Transcript Slide 1 - Cloudfront.net

No warm-up today. Instead, get out your cool-down
from Friday. Look at the following list of words.
Try to rank the words, from the most pleasant
sounding, to the most harsh sounding. Then try to
write a sentence or two for why you ranked your #1
(most pleasant) as you did, and why you ranked
your #8 (sounding) as you did.
Dog
Mutt
Puppy
Hound
Canine
Beast
Mongrel
Pooch
You no longer need to bring A Separate
Peace.
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Well done with the novel. Thoughts on the test?
Take notes on the following slides and call
them “Diction.”
Homework: Finish “The Rattler” worksheet.
Reading 1.1: Identify and use the literal and
figurative meanings of words (and
understand word derivations).
Question: Why do all of the words for “dog” have
different meanings? Why do so many words have
different meanings?
Answer: So we can have fun exploring diction in
English II!!!
Real Answer: So when we are writing and speaking,
we can say exactly what we mean.
Diction= word choice
*Diction, language and figurative language are
all terms that we will use interchangeably
when analyze an author’s style. They all look
at an author’s word choice.
*Diction is one of the most powerful aspects of
style. If you are writing an essay about an
author’s style and the writing directions do
not tell you which aspect of style to use,
choosing diction is a good idea.
Denotation= the literal, dictionary
definition of a word
*The words “plump”, “fat” and “obese”
literally describe a person who is
overweight. This is the dictionary
definition of these three words.
Connotation= the emotions, feelings or ideas that
are attached to a certain word.
 The word “plump” has the connotation of being
pleasantly fat, almost in a cute way.
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Plump is often used to describe cute, overweight little
old ladies. Santa Claus is also described as being a
jolly, plump old man.
The positive emotional feelings
(or connotations) that are
attached to this word show how
we use connotation to control
people’s minds about a subject.
The word “obese” has a more negative
connotation. It is used someone who is
extremely overweight and unhealthy.
Unless words are neutral (meaning
that they have no association with
anything in the outside world), they
can be described as having a positive
connotation or a negative connotation.

Look at the words “used car” and
“previously owned vehicle”. Can you
guess which has the more positive
connotation?
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Now consider the words “mean”,
“unkind” and “evil”. How would you
rank these words on the spectrum of
negative connotation?
When writing about author style you must first pick
out diction in a passage, then analyze the diction.
What effect does it have on the passage? What tone
does it convey? How do the author’s word choices
determine overall tone or theme?
Now, RE-READ “The Rattler”. As you read, circle
important diction. Then, make three columns:
1) List ten important pieces of diction, 2) write the
connotation (+ -) of each word, 3) explain the
associations with this word.