Sense Of Style Steven Pinker Pdf Download

The Sense of StyleWhat is the secret of good prose? Does writing well even matter in an age of instant communication? Should we care? In this funny, thoughtful book about the modern art of writing, Steven Pinker shows us why we all need a sense of style.

In The Sense of Style, Pinker reveals that among the six different styles in which humans use language, four are instinctive, and two are learned. In his new book, he explains and illustrates how to go about using all the styles most effectively. He shows us how a sentence should begin, how to choose words carefully, how to control the rhythm of speech, and how to end a piece. He shares his secrets for writing humor and wit, passion and pathos, argument and exposition.

Pinker defines the art of writing as communicating in ways that a reader will enjoy and remember. He suggests that we should adopt a “compassionate anthropologist” approach, asking ourselves what makes a story, or a poem, or a speech tick. Why are certain words, phrases, and settings so appealing? What makes a work of literature or journalism memorable? Does one style work better than another?

In short, Pinker offers us some of the most gifted and entertaining writers of our time the keys to craftsmanship, with the goal of making our stories, speeches, and essays better - even, perhaps, to improving the world.

A former magazine editor, Pinker is the author of The Language Instinct, The Blank Slate, and The Better Angels of Our Nature. His works have been translated into more than a dozen languages and appear regularly in the news, in magazines like The New Yorker, 827ec27edc