Resources for Teachers, University Lecturers and College Tutors

How To Use Stylistics

The Routledge English Language Introductions are ‘flexi-texts’ that you can use to suit your own style of teaching. All the books in the series, including Stylistics, are divided into four sections:-

A. Introduction: Key Concepts in Stylistics
The units of section A take you step-by-step through the foundational terms and ideas, carefully providing you with an initial toolkit for your own study and teaching. By the end of the section, you will have a good overview of the whole field. The twelve numbered Units in section A are compact and are ordered in a linear way, so if you read progressively through the section you can assemble a composite picture of the core issues in both stylistic theory and practice.

B. Development: doing stylistics
This section builds on the key ideas already introduced and the twelve Units it contains draw together several areas of interest. In Stylistics, the units develop the topic introduced in the equivalent numbered unit in section A. They are either illustrative expansions of the model outlined in A or surveys of important research developments in the relevant area of stylistics. By the end of this section, students should already have a reasonably solid grasp of the field.

C. Exploration: investigating style
This section offers practical exercises based around language and style, and provides material for pedagogical investigation of the field. The Units in this section are more open-ended and exploratory, and students are encouraged to try out their own ideas using their newly acquired knowledge. While some selective follow-up commentary is offered, there is no sense in which ‘all the answers’ are provided.

D. Extension: readings in stylistics
Finally, section D offers your students the chance to compare their expertise with selected key readings in the area. These are taken from the work of well-known stylisticians, and are provided with guidance and questions for further work.

The glossary/index at the end, together with the suggestions for Further Reading at the end of each Unit in section B, will help to keep each topic orientated.

The book can be used like a traditional text-book, read ‘vertically’ straight through from beginning to end. However, the Routledge English Language Introductions have been carefully designed to be read in another dimension, ‘horizontally’ across the numbered Units. For example, Units A.1, A.2, A.3 and so on correspond with Units B.1, B.2, B.3, and with Units C.1, C.2, C.3 and D.1, D.2, D.3, and so on.

The book can be used as the primary text or as an accompanying course text on modules in Stylistics and related areas of study. The combination of authoritative textbook, open-ended workbook, and reader means that it can be used where you might otherwise have had to choose between two or three alternatives, or have your students buy three expensive books. The flexi-text design allows you to use the book as best suits your own practice.

The key terms and concepts introduced in sections A and B can be set as lecture-support summaries, or as quick preparatory reading in advance of lectures, enabling you to develop a specialist area or detailed argument without having to prepare the elementary ground yourself. Sections A and B are thus the raw material for structuring your coverage of this part of the course. You can then use the material in section C to provide you with classroom resources and seminar material, allowing students to explore texts for themselves in a focussed and directed way. The readings in section D can be used as initial basic follow-up reading. Alternatively, you might want to set these readings in advance of teaching, so that they form the basis for seminar discussion. For each of the readings, there are both general and specific suggestions for further study. Questions here are open-ended, allowing you or your colleagues opportunity for developing the discussion as you wish, and adding your own material and particular interests. Finally, students can be referred to the Further Reading listings, where up-to-date references and suggestions will help them move on from this textbook to more advanced study.

The twelve numbered units of the book can be used as the foundation of a compact module of twelve weeks. Alternatively, if required for a longer module, each unit can be easily expanded by using both the follow-up reading section and the suggestions for further work provided in the D sections. The twelfth unit of the book, on style and humour, is shorter than the rest, which frees up extra time for course ‘housekeeping’, such as feedback on written work, consultation on essay topics and the like.