WHAT IS PROSE

Prose is a form of language that exhibits a natural flow of speech and grammatical structure,
rather than a rhythmic structure as in traditional poetry. Where the common unit of verse is based
on meter or rhyme, the common unit of prose is purely grammatical, such as a sentence or
paragraph.

Prose Definition

Prose is a form of language that has no formal metrical structure. It applies a natural flow of
speech, and ordinary grammatical structure rather than rhythmic structure, such as in the case of
traditional poetry.

Normal every day speech is spoken in prose and most people think and write in prose
form. Prose comprises of full grammatical sentences which consist of paragraphs and forgoes
aesthetic appeal in favor of clear, straightforward language. It can be said to be the most
reflective of conversational speech. Some works of prose do have versification and a blend of the
two formats that is called prose poetry.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening written by Robert Frost.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.

But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Prose Form

The woods look lovely against the setting darkness and as I gaze into the mysterious depths of
the forest, I feel like lingering here longer. However, I have pending appointments to keep and
much distance to cover before I settle in for the night or else I will be late for all of them.

The above paragraph is conveying a similar message but it is conveyed in ordinary language,
without a formal metrical structure to bind it.

Some Common Types of Prose

1. Nonfictional Prose: A literary work that is mainly based on fact although it may contain
fictional elements in certain cases. Examples are biographies and essays.

2. Fictional Prose: A literary work that is wholly or partly imagined or theoretical. Examples are
novels.

3. Heroic Prose: A literary work that may be written down or recited and employs many of the
formulaic expressions found in oral tradition. Examples are legends and tales.
4. Prose Poetry: A literary work which exhibits poetic quality using emotional effects and
heightened imagery but are written in prose instead of verse.

The tone of a literary work expresses the writer's attitude toward or feelings about the subject
matter and audience.

Overview
Depending upon the personality of the writer and the effect the writer wants to create, the work
can be formal or informal, sober or whimsical, assertive or pleading, straightforward or sly.[3] In
determining the attitude, mood, or tone of an author, examine the specific diction used. Is the
author using adjectives to describe the subject? If so, are they words like fragrant, tranquil,
magnanimouswords with positive connotations? Or are they words like fetid, ruffled, stingy
words with negative connotations?
When we speak, our tone of voice conveys our moodfrustrated, cheerful, critical, gloomy, or
angry. When we write, our images and descriptive phrases get our feelings acrossguarded
optimism, unqualified enthusiasm, objective indifference, resignation, or dissatisfaction.[4] Other
examples of literary tone are: airy, comic, condescending, facetious, funny, heavy, intimate,
ironic, light, playful, sad, serious, sinister, solemn, somber, threatening.

Difference from mood[edit]

Tone and mood are not the same, although they are frequently confused. The mood of a piece of
literature is the feeling or atmosphere created by the work, or, said slightly differently, how the
work makes the reader feel. Mood is produced most effectively through the use of setting, theme,
voice and tone, while tone is how the author feels about something.

Usage[edit]
All pieces of literature, even official documents and technical documents, have some sort of
tone. Authors create tone through the use of various other literary elements, such as diction or
word choice; syntax, the grammatical arrangement of words in a text for effect; imagery, or vivid
appeals to the senses; details, facts that are included or omitted; and figurative language, the
comparison of seemingly unrelated things for sub-textual purposes.[how?]
While now used to discuss literature, the term tone was originally applied solely to music. This
appropriated word has come to represent attitudes and feelings a speaker (in poetry), a narrator
(in fiction), or an author (in non-literary prose) has towards the subject, situation, and/or the
intended audience. It is important to recognize that the speaker, or narrator is not to be confused
with the author and that attitudes and feelings of the speaker or narrator should not be confused
with those of the author.[why?] In general, the tone of a piece only refers to attitude of the author if
writing is non-literary in nature.[further explanation needed][5]
In many cases, the tone of a work may change and shift as the speaker or narrators perspective
on a particular subject alters throughout the piece.
Official and technical documentation tends to employ a formal tone throughout the piece.

