Chapter 16 Summary - The Bedford Researcher

Writing with style is what chapter 16 of The Bedford Researcher, written by Mike Palmquist, is all about. Palmquist goes over how to write with style and how to polish that style in this, fairly short but pack full of information, chapter. He states that the key to writing with style is writing concisely, using active and passive voice effectively, adopting a consistent point of view, and choosing your words carefully. Writing concisely means you remove any unnecessary modifiers, remove unnecessary introductory phrases, and eliminate stock phrases. Adopting a consistent point of view means that you use either first, second, or third person and don't change sporadically. Choosing your words carefully includes your formality, specialized language, and variety. Palmquist gives six different things you can do to polish your writing style. One, vary your sentence structure by using simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex clauses. Two, create effective transitions with words, phrases, sentences, and paragraphs. Three, introduce other authors effectively, which we talked about in chapter 15. Four, avoid sexist language, for example, "A race car driver needs a fast car if he wants to win." Five, consult a good handbook so you can continue to polish the details of your style. Finally, number six, read widely. This one is the easiest and most fun do to.