas through
figurative devices. Figurative devices, such as metaphor,
simile, irony and hyperbole, make unusual comparisons for
dramatic effect. For example, a political advertisement that
reads “The current leader is gouging you with taxes” utilizes
both metaphor -- unusual comparison -- and hyperbole --
exaggeration -- by comparing taxation to excessive digging.

7. Poetic Devices
Poetic devices create interesting effects for readers by
playing on the sound patterns of words. Alliteration, the
repetition of the first letters of words, can create a soothing
effect, as in “softly slumbered,” or a harsh one, as in “the
clattering and clanking of the cogs.” Children’s literature
writers often use onomatopoeia, words that sound like the
noises they make, such as “whoosh” or “buzz.”

8. Unusual Stylistic Techniques
For creative writers, the sky’s the limit in terms of stylistic
techniques. Fiction writers can even use sentence fragments,
technically grammatical erroneous, for dramatic effect: “No.
It couldn’t be. No way.” Double voice, a technique that
involves interspersing dialogues or thoughts of two different
people, is also appropriate for fictional writing: "He watched
them take her away, all the time sinking inside," "It
shouldn’t have been this way. I shouldn’t have let her do it,"
and "But all he could do was watch."

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