Transcript DIDLS - TCAPS Moodle

D I D L S
Diction Imagery Detail Language Syntax
Tips for Effective Pieces
Creative Writing
Trimester 2
D – Diction
• What kinds of words does the author use?
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Colloquial- meet the audience on their level
Connotative – let the reader decide
Old fashioned – formal
Concrete
Abstract - elusive
Monosyllabic vs. “6 point words”
Negative words vs. positive words? (unintelligent vs.
zipperhead)
• Ask yourself, WHY?! What is the purpose of
using this word vs. that word?
Diction Examples:
To laugh = to guffaw, to chuckle, to titter, to
giggle, to cackle, to snicker, to roar
House: home, hut, shack, mansion, cabin,
chalet, abode, dwelling, shanty, residence
I - Imagery
• What do you do to engage the audience through
appealing to the senses?
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5 Senses (taste, touch, smell, sound, sight)
Alliteration
Hyperbole
All should have a
Oxymoron
sensory purpose
Onomatopoeia
that evokes
Metaphor
something in the
Personification
audience
Analogy
D – Detail/Description
• How specific are you with what you’re trying to
describe or convey?
– Are you overt and concrete?
– Are you covert and abstract? This is okay, when used
on purpose and with meaning  mysterious
Example: When describing a battlefield…
“Many men died that day” VS. “Twenty-six carcasses
began rotting that November afternoon”
L – Language  tone
• What words do you use in the piece as a whole
(where as diction is word-specific)
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Scholarly  persnickety
Jargon  make assumptions about your audience
Poetic
Sensuous
Vulgar
Ornate
Clinical
S – Syntax
• Sentence Structure with purpose
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Length (short, choppy VS. long, sensuous)
Variety – 10+ pages of ONE sentence
Patterns
Repetitions (of words or sentence structure)
Sentence starters
Rhetorical Questions (Engage the audience)
A rhyme scheme  sensuous, poetic
DIDLS  So What…?
• Use these techniques in combination with
the Rhetorical Triangle to write authentic
pieces that convey emotion and appeal to
your selected audience.