Definition and Examples of the Middle Style in Rhetoric

Definition and Examples of the Middle Style in Rhetoric In classical rhetoric, the middle style is reflected in speech or writing that (in terms of word choice, sentence structures, and delivery) falls between the extremes of the plain style and the grand style. Roman rhetoricians generally advocated the use of the plain style for teaching, the middle style for pleasing, and the grand style for moving an audience. See Examples and Observations below. Also see: DecorumLevels of UsageOn Familiar Style, by William HazlittStyle Examples and Observations An Example of the Middle Style: Steinbeck on the Urge to TravelWhen I was very young and the urge to be someplace was on me, I was assured by mature people that maturity would cure this itch. When years described me as mature, the remedy prescribed was middle age. In middle age I was assured that greater age would calm my fever and now that I am fifty-eight perhaps senility will do the job. Nothing has worked. Four hoarse blasts of a ships whistle still raise the hair on my neck and set my feet to tapping. The sound of a jet, an engine warming up, even the clopping of shod hooves on pavement brings on the ancient shudder, the dry mouth and vacant eye, the hot palms and the churn of stomach high up under the rib cage. In other words, I don’t improve; in further words, once a bum always a bum. I fear the disease is incurable. I set this matter down not to instruct others but to inform myself.(John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley: In Search of America. Viking, 1962)Three Kinds of StyleThe classical rhetoricians delineated three kinds of stylethe grand style, the middle style, and the plain style. Aristotle told his students that every kind of rhetorical style is capable of being used in season or out of season. They warned against the too grand style calling it swollen, or the too plain style which when misused they called meagre, and dry and bloodless. The middle style used inappropriately they called slack, without sinews and joints . . . drifting.(Winifred Bryan Horner, Rhetoric in the Classical Tradition. St. Martins, 1988) The Middle Style in Roman RhetoricThe speaker who sought to entertain his listeners would choose a middle style. Vigor was sacrificed for charm. Any and every form of ornamentation was appropriate, including the use of wit and humor. Such a speaker possessed the skill to develop arguments with breadth and erudition; he was master at amplification. His words were chosen for the effect they would produce on others. Euphony and imagery were cultivated. The overall effect was one of moderation and temperance, of polish and urbanity. This style of discourse, more than any other, typified Cicero himself and would later influence us in English through the marvelous prose style of Edmund Burke.(James L. Golden, The Rhetoric of Western Thought, 8th ed. Kendall/Hunt, 2004)The Tradition of the Middle Style- The Middle Style . . . resembles the simple in striving to communicate truth to the understanding with clearness, and resembles the grand in aiming to influence the feelings and passions. It is bolder and more profuse in the employment of figures and the various emphatic verbal forms, than the simple style; but does not use those appropriate to intense feeling, which are found in the grand.This style is employed in all compositions intended not only to inform and convince, but at the same time to move the feelings and passions. Its character varies with the predominance of one or other of these ends. When instruction and conviction are predominant, it approaches the lower style; when influencing the feelings is the main object, it partakes more of the character of the higher.(Andrew D. Hepburn, Manual of English Rhetoric, 1875)- The middle style is the style you dont notice, the style that does not show, ideal transparency. . . .To define a style in this way, of course, means that we cannot talk about the style itselfthe actual configuration of words on the pageat all. We must talk about the social substance surrounding it, the historical pattern of expectations which renders it transparent.(Richard Lanham, Analyzing Prose, 2nd ed. Continuum, 2003)- Ciceros idea of the middle style . . . lies between the ornateness and perorations of the grand or vigorous style (used for persuasion) and the simple words and conversational manner of the plain or low style (used for proof and instruction). Cicero designated the middle style as a vehicle for pleasure and defined it by what it is notnot showy, not highly figurative, not stiff, not excessively simple or terse. . . . The twentieth-century reformers, up to and beyond Strunk and White, were and are advocating their version of the middle style. . . .An accepted middle style exists for any form of writing you can think of: news stories in The New York Times, scholarly articles in the sciences or humanities, historical narratives, Web logs, legal decisions, romance or suspense novels, CD reviews in Rolling Stone, medical case studies.(Ben Yagoda, The Sound on the Page. Harper, 2004)

