Transcript What is Word Choice? - HRSBSTAFF Home Page

WriteTraits
WORD CHOICE
What is word choice?
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Word choice is choosing words that
can make your writing a masterpiece.
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An author needs to
paint a picture in
the mind of the
reader. Word
choice can add
color to your
masterpiece.
Collector of Words
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A writer is a serious collector of words
A word collection lets you select the words
with the perfect shade of meaning to
convey your idea
How do I make
good word choices?
A serious collector will:
 Use nouns that create a picture
 Change dull verbs into colorful ones
What are nouns?
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Nouns are names of people, places and
things
Specific Nouns
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Nouns are used to
show who, what,
or where.
When using nouns
think, could I be
more specific?
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When using nouns
be specific
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Dog – Dalmatian
Building – School
What are verbs?
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Verbs are action words
Examples – running, walking, swimming,
eating, thinking, talking, etc
Colorful Verbs
Choose verbs that create a picture in
the mind of the reader.
 Stay away from is, are, was and were
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The day was hot.
The July afternoon was scorching, it burned
my feet on the sizzling sidewalk.
Other Great Words!
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Colorful verbs and
specific nouns are best
as main ingredients in
writing
but you need to use
adjectives and
adverbs to add flavor
to your writing
What is an Adverb?
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Adverbs show where, when, or how.
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nearly, slowly, fast, badly
Most end in ‘ly’
What is an Adjective?
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Adjectives describe a noun.
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red, fat, strong, old, colorful
Why Use Adverbs and Adjectives?
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Use adverbs and
adjectives to add
color and flavour to
your writing!
How Do We Find the Right Word?
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A thesaurus!
Using a Thesaurus
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You are looking up words that have the
same or nearly the same meaning as the
word you want to change. These words
are called synonyms
Synonyms
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You need to choose the right synonym
Large and vast are alike but not identical
You can order a large coffee but not a
vast coffee
Choosing the right word depends on
context and the writer’s intended meaning
Do not choose words at random from a
thesaurus
Looking up Synonyms
“I always did well on essay tests. Just put
everything you know on there, maybe you’ll hit
it. And then you get the paper back from the
teacher and she’s written just one word across
the top of the page, “vague.” I thought “vague”
was kind of vague. I’d write underneath it
“unclear,” and send it back. She’d return it to
me, “ambiguous.” I’d send it back to her,
“cloudy.” We’re still corresponding to this day …
“hazy” … “muddy”…”
Jerry Seinfeld (SeinLanguageBantam Books: 1993)
We get out the Thesaurus
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Do we just look the word up?
No, first we need to know how the word is used
in the sentence
Is it a a noun, a verb, an adjective or an adverb?
Is the synonym similar in meaning to what the
author meant?
Why? If you choose the wrong word, the
meaning of the sentence will change.
Let’s Practice
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Read the passage from Joan Bauer’s book,
Hope Was Here. Hope, a self described
word person, is using her thesaurus to
help her work out her feelings.
Can you think of 4 synonyms for the verb
‘hope’?
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Can you think of 4 synonyms for the verb
‘hope’?
Word Choices
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The word choices you make as a writer
will affect how your readers respond to
your ideas
Complete on your handout sheets:
- Practice: Lists of Choices
- Shading the Picture
- A Shade Too Dark
Practice: Lists of Choices
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Identify the part of speech for each word
Use a thesaurus or dictionary to find
synonyms
Shading the Picture
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You must think carefully about slight
differences in meaning of synonyms
Choose words that will change the
meaning as little as possible
Try to keep them the same ‘shade’
A Shade Too Dark
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If you choose the wrong synonym, you
are a ‘shade too dark’
Thesaurus Search
Use a thesaurus to look up synonyms for:
 Night – noun
 Blizzard – noun
 Pure – adjective
 Bad – adjective
 Solitary - adjective
Thesaurus Search Gone Wrong
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The night before, Donald went to bed
fervently wishing for a blizzard the next
day. When he awoke he ran to the
window and was met by pure sunshine.
He searched sky and ground for evidence
of bad weather, but could not find so
much as a solitary hailstone.
Excerpt from
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‘Loser’ – Jerry Spinelli
The night before, Donald went to bed
fervently wishing for a blizzard the next
day. When he awoke he ran to the
window and was met by pure sunshine.
He searched sky and ground for evidence
of bad weather, but could not find so
much as a solitary hailstone.
Writing Weak in Word Choice
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For example, this piece could benefit from words
that appeal to the senses -
Not:
Todd quickly ate a good sandwich.
But rather:
 Todd wolfed down a spicy Italian sausage
sandwich stuffed with Graziano’s sausage and
thick slices of mozzarella cheese.
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Make a Masterpiece!
Make a masterpiece
using words. Think of
words as the paint
and the paper as the
canvas. By choosing
the most colorful and
exciting words your
writing can be a work
of art!
Things to Do
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Insert a piece of loose leaf and make a title page
‘WORD CHOICE’ in your writing notebook
After this put the following sheets:
-Alpha-boxes
-Synonyms for said
-Breathtaking Adjectives
-Boring Word List
Glue in writing prompt due next day
Complete Boring Word list for next day