The Art of Writing: Enhancing Prose Essay Style

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Kingsley Aligbe
Professor Sam Nie
English 100-050
22 February 2020
The Art of Writing
Style in literature refers to the elements and the processes in which the author plays with
the words and utilizes the power of words, tone and syntax to enhance the quality of the idea that
he wants to portray. The phonetic, lexical, syntactical, figurative and thematic levels enhances
the diction and the style of any prose essay. In “I Came. I Saw. I Spun” written by Jason Karpf,
the author uses the words in a formal and rhythmic way to best describe the circumstances of the
essay, with proper grammar and punctuations that enhance the quality of the essay.
The essay has been organized in a compositional way where the paragraphs are structured
that makes comprehensible to the readers. There is a good combination in the style of work that
establishes the concept of meaning, imagery and the mood in a certain manner. The chief
function in establishing the style of writing is to aid the characterization of the speaker (Toolan).
A writer can only be termed as a good writer based on the way he portrays the main character in
a way that distinguishes him from the other supporting characters in the text. The tone of the text
is important and is concerned with the style of the essay as it describes the judgement of the
character according to the viewpoint of the author.
In the prose essay, the history of Julius Caesar, the Roman dictator has been discussed in
a formal tone. The writer has used a lucid language to explain the political and the military
prowess of the person (Kestemont et al.). The essay discusses the methods that he used in order
to gain power and become the dictator of Rome. He claimed popularity among the citizens of

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Rome and was successful in using his influence in climbing the ladder to his political career. The
essay focuses on the path that Caesar used in order to attain the supreme position in the Roman
Empire.
The usage of words in the essay portrays the achievements of Julius Caesar and
highlights his bravery. A writer should use his words extremely carefully so that the reader gets
the appropriate expression of the feelings expressed by the writer. Words are tricky as they may
be interpreted in several ways and influence the tone of writing. The words as well as their
synonyms can be used in the context where they can hold distinct meanings (Grillo and
Christopher). In this essay, the words bring out an optimistic tone of writing. The sentence
“Caesar knew what we know now, that inventive consistent marketing is the way to elicit
positive responses” shows the way in which the author praises the abilities of Caesar to manage
his empire. The matters that are dealt with in the assignment are historical facts and therefore the
author has avoided the use of any satirical tones in the prose essay. The paragraphs in the essay
are arranged according to a sequence. The paragraphs are chronologically organized and well
defined. This seems evident in the fact that the writer has used the life events of Julius Caesar
and maintained them in a chronological order.
The writer has used parallelism in order to maintain the rhythm of sentences. The passage
discusses the policies that he used to gain the acceptance of the citizens of Rome. The words that
the author uses in the essay are polysyllabic and that ensure that a formal tone is maintained
throughout the essay. The author’s style also depends on the usage of punctuations (Konurbaev).
In this essay, the punctuations that the author uses highlight the political as well as the historical
aspects of the Roman dictator. This has enhanced the style of writing as it makes it more
appealing and rouses interest in the readers.