Improving Reading Comprehension Through Story Reading Essay

Improving Reading Comprehension Through Story Reading - Essay Example A related goal is helping students to practice the complex cognitive and linguistic operations brought about by reflective student engagement in critical thinking. The activities are planned for a particular story unit are all related to the story and the process of understanding the literature better. The goal of stories is to stimulate one’s thinking and imagination. The activities were designed based on Luke and Freebody’s Four Resource Model (1992). The Code Breaker activities aim to unlock difficult words that may serve as barriers to the readers’ full comprehension of the story. It also serves to clarify certain concepts that would facilitate the understanding of the story. The Meaning Maker activities test the readers’ pick up of concepts and how they may relate it to previous experiences or to practical situations in real life. Note that the activities do not necessarily relate to the story, but that is precisely how the text contributes to the readers’ literacy – applying concepts from the story to real life. 1. Sequencing Events: Have a number of strips of paper ready. On each strip, write down a phrase or sentence depicting a specific event in the story. Present the event strip to the class in a random order. Let them reconstruct the story using the event strips. 2. Making the Setting Concrete: Each child must come up with a creative brochure about the setting of the story. Pictures and diagrams/ drawings may be used, and a creative, persuasive text must be written to tell something about the place. 3. Let the children do a mind map of the story. With the main characters in the middle of the map, create branches and sub-branches of events to complete the story. Make headings of the branches are written and represent the events with drawings. One glance at the mind map will allow the viewer to decipher what the story is about.

Statistical Data Analysis and findings of a survey (the survey is part Statistics Project

Statistical Data Analysis and findings of a survey (the survey is part of an action research to investigate teacher training practices in Qatar) - Statistics Project Example A needs analysis survey in the first stage has been employed to collect data about issues in language teaching INSET in Qatar. It is important to emphasize that the use of this survey is for the purpose of needs analysis and is not based on any predetermined hypotheses. Using a survey in an early stage of my research project was intended to maximize the number of perspectives (Denscombe 1998: 169), and due to the versatile nature of surveys. Surveys can tap into attitudes that respondents are not completely aware of, and increase the consistency and reliability of the results through reducing the bias of interviewer effects (DÃ ¶rnyei & Taguchi 2010:6). The survey was administered online through a survey website (Surveymonkey.com). Online surveys are increasingly popular for data collection and preferred over traditional mail surveys in many ways (Pan 2010:121-122). They provide a lower cost option (Sheehan 1999:47), convenience in answering the survey (Evans & Mathur 2005:198) and respondents are also more likely to respond to sensitive and private questions (Ritter et al. 2004). The survey consisted of 70 items distributed under 7 categories in addition to a final open-ended question for respondents’ final comments. The table below shows the distribution of the survey items. The design of the survey was based on my initial literature review of the study and guided by the main aim of the survey which is to provide directions for the intervention design. As discussed in the first panel report, for INSET programs to be successful, teachers’ voice should be heard and taken into consideration (Locke 2006). As a result, most of the items of the survey are intended to capture teachers’ voice and concerns. Items 4-40 elicit data on preferences of delivery methods, training themes and assessment tools. Items 41-66 seek to

Disgusting Things Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Disgusting Things - Essay Example The unconditional response is the nausea that I feel after tasting it. The conditioned stimulus is eating the soup and the conditioned response is vomiting as a result of eating it. Viewing rats disgusts me because I am allergic to them: The Unconditioned Stimulus is the factor that results in allergies like the hair, hygiene or other factors of the rat. The unconditioned response is the resulting sickness, itching or flu that I catch. The conditioned stimulus is the rat itself and conditioned response is the feeling of disgust and loath from the rat. Once I had a large portion of pasta at dinner and felt nausea. I decline eating Pasta from that day. The unconditioned stimulus is sickness caused by overeating. The unconditioned response is nausea. The conditioned stimulus is Pasta which resulted in the conditioned response that pasta caused nausea. I opened a can of pineapples and found a snail in it. I never use canned pineapples now. The conditioned stimulus canned pineapples resulted in an conditioned response of abstaining from the tin-packed pineapples. The unconditioned stimulus is the snail found inside the tin that resulted in an unconditioned response of disgust from tin-packed