Setting tone
Authors set a tone in literature by conveying emotions/feelings through words. The way a person
feels about an idea/concept, event, or another person can be quickly determined through facial
expressions, gestures and in the tone of voice used. In literature an author sets the tone through
words. The possible tones are bounded only by the number of possible emotions a human being
can have.
Diction and syntax often dictate what the author's (or character's) attitude toward his subject is at
the time. An example: "Charlie surveyed the classroom but it was really his mother
congratulating himself for snatching the higher test grade, the smug smirk on his face growing
brighter and brighter as he confirmed the inferiority of his peers."
The tone here is one of arrogance; the quip "inferiority of his peers" shows Charlie's belief in his
own prowess. The words "surveyed" and "congratulating himself" show Charlie as seeing
himself better than the rest of his class. The diction, including the word "snatching", gives the
reader a mental picture of someone quickly and effortlessly grabbing something, which proves
once again Charlie's pride in himself. Characteristically, of course, the "smug smirk" provides a
facial imagery of Charlie's pride.
In addition, using imagery in a poem is helpful to develop a poem's tone.

Elements of Fiction: Style and Tone

Style and tone are elements of fiction. The writer uses a certain style and tone to craft the story.
Style refers to the writers choice of diction, sentence structure, literary techniques, and use of
rhythm. For example, Hemingway wrote very short sentences and he used simple words. George
Orwell, on the other hand, used long sentences, including periodic and cumulative sentence
types, and more complex diction. Cormac McCarthy, in The Road, used many sentence
fragments and everyday language. He also referred to the main characters as the boy and the
man. They were never addressed by name.
In fiction writing, the writers style is also created by the choice of literary devices that are used
to create the story, such as imagery, symbolism, allegory, personification, and other figurative
language.
Tone, on the other hand, refers to the writers attitude toward his/her story and to the reader. The
writers tone assists in creating a mood or atmosphere for the story. Philip Roth uses a humorous
tone in Portnoys Complaint.

Style
Every fiction writer has a unique style. The writers style is based on many choices about diction,
syntax/sentence structure, detail, dialogue, literary devices, and rhythm.
The writers style comes from the diction or word choice he/she uses. Does the writer use simple
language or complex language? Is the language concrete or abstract? What does a word connote?
What does the word denote?
The writers style comes from the types of sentence structure/syntax he/she uses. Does the writer
use short or long sentences? Sentence fragments? Periodic or cumulative sentences? Simple or
complex sentences? For instance, Cormac McCarthy, in The Road, uses many sentence
fragments to tell his story.
Another way that the writer reveals his/her style is by the amount of detail presented to the
reader. Does the writer go into great depth? Or does the writer use summary narrative or sparse
prose?
And the fiction writers style is revealed by the content of dialogue. The dialogue a writer uses
reveals a lot about each character, including the background and education of the character, his
or her motivations, and what each character ultimately believes about the world. Much of what
the writer says is based on personal experience, values, biases, and prejudices.
When reading passages of dialogue, the reader needs to consider how the characters remarks
reflect or accentuate the writers voice. What do the characters say? How do the characters say
it?
The writers style is also expressed by the choice of literary techniques the writer uses to
construct the story, such as imagery, symbolism, personification, irony, metaphor, and
symbolism. Many certain literary techniques over others.
The writer can reveal his/her style by the use of rhythm, which is the pattern of flow and
movement created by the writers choice of words and the arrangement of sentences. What types
of repetition does the writer use? Does the writer use alliteration? Rhyme? How does the writer
use parallel structure? Single words? Fragments?

