Abundant Style

What is abundant style, and in what ways is it relevant today in education and/or the workplace? Provide an example.

Abundant style, or copia, is having the ability to express a similar concept in many ways.  By doing so, one can see the precision and nuance in language.  For example, if I say, “I see the flower” I have expressed a simple, straightforward concept.  However, with abundant style, I can more precisely target my meaning and thus, move my audience.  Such an example might look like, “In witnessing the wilting petals on the daisy, graying slightly, I am reminded of the elusive passing nature of life itself.”  In both examples, I have indicated that I have seen a flower but in the second example, I have provided a description of the experience of seeing that flower through the use of style.  This description is more likely to evoke some reaction in audience.

In today’s education, this is relevant because we must understand a broad array of topics so that we can draw from multiple perspectives in order to reach a broad array of audiences.  In this sense, this is the value of a liberal arts education, or at a minimum, the value of general core education requirements for a baccalaureate degree.  This need to have at least a baseline understanding of a broad range of topics is what separates an “educated” member of our society from and uneducated one and why people would choose to go to a university to get a BA/BS rather than a trade school, where such requirements would not be in place.  With this broadened perspective, we can both speak to larger groups and understand the messaging from a larger composite of persuasive speakers.