Cheatsheet

Semantic patterns

• Inference → Fact → Conclusion /Reason / Result / Action-Result

• Contrast → Then vs. Now / Although / Despite / Partial Concession

• Reasoning → All but / Unlike / Also

• Time → Before / Now / At this moment

• Condition → Given / Even if / Participial clause

• Process → Begins / Underway / Can be undone

• Effect → Makes / Leads to

• Prediction → Long-term / Casual

• Organization → Ranked ideas / Action series (modal + verbs)

Sentence qualities

• Crisp → fast, clear, easy, effective. Clarity and readability. Feels lighter.

• Tight → precise, controlled, dense, economical. Precision and efficiency

• Elegant → polished, smooth, sophisticated, flow, graceful. Grace, sophistication, or aesthetic pleasure

Pro strategy: Combine them when possible. A sentence can be crisp, tight, and elegant — sharp, efficient, and polished all at once.

Rhetorical effect of style

• Strong rhetoric → Persuasive, Argumentative, Critical

• Moderate rhetoric → Deliberative, Comparative, Interpretive

• Light rhetoric → Speculative, Discursive

• Low rhetoric (by default) → Expository, Analytical, Descriptive, Narrative, Reflective