What represents “style” in authorship attribution?
Authorship & stylometry
The short version
Which features capture a writer’s style, and which simply reveal their subject? This study examines syntax and word choice across topics and genres. It finds that useful stylistic signals depend on the setting, while proper nouns can introduce strong topic effects.
Notes for the reading desk
- Distinguish evidence about writing style from evidence about topic.
- Syntax can help across genres, but a purely syntactic model is insufficient on its own.
- Masking topic-related words can help reveal the contribution of other features.
Citation
Sundararajan, K., & Woodard, D. (2018). What represents “style” in authorship attribution? Proceedings of COLING, 2814–2822.
Summary and reading notes are editorial guides. The linked paper is the original source.