Tone
What is tone? It refers to the fiction writers attitude toward his/her subject and toward the
readers. The writers tone creates an atmosphere or mood for the story. A writers tone can
be humorous, satirical, passionate, zealous, sarcastic, condescending, and so on. The tone can be
anything the writer chooses. For instance, humour is an important tone in childrens literature.
Types of humour used by writers include surprise, exaggeration, incongruity, absurdity, and
parody.
The writers choice of diction often reveals his/her tone. Tone is often expressed by the
connotation of words. For instance, a certain expression might be interpreted as sarcasm.
Another expression can be interpreted as vulgar.
Tone is also about the effect the writing has on the reader. What mood does the writer create in
the mind of the reader?

The Narrative Voice

What is the narrative voice? It is the quality of the narrative, whether the story is told in the first-
person or the third-person. It is how the writer chooses to tell the storycasually, seriously,
humorously, and so forth. The Narrative voice will belong to a character within the story, such as
the protagonist. Or when the story is told in the third-person, the narrative voice will belong to
an unknown character, someone who is not a participant in the story.
Before writing the story, the fiction writer needs to decide what narrative voice to use: Serious?
Comic? Detached? Or entertaining? Once the narrative voice is selected, the writer can
determine what sort of diction and sentence structure to use.

The Writers Voice

The narrative voice is an extension of the writers voice. The writers voice consists of many
elements, including style and tone. But the writers is created by many other factors, such as
socioeconomic background, education, belief system, values, writing experience, and so forth.
Frequently, a writers voice is expressed through the following elements:

1. Diction. The word choice of the writer.

2. Syntax. The sentence patterns chosen by the writer.
3. Subject matter. What the writer chooses to write about and his/her views on that subject
matter.
4. Tone. The attitude that the writer intends to convey about the subject to the reader.

Developing a Unique Voice

How does the aspiring writer acquire his/her own voice? It takes time to create a voice. It begins
by developing an original style. From style, the writer needs to write and gain experience. Over
time, the writers voice emerges. It is a process.
To help develop a unique voice, the aspiring writer can do the following:

1. Learn to write well. Learn the rules of grammar, spelling, and punctuation. And then learn
when to break these rules.
2. Expand his/her vocabulary. The writer must use the dictionary to learn the meaning of
unfamiliar words. The writer should also use a thesaurus to find similar words with
different shades of meaning.
3. Read widely and deeply. The writer ought to read fiction by the great writers. The writer
also needs to read nonfiction, like biographies, and person essays. By doing this, the writer
can learn how the masters constructed memorable fiction.
4. Analyze the styles of great writers, such as Charles Dickens, Ernest Hemingway, and
George Orwell. Analysis teaches the writer how to create setting, plot, characters, and use
other literary devices.
5. Experiment with different writing styles, such as word choice and syntax. Only through
practice and experience will the aspiring writer develop a unique style.
6. Learn the element of fiction and use them. (Plot, setting, character, conflict, and so forth.)
7. Learn the literary techniques and use them. (Imagery, symbolism, allusion, and figures of
speech, such as simile, metaphor, and personification.)
8. Make writing a lifestyle choice. The aspiring writer must write every day. Only by writing
on a regular basis will the writer develop his/her unique voice.
9. Write in a way that comes naturally. The writer needs to use words and phrases that are
his/her own. Imitation is acceptable.
 10. The writer also needs to place himself/herself in the background. To do this, the writer
needs to write in a way that draws the reader to the sense and style of the writing, rather
than to the tone and temper of the writer. (Strunk and Whites Elements of Style)
11. Avoid using a breezy manner. The breezy style is a work of an egocentric, the writer who
imagines that everything that comes to mind is of interest and ought to be written on the

WHAT IS ESSAY?