Why Person Centered Values Are Important Essay Example for Free

Why Person Centered Values Are Important Essay We all have our own values that have developed as a result of our family and childhood experiences, and as a result of our friendships and relationships. Our values are also influenced by people in our local community, as well as by national figures and the media. Support workers in social care are expected to promote particular values. There are two important points to note. First, the idea that learning disability workers are supporting a person. It is not a question of being in charge or in control, because choice and decision-making should lie with the person, as far as possible. Second, it is very important that these principles are part of your everyday work. There should be nothing special about them, they should be part of day-to day life. Within a few days of starting work with people with learning disabilities, it should be clear to you that everyone you work with is an individual, with their own particular likes, dislikes, strengths and personality. Services and support workers should always focus on the individuals they are working with, rather than the needs of a group of people. You and your colleagues should have the hopes, dreams, interests and needs of each person you support as a top priority in your daily work. Why it is important to promote rights  and values When we talk about promoting rights and values, we mean: • actively using those rights and values to influence everything we do • seeing them as having an important role in all our work as learning disability workers  encouraging their use as the standards by which we and others judge the quality of life of the people we support, and the  quality of the services that support them.  This is a big task. The use of values as standards is a huge challenge to services. But the idea is central to the basic principles of supporting people with learning disabilities.  To demonstrate that you have understood this, you should be able to discuss why it is important to work in a way that promotes these values when supporting those who have a learning disability. The following example  should help you to develop the skills you will need to discuss values in relation to the lives of the people you support. Person centred values mean that people with learning disabilities should: • no longer be marginalised and isolated within society • have the same social status as other people • no longer be subject to exploitation and abuse • have their opinions taken seriously • have their adult status recognised • have the same citizenship rights as other people. The General Social Care Council (GSCC) is the organisation set up by the government in 2001 to register and regulate all social care workers. It has produced a Code of Practice which states that social care workers should work in a certain way. You can see some of these requirements in the table below: Code of Practice for Social Care Workers requirements Protect the rights and promote the interests of service users and carers Strive to establish and maintain the trust and confidence of service Users and carers Promote the independence of service users, while protecting them as far as possible from danger or harm Respect the rights of service users, while seeking to ensure that their behaviour does not harm themselves or other people

The Purpose of Education Essay -- Philosophy of Education Teaching Tea

The Purpose of Education Going through my years of education, often I have wondered what the points of many of my classes have been. Now, as I prepare to enter the field of teaching, I again am evaluating why we need to educate children. I believe that some of the main purposes of education, other than the obvious purpose of acquiring knowledge, are to teach our culture, to develop social skills, to refine the use of our language, and to develop problem solving skills and logical reasoning. These are all important parts of our everyday life that are conveyed through the many things we accomplish throughout our education. Learning culture through education is an important part of our learning experiences. Before a child goes to school, they are only introduced to culture that their family is a part of. Going to school you see the general norms that are accepted, not just in schools, but in the working world as well as everyday life outside of the home. While some children may be the center of attention constantly in their home, in school they learn that they cannot always be everyone’s main focus all the time. It also teaches children responsibility and that if they do not do what is asked of them, there will be consequences. Developing social skills is an incredibly important part of a student’s education. Through interacting with their peers, students learn what is and isn’t appropriate when dealing with others, as well as how to ...

Little Miss Sunshine Film Essay

Little Miss sunshine released in 2006, directed and produced by Jonathon Dayton and Valerie Farris represents many complicated family issues. The film establishes these in many situations by the use of film symbolic, written, audio and technical codes and convention an issue that arose was that the main character Olive’s brother is in an oath of silence. That the family have many complicated ambitions, and that Olive wants to participate in a young girls beauty pageant ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ which breaches many moral values through out the film, Throughout the film you can see the family draw closer together and begin to over come many of their issues as a family. The film Little Miss Sunshine focuses on a young girl whose life was altered by the changing nature of society whereby â€Å"Child Beauty contests† define physical attraction and personality at as young as 8 years old. The pressure of the â€Å"beauty myth† is an onset for young children to follow societal expectations whether it be through beauty contests, fashion aimed at pre-teens or young adult celebrities acting as role models. An example of low self-esteem is shown through the restaurant scene where Olive is self-conscience when ordering ice cream. This provides the audience with an understanding of the new-formed issues faced by young women in today’s society due to the expectations of the â€Å"beauty world.† Dayton and Faris use the visual techniques of costuming, whereby the children are spray tanned, lathered with makeup and expose their bodies to exaggerate the young children to physically look older. This has caused sudden dispute within modern day society as expectations for women have started to occur at much younger ages. All of the characters have an ambition that is highlighted throughout the movie, for instance Dwayne takes an oath of silence on behalf of a German philosopher Frederick Nietzche, Dayton and Faris chose not to explain what connection Dwayne had with this man but does show he is dedicated to this mans beliefs, having a poster of him, a shirt with Nietzches face on it and shows him reading a book titled after him. Dwaynes ambition is to be a test pilot for the u.s army which is cut short when they find out he is colourblind, through his sheer anger and rage he gets out of the car and breaks his vow of silence, later in the film Dwayne talks to Frank film conventions create an issue of dysfunctionality and happiness through the use of symbolic codes In the film the old yellow Volkswagen represents happiness represents happiness with an unappealing aspect which connects inextricablly with the family. The van symbolises the family very well as they