Author's Style

What makes a particular author appeal to you? Is it the way he or she organizes stories, using different points of view or flashbacks to weave a compelling tale? Is it the tone of the writing that grabs you and makes you want to read more of his or her work? These elements—and many others—make up an author’s style. As you work on your portfolio assignment for this unit, you will strive to match the style of your selected story’s author.

Click on the link below to access the EBSCOhost databases. Follow the directions below to access the article.

EBSCOHost

1. Select EBSCOhost Research Databases.
2. Check the box for Select all and click on the Continue button.
3. Type "Bronte’s Wuthering Heights Craig" in the search box, and click on the Search button.
4. Select the article "Bronte’s Wuthering Heights" by Sheryl Craig.

Think about how Emily Bronte’s interests helped define her style and approach when writing Wuthering Heights.

Now construct a list of devices that define your author's style. Consider whether your author uses any of the following tropes or schemes. If any of the tropes are unfamiliar to you, read their definitions in the glossary of literary terms in American Short Stories. You can find definitions of each of the schemes in the Glossary of Writing with Power as well.

Tropes

• analogy
• hyperbole
• irony
• metaphor
• simile

Schemes

• antithesis
• parallelism
• repetition

1. Read the Guidelines for Ending a Story on p. 205 and Guidelines for Improving Style on p. 207 in Writing with Power.

Writing

1. Compose a one- to two-page alternate ending to your selected short story, following MLA format. Begin your alternate ending with a sentence that appears on the last page of the original short story to transition from the original author's voice to your own.