An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument but the
definition is vague, overlapping with those of an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays
have traditionally been sub-classified as formal and informal. Formal essays are characterized by
"serious purpose, dignity, logical organization, length," whereas the informal essay is
characterized by "the personal element (self-revelation, individual tastes and experiences,
confidential manner), humor, graceful style, rambling structure, unconventionality or novelty of
theme," etc.[1]
Essays are commonly used as literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments,
observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. Almost all modern essays
are written in prose, but works in verse have been dubbed essays (e.g., Alexander Pope's An
Essay on Criticism and An Essay on Man). While brevity usually defines an essay, voluminous
works like John Locke's An Essay Concerning Human Understanding and Thomas Malthus's An
Essay on the Principle of Population are counterexamples. In some countries (e.g., the United
States and Canada), essays have become a major part of formal education. Secondary students
are taught structured essay formats to improve their writing skills; admission essays are often
used by universities in selecting applicants, and in the humanities and social sciences essays are
often used as a way of assessing the performance of students during final exams.
The concept of an "essay" has been extended to other mediums beyond writing. A film essay is a
movie that often incorporates documentary filmmaking styles and focuses more on the evolution
of a theme or idea. A photographic essay covers a topic with a linked series of photographs that
may have accompanying text or captions.

Definitio.
An essay has been defined in a variety of ways. One definition is a "prose composition with a
focused subject of discussion" or a "long, systematic discourse".[2] It is difficult to define the
genre into which essays fall. Aldous Huxley, a leading essayist, gives guidance on the
subject.[3] He notes that "the essay is a literary device for saying almost everything about almost
anything", and adds that "by tradition, almost by definition, the essay is a short piece".
Furthermore, Huxley argues that "essays belong to a literary species whose extreme variability
can be studied most effectively within a three-poled frame of reference". These three poles (or
worlds in which the essay may exist) are:

The personal and the autobiographical: The essayists that feel most comfortable in this pole
"write fragments of reflective autobiography and look at the world through the keyhole of
anecdote and description".
The objective, the factual, and the concrete particular: The essayists that write from this pole
"do not speak directly of themselves, but turn their attention outward to some literary or
 scientific or political theme. Their art consists of setting forth, passing judgment upon, and
drawing general conclusions from the relevant data".
The abstract-universal: In this pole "we find those essayists who do their work in the world
of high abstractions", who are never personal and who seldom mention the particular facts of
experience.
Huxley adds that the most satisfying essays "...make the best not of one, not of two, but of all the
three worlds in which it is possible for the essay to exist."
The word essay derives from the French infinitive essayer, "to try" or "to attempt". In
English essay first meant "a trial" or "an attempt", and this is still an alternative meaning. The
Frenchman Michel de Montaigne (15331592) was the first author to describe his work as
essays; he used the term to characterize these as "attempts" to put his thoughts into writing, and
his essays grew out of his commonplacing.[4]Inspired in particular by the works of Plutarch, a
translation of whose uvres Morales (Moral works) into French had just been published
by Jacques Amyot, Montaigne began to compose his essays in 1572; the first edition,
entitled Essais, was published in two volumes in 1580. For the rest of his life, he continued
revising previously published essays and composing new ones. Francis Bacon's essays, published
in book form in 1597, 1612, and 1625, were the first works in English that described themselves
as essays. Ben Jonson first used the word essayist in English in 1609, according to the Oxford
English Dictionary.
escriptive essays
The aim of descriptive essays is to provide a vivid picture of a person, location, object, event, or
debate. It will offer details that will enable the reader to imagine the item described.
Narrative essays
The aim of a narrative essay is to describe a course of events from a subjective vantage point,
and may be written in first-person present or first person past tense. Though not always
chronological, narrative essays do follow the development of a person through a series of
experiences and reflections. The focus of the essay is often to more clearly identify the point of
view of the narrator, and to express common features of subjectivity.
Compare and contrast essays
The aim of a compare and contrast essay is to develop the relationship between two or more
things. Generally, the goal is to show that superficial differences or similarities are inadequate,
and that closer examination reveals their unobvious, yet significant, relations or differences.
Persuasive essays
In a persuasive essay, the writer tries to persuade the reader to accept an idea or agree with an
opinion. The writer's purpose is to convince the reader that her or his point of view is a
reasonable one. The persuasive essay should be written in a style that grabs and holds the
reader's attention, and the writer's opinion should be backed up by strong supporting details.
Argumentative essays
Argumentative essays are most often used to address controversial issues - i.e. serious issue over
which there is some evident disagreement. An argument is a position combined with its
supporting reasons. Argumentative papers thus set out a main claim and then provide reasons for
thinking that the claim is true. [edit] Imitation Imitation essays are essays in which the writer
pulls out the main thesis and outline of a particular paper, and then writes an essay in his or her
own style.

