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PlayOwl

English · Grade 11

Style, Voice and Linguistic Choices

Learners study language as a set of choices that change with audience and history. They analyze voice, including the vernacular voice of Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn; shape periodic, cumulative and balanced sentences and deliberate fragments; learn why usage “rules” such as split infinitives and less/fewer are conventions with histories, and how to resolve contested usage; and practice hyphenation and shifts of register. They finish with a style imitation and an explanation of their choices.

  • 4 lessons
  • About 135 minutes
  • Style and language check: 10 questions
  • Ways to answer: choose an answer, highlight a text, match pairs, sort into groups, arrange tiles and true or false
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What learners will discover

  • Analyze voice through diction, syntax and tone, including vernacular voice in literature.
  • Vary syntax for effect, using periodic, cumulative and balanced sentences and deliberate fragments.
  • Explain that usage is a matter of convention that changes over time, and resolve contested usage by consulting references and considering the audience.
  • Apply hyphenation conventions and shift register appropriately for audience and purpose.

Lessons

  1. Hearing a voice 6 steps3 practiceabout 32 min
  2. Sentence shapes for effect 5 steps3 practiceabout 34 min
  3. Usage: conventions with histories 5 steps3 practiceabout 34 min
  4. Hyphens and register 5 steps3 practiceabout 35 min
  5. Style and language check 10 questions at the end

Keep exploring

More 11th grade reading

Guide for grown-ups