5.2  What is Style & Language Use?

A Scene: After English Class

Pablo: You don't look too happy.   Deke: I'm not. I thought this was a great paper and the teacher didn't.   Pablo: What was the problem?   Deke: Nothing. There isn't one mistake on the paper. He didn't find a single mistake.   Pablo: Did you do what you were supposed to do, agree or disagree with the idea of school uniforms?   Deke: Yes, and I wrote to the principal, like I was supposed to. It's three pages long, so it's long enough. Look at what he wrote on it: word choice! Vary sentences! Style!   Pablo: I'm not sure what that means.   Deke: Me, either. I made no mistakes. What more does he want?

Do you know what more he wants? Do you know what the teacher's comments mean? Let's look at the description of Style & Language Use from the rubric:

Effective Writers chose the words they use carefully, showing they know who the audience is and keeping them interested. Write fluently and make the essay easy to read; Uses artful word choice and precise language; Uses a well-defined voice and a clear sense of audience; Uses well-structured and varied sentences.

If Deke's paper was evaluated with a 6-Point Rubric, he probably got a score of 3 or 4 for Style & Language Use. Why didn't he get a 6 if he didn't make any mistakes?

Is avoiding mistakes the point? Would you say you were an excellent dancer because you hardly ever fall down or smash into other people? Avoiding mistakes isn't the point of dancing, and it isn't the point of writing, either.

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