WHAT IS ANECDOTE?

An anecdote is a brief, revealing account of an individual person or an

incident.[1] Often humorous, anecdotes differ from jokes because their primary purpose is not
simply to provoke laughter, but to reveal a truth more general than the brief tale itself, such as to
characterize a person by delineating a specific quirk or trait, to communicate an abstract idea
about a person, place, or thing through the concrete details of a short narrative.[2] An anecdote is
"a story with a point."[3]
Anecdotes may be real or fictional;[4] the anecdotal digression is a common feature of literary
works,[5] and even oral anecdotes typically involve subtle exaggeration and dramatic shape
designed to entertain the listener.[6] However, an anecdote is always presented as the recounting
of a real incident, involving actual persons and usually in an identifiable place. In the words of
Jurgen Heine, they exhibit "a special realism" and "a claimed historical dimension."[7]
The word anecdote (in Greek: "unpublished", literally "not given out") comes
from Procopius of Caesarea, the biographer of Justinian I, who produced a work
entitled (Anekdota, variously translated as Unpublished Memoirs or Secret History),
which is primarily a collection of short incidents from the private life of the Byzantine court.
Gradually, the term "anecdote" came to be applied[8] to any short tale utilized to emphasize or
illustrate whatever point the author wished to make. Note that in the context
of Estonian, Lithuanian, Bulgarian and Russian humor, an anecdote refers to any short humorous
story without the need of factual or biographical origins.

What is an Anecdote?

An anecdote (pronounced an-ik-doh-tuh) is a very short story that is significant to the topic at
hand; usually adding personal knowledge or experience to the topic. Basically, anecdotes are
stories. Like many stories, anecdotes are most often told through speech; they are spoken rather
than written down.
The term anecdote originally comes from the Greek phrase , meaning things
unpublished.

II. Examples of Anecdotes

Example 1
Picture a mother and a father discussing whether or not to get a dog for the family. The father
says:

You know, when I was a kid, my dog was my best friend. My childhood was better because of
him.
The mother contemplates his storya.k.a. his anecdoteand then agrees that they should get a
dog.

Example 2
Sometimes anecdotes are funny or effective because they interrupt an important moment.
Imagine a big wedding dinner on a TV sitcom. The best man is giving a speech, when suddenly
another guest, clearly drunk, stands up and yells:

That reminds me of a wild party I went to with the groom, before he got that new ball and chain!
If you had told me back then that he would choose just ONE woman, I never would have believed
it!
The audience laughs at his drunken anecdote, while the bride looks at the groom in anger. Here,
the anecdote brings both humor and tension to the moment.

Example 3
Anecdotes can be as simple as a relative joke. Picture a group of friends discussing their
Halloween costumes for this year. One friend says:

I was an owl last yearit was a real hoot!

Her friends groan and giggle. Here, the anecdote is told just to bring laughter.

III. Importance of Anecdotes

Anecdotes, like other forms of stories, are common and highly effective devices found
throughout literature, film, television, theater, and even real life. Anecdotes make conversations
or dialogue more personal and interesting. Usually, they are employed in a way that will make
the audience and/or other characters laugh or think more deeply about a topic.

IV. Examples of Anecdotes in Literature

Example 1
A very famous anecdote in literature is from Swanns Way of Marcel Prousts In Search of Lost
Timenovels, when he recalls a specific time that he ate a madeleine cookie. Below is a small
selection from this memory:
Many years had elapsed during which nothing of Combray, save what was comprised in the
theatre and the drama of my going to bed there, had any existence for me, when one day in
winter, as I came home, my mother, seeing that I was cold, offered me some tea, a thing I did not
ordinarily take. I declined at first, and then, for no particular reason, changed my mind. She sent
out for one of those short, plump little cakes called petites madeleines, which look as though
they had been moulded in the fluted scallop of a pilgrims shell.
Proust uses this anecdote in part of an ongoing discussion on memory and remembrance of the
past. For him, this particular childhood moment represents one of his strongest and most intense
memories, particularly of those tied to senses.

