Everything's an Argument

This chapter explores the following questions:

• What is style?
• How does style affect an audience?

Arguments come in various styles. The style of an argument refers to its formality, sentence structure, and word choice. Word choice plays a large role in stylizing an argument. For academic arguments, formal style is appropriate. These arguments use incisive vocabulary and technical language to relay information to a serious audience. A paragraph from Economist magazine argues that digital coursework will be a big competitor for traditional universities. The speaker uses economic terms such as “startup costs” and “economies of scale,” relaying what appears to be distressing information for universities in a level tone. Using colloquial or informal language like slang or first- and second-person narration can build a more intimate relationship with the audience. Some colloquialisms can cause confusion in uninformed audience members, such as the prolific slang and pop culture references in a Rolling Stone song review. Jargon, or vocabulary specific to a particular field, can also confuse or distance an audience.

Word choices also carry connotations, or meanings associated with a word that are not denotations, or dictionary definitions.