{"id":36231,"date":"2021-11-06T06:29:45","date_gmt":"2021-11-06T10:29:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/?post_type=section&#038;p=36231"},"modified":"2024-09-15T01:19:55","modified_gmt":"2024-09-15T00:19:55","slug":"tough-sweet-stuffy-prose-styles","status":"publish","type":"section","link":"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/section\/style\/writing-styles\/tough-sweet-stuffy-prose-styles\/","title":{"rendered":"Tough, Sweet, &#038; Stuffy Prose Styles"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"tts_content_wrapper_2\" >\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_69_1 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 eztoc-toggle-hide-by-default' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/section\/style\/writing-styles\/tough-sweet-stuffy-prose-styles\/#What_are_Tough_Sweet_Stuffy_Prose_Styles\" title=\"What are Tough, Sweet &amp; Stuffy Prose Styles?\">What are Tough, Sweet &amp; Stuffy Prose Styles?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/section\/style\/writing-styles\/tough-sweet-stuffy-prose-styles\/#How_can_I_Tell_if_My_Writing_is_Tough_Sweet_or_Stuffy\" title=\"How can I Tell if My Writing is Tough, Sweet or Stuffy?\">How can I Tell if My Writing is Tough, Sweet or Stuffy?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/section\/style\/writing-styles\/tough-sweet-stuffy-prose-styles\/#Recommended_Readings\" title=\"Recommended Readings\">Recommended Readings<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_are_Tough_Sweet_Stuffy_Prose_Styles\"><\/span>What are Tough, Sweet &amp; Stuffy Prose Styles?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In 1966, Walker Gibson theorized &#8220;the way we write at any given moment can be seen as an adjustment or compromise among these three styles of identifying ourselves and defining our relation with others&#8221;: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>The Tough Talker<\/strong><ul><li>&#8220;The Tough Talker, in these terms, is a man dramatized as centrally concerned with himself &#8212; his style is I-talk.&#8221;<\/li><li>Prose style is concise and straightforward. Example: Hemingway&#8217;s prose.<br><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><strong>The Sweet Talker<\/strong><ul><li>&#8220;The Sweet Talker goes out of his way to be nice to us &#8212; his style is you-talk.<\/li><li>The prose style of advertisements and manipulative texts<br><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><strong>The Stuffy Talker<\/strong><ol><li>&#8220;&#8221; The Stuffy Talker expresses no concern either for himself or his reader &#8212; his style is it-talk.&#8221;<\/li><\/ol><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-how-can-i-tell-if-my-writing-is-tough-sweet-or-stuffy\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_can_I_Tell_if_My_Writing_is_Tough_Sweet_or_Stuffy\"><\/span>How can I Tell if My Writing is Tough, Sweet or Stuffy?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Evaluate your work or the work of others for the following the linguistic attributes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table is-style-stripes\"><table><tbody><tr><td>&nbsp;<strong>Linguistic Characteristics<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Tough<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Sweet<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Stuff<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>1. Monosyllabic words<\/td><td>over 70%<\/td><td>60-70%<\/td><td>60% or less<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>2. Words of three syllables and more<\/td><td>under 10%<\/td><td>10-19%<\/td><td>20% or more<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>3. <a href=\"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/section\/rhetoric\/rhetorical-stance\/point-of-view\/avoid-first-person-point-of-view\/\">First<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/section\/rhetoric\/rhetorical-stance\/point-of-view\/second-person-point-of-view\/\">second person<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/article\/pronouns-and-antecedents\/\">pronouns<\/a><\/td><td>1<em>&nbsp;I<\/em>&nbsp;or&nbsp;<em>we<\/em>&nbsp;per 100 words<\/td><td>2&nbsp;<em>you<\/em>&nbsp;per 100 words<\/td><td>no 1st or 2nd person pronouns<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>4. Subjects: neuters versus people<\/td><td>1\/2 or more people<\/td><td>1\/2 or more people<\/td><td>2\/3 or more neuters<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>5. Finite verbs<\/td><td>over 10%<\/td><td>over 10%<\/td><td>under 10%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>6.&nbsp;<em>To be<\/em> verbs<\/td><td>over 1\/3 of verbs<\/td><td>under 1\/4 of verbs<\/td><td>under 1\/4 of verbs<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>7.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/section\/rhetoric\/rhetorical-stance\/voice\/use-the-active-voice\/\">Passive voice<\/a><\/td><td>less than 1 in 20 verbs<\/td><td>none<\/td><td>more than 1 in 5 verbs<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>8. True adjectives<\/td><td>under 10%<\/td><td>over 10%<\/td><td>over 8%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>9. Adjectives modified<\/td><td>fewer than 1 per 100 words<\/td><td>1 or more<\/td><td>fewer than 1<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>10. Noun adjuncts<\/td><td>under 2%<\/td><td>2% or more<\/td><td>4% or more<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>11. Average length of <a href=\"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/section\/style\/sentence-parts\/clauses-phrases\/\">clauses<\/a><\/td><td>10 words or less<\/td><td>10 words or less<\/td><td>more than 10 words<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>12. <a href=\"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/section\/style\/sentence-parts\/clauses-phrases\/\">Clauses<\/a>, proportion of total words<\/td><td>1\/4 or less<\/td><td>1\/3 or less<\/td><td>over 40%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>13. &#8220;Embedded&#8221; words<\/td><td>less than 1\/2 S\/V combinations<\/td><td>less than half<\/td><td>more than twice as many S\/V combinations<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>14. The definite article&nbsp;<em>the<\/em><\/td><td>8% of total words<\/td><td>under 6%<\/td><td>6-7%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>15. <a href=\"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/section\/style\/diction\/contractions\/\">Contractions<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/section\/style\/sentence-errors\/sentence-fragment\/\">sentence fragments<\/a><\/td><td>1 or more per 100 words<\/td><td>2 or more per 100 words<\/td><td>none<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>16. <a href=\"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/article\/using-parentheses\/\">Parentheses<\/a> and other <a href=\"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/section\/style\/mechanics\/punctuation\/\">punctuation<\/a><\/td><td>none<\/td><td>2 or more per 10 words<\/td><td>none<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><figcaption>Source: Walker Gibson, <em>Tough, Sweet, and Stuffy<\/em>, Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1966, p. 13, Appendix A<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-recommended-readings\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Recommended_Readings\"><\/span>Recommended Readings<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Elbow, Peter, \u201cVoice in Writing Again: Embracing Contraries\u201d (2007).&nbsp;<em>College English.<\/em>&nbsp;7. Retrieved from&nbsp;https:\/\/scholarworks.umass.edu\/eng_faculty_pubs\/7<\/li><\/ul>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":36267,"parent":18808,"menu_order":0,"template":"","tags":[],"chapters":[1922,2272],"class_list":["post-36231","section","type-section","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","chapters-style","chapters-styles-of-writing"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/section\/36231","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/section"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/section"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/section\/36231\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68087,"href":"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/section\/36231\/revisions\/68087"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/section\/18808"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36231"},{"taxonomy":"chapters","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapters?post=36231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}