High, Middle, and Low Styles

Richard Lanham in Analyzing Prose describes high style as writing that uses Latinate diction, patterms such as isocolon, chiasmus or parallelism, and other noticeable forms. He describes middle style,"see-through" writing (p. 185)that can also be contrived, as perhaps an ideal type of writing. He describes low style as language that deals with facts and that uses down-home Anglo-Saxon diction.

The book chapter that I edited in ENG 5365 used a rather low style of writing. There were few graceful turns of phrase and many grammatical errors and redundant sentences. I perceived that certain sections might have been copied from a how-to manual. The topics discussed ranged from storage of student portfolios to what computer resources would be needed. No word plays, no repetition, and no alliteration provided rhetorical interest. I spent my time improving clarity and making suggestions on removing jargon and clumsy phrases.