Transcript WordChoice

WriteTraits
Word Choice
Word choice is …
• Using precise nouns – rich & colorful,
– Say what you mean and mean what you say.
• Language that moves and enlightens the
reader
– You want your reader to see the “movie”; to feel
the emotion and cry with you or feel the fear; to
truly understand the point you are trying to make
and agree with you (or disagree).
• I do not choose the right word. I get rid of
the wrong one
– A.E. Houseman
Word Choice Is Choosing …
• Precise nouns (person, place, things, or ideas)
– Specific and distinct
• Active Strong verbs
– Filled with energy, power, action, pizazz!
– Propel, give momentum to sentence
• Vivid Modifiers (adjectives and adverbs)
– The “movie” needs to be 3D with colour and full
sound.
Word Choice Includes …
• Keeping it “Natural”
– Use thesaurus BUT don’t write to impress … you
may say something you don’t mean
• Being Deliberate
– Original but natural
Word Choice is …
• Being remembered by
– Sharing the moment not just the facts and
details
– Catching the reader’s “eye” and make sure
they clearly “see” what you “see” (Show don’t
tell).
– Writing your own unforgettable and quotable
words and phrases (Voice).
Example
• The dog was big and mean.
• A hundred pounds of snarling black fur
launched itself from the porch, straining the
spaghetti thin rope.
Example
• Then I caught the ball in my glove.
• Then I leapt. I flew straightforward with my
arms outstretched, my glove facing up. When
I was at the pinnacle of my flight, the ball
dropped into the palm of my glove and I
dropped like a sack of potatoes on a wet
lawn.
The race in writing is not to the swift, but to the
original.
– William Zinsser
Exercise
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KABOOM!
CRASH!
THUNDERING
ROARING
EARSPLITTING
• LOUD NOISE
SOFTEST OR QUIETEST WORDS
• AS A TEAM LIST 5 OF
THE SOFTEST OR
QUIETEST WORDS
Words Can Convey Sound
A Pillow Feels …
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Fluffy,
puffy,
billowy,
cushiony
Mud Feels …
• AS A TEAM LIST 5
words that describe how
mud feels.
WORDS CONVEY TOUCH
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FLUFFY
BRITTLE
ICY
BUMPY
WHAT IS THAT SMELL?
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POPCORN
ROSES
COOKIES
RICE
BURNT TOAST
GARBAGE
ROTTEN POTATOES
SOUR MILK
• AS A TEAM LIST 5
WORDS THAT
DESCRIBE GOOD
SMELLS
• NOW FIND 5
DISGUSTING SMELLS
WHAT IS THAT TASTE?
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SALTY
CHOCOLATELY
SPICEY
TANGY
• BURNT
• SOUR
• AS A TEAM LIST 5
WORDS THAT
DESCRIBE PLEASANT
TASTES
• AS A TEAM LIST 5
WORDS THAT
DESCRIBE UNPLEASANT
TASTES
WHAT DO YOU SEE?
• Mountainous
• Untamed forest
• Dilapidated cabin
• Use the pictures your
group has been given to
come up with words
that will describe what
you see
• Share these words with
another group and see if
they can guess your
scene.
• Walking
WHAT’S HAPPENING?
• Ways to walk
• with adverb
Tired Words
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said
got
have
run
walk
tell
girl/boy
• happy
• sad
Favourite Words
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dilapidated
exhausted
exhilarating
ghostly
spine-chilling
jovial
• meandering river
• murky water
• shook like a bowl full of
jelly
• blustery
• sinister
Brilliant Word Wall
• Each day of the week we will add a new word
to our Brilliant Word Wall.
• Each team is to come up with one different
word each a week.
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A
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word you like
word that “smells”
word with “taste” or “sound”
tricky word
Danger …
• Slang
• Clichés
• Repetitions