Language
Delicacy and Choice:
an 8-part Framework
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Language
Delicacy and Choice: |
How often have we heard students say: "My teacher told me to keep my sentences short and simple"? With this advice, the teacher has recommended a safe policy of error avoidance - to be pursued in all circumstances.
Simplicity and brevity are certainly virtues in writing, but should not be pursued at the expense of reason or complexity in your assertions. In this section, we put forward, and then develop, the argument that there is a correlation between length and richness of expression. Assertions in academic communication generally need to be longer than in everyday communication, because the standards we set for accuracy and reasonableness are much higher.
We offer here an 8-part framework of dimensions of linguistic delicacy - the ‘fine tuning’ of expression and meaning. Before proceeding, you are invited to do this Pre-TASK
To review the entire framework, with brief tasks, click here