So why look at style? In order to truly understand literature one must be able to understand style. In his essay "How to Write With Style", Kurt Vonnegut explains:

"Newspaper reporters and technical writers are trained to reveal almost nothing about themselves in their writings. This makes them freaks in the world of writers, since almost all of the other ink-stained wretches in that world reveal a lot about themselves to readers. We call these revelations, accidental and intentional, elements of style. These revelations tell us as readers what sort of person it is with whom we are spending time. Does the writer sound ignorant or informed, stupid or bright, crooked or honest, humorless or playful-- ? And on and on."

Throughout this year I will be asking you to explicate - To make clear the meaning of; explain – the writer’s style. There are at least four areas that may be considered when analyzing style: diction, syntax or sentence structure, figurative language, and tone.