Example 2
In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Albus Dumbledore is having a conversation with a
visiting headmaster about the knowledge they have of their own castles. Dumbledore then says:
Oh, I would never dream of assuming I know all Hogwarts secrets, Igor. Only this morning, for
instance, I took a wrong turn on the way to the bathroom and found myself in a beautifully
proportioned room I had never seen before, containing a really rather magnificent collection of
chamber pots. When I went back to investigate more closely, I discovered that the room had
vanished.
Dumbledores brief story is related to their conversation; it gives a personal example to support
his view on the topic, and provides something for Igor to ponder. Furthermore, the anecdote
makes Dumbledore appear humble against his visitors prideful attitude.

Example 3
Anecdotes dont always have to be personal; some are just interesting stories about specific
people or subjects. The Book of Three Hundred Anecdotes, for instance, includes 300 brief
stories about topics from affection to librarians to war. The following anecdote is from the topic
Forgiveness:
Mari Antoinette.On the elevation of this princess to the throne after the death of Louis XV.,
an officer of the body-guard, who had given her offence on some former occasion, expressed his
intention of resigning his commission; but the queen forbade him. Remain, said she, forget
the past as I forgive it.
Each of the anecdotes provides a brief account of something related to its adjacent topic. The
book is filled with similar stories referencing historical figures, places, books, ideas, etc for each
topic included; providing anecdotes for any and all conversations.

HOW DO FILIPINOS DEAL WITH ADVERSITY?

Just as we learn more about Filipinos getting rich off other Filipinos, we also learn about even
more Filipinos whove done more for their fellow Filipinos and continue to do so without
expecting anything in return.
 For the past few days, the extent of corruption exposed in the news has filled Filipinos with
varying degrees of outrage and it had been further stoked with the floods in Manila and the tragic
collision of two vessels at night despite generally calm weather.

The scenes of suffering contrast sharply with the obscene displays of wealth in the leaked
video on the birthday celebration of Janet Napoless daughter and the photos of her 30 mansions
(that includes both houses of Congress as one wisecrack said).

The twin tragedies served to mirror what is best and worst about the Filipino. That they
both happened days ahead of the anniversary of the assassination of senator Benigno Ninoy
Aquino shows just how far weve come together as a country and how far ahead we have to go to
achieve true unity.

While government officials blabber on for and against the abolition of the pork barrel, we see
Filipinos giving more of themselves by helping out neighbors or even strangers, either by rescuing
them from the floodwaters or donating cash and kind to the flood victims.

While we see the grieving families of loved ones who perished in the sea that Friday night because
of costly human error, we also see ordinary Cebuanos working the phones, contributing human
hair or chicken feathers in order to stem the tide of the worsening oil spill.

They are joined by other Cebuanos and foreigners whove volunteered to plumb the depths
of the sea to salvage and retrieve bodies of passengers trapped in the sunken vessel, never losing
hope and never giving up despite adverse weather conditions and scarce resources.

These are the same Filipinos who, for want of an outlet to ventilate their frustration and
anger at the corruption and the criminal negligence of their elected officials and profit-driven
company owners, may join next weeks march rally to denounce the manipulations and theft of
hard-earned taxpayers money and demand accountability from those theyve elected to office and
even those to whom theyve paid and expected safe, quality service.

Their voices may or may not be heard. But its the peoples right to demand accountability
either through protests or court actions. What people are after are not only pledges of reform, but
concrete results that address their grievances.
 For starters, that means detaining, prosecuting and jailing those whove betrayed their
country and fellow Filipinos.