Transcript 8) word choice

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“The difference between the right word
and the almost right word is the
difference between lightning and a
lightning bug.”
Your
Mission,
should
Good Word
you choose to accept
Choice!
it -
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“The difference between the right word
and the almost right word is the
difference between lightning and a
lightning bug.”
The Key to Great Essays!
Establish personality
with your VOICE
Writing is a series of choices.
As you work on a paper, you choose
your topic, your approach, your sources,
and your thesis; when it’s time to write,
you have to choose the words you will use
to express your ideas and decide how you
will arrange those words into sentences
and paragraphs.
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“The difference between the right word
and the almost right word is the
difference between lightning and a
lightning bug.”
As you revise, you make more choices.
Ask yourself:
“Is this really what I mean?”
“Will readers understand this?”
“Does this sound good?”
Finding words that capture your meaning and convey that
meaning to your readers is challenging. When your teachers
write comments like “awkward,” “vague,” or “wordy” on your
essay, they are letting you know that they want you to work
on word choice.
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“The difference between the right word
and the almost right word is the
difference between lightning and a
lightning bug.”
Difficulties with Word Choice aren’t the
only cause of awkwardness, vagueness,
or other problems with clarity.
Sometimes a sentence is
hard to follow because there is a
grammatical problem with it or because
of the syntax (the way the words and
phrases are put together).
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Here’s an example:
“Having finished with studying, the pizza was
quickly eaten.”
This isn’t hard to understand—everybody knows what
studying, pizza, and eating are. The problem is readers
naturally assume that first bit of the sentence “(Having
finished with studying”) goes with the next noun that
follows it—“the pizza”! It doesn’t make sense to imply that
the pizza was studying. What I was actually trying to
express was this:
“Having finished with studying, the students
quickly ate the pizza.”
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Questions to
ask yourself
Am I sure what each word I use really means? Am I
positive, or should I look it up?
Have I found the best word or just settled for the
most obvious, or the easiest, one?
Am I trying too hard to impress my reader?
What’s the easiest way to write this sentence?
(Sometimes it helps to answer this question by trying
it out loud. How would you say it to someone?)
What are the key ideas of my argument?
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Dictionary
Choose 24 new vocabulary words to
incorporate into your writing.
Define each word
List 2 synonyms for each word
List 1 antonym for each word
Write a sentence using the new word.
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Here’s an example:
ENIGMA (noun)
1. Define – one that is puzzling, ambiguous or
inexplicable; a perplexing speech or text; a
riddle.
2. Synonyms – puzzle, riddle, ambiguity
3. Antonym – explicit, certain
4. Sentence – Her unusual actions were an
enigma to me.
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Here’s an example:
ODYSSEY (noun)
1. Define – an extended adventurous voyage or
trip; an intellectual or spiritual quest
2. Synonyms – journey, trek, expedition,
quest
3. Antonym – NONE
4. Sentence – Suddenly, my ordinary summer
vacation became an odyssey.
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Here’s an example:
GLIMPSE
1. Define – (noun) a brief, incomplete view or
look (verb) glimpses, glimpsed, glimpsing – to obtain
a brief, incomplete view or look
2. Synonyms – glance, blink
3. Antonym – study
4. Sentence – As he glimpsed in my direction, the
blood rushed to my face revealing my embarrassment.
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Here’s an example:
LOATHE (verb)
1. Define – to dislike (someone or something)
greatly
2. Synonyms – abhor , hate, despise
3. Antonym – admire, adore, love
4. Sentence – I loathe Mexican food.
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Eliminating
“Dead” Words
Some words in the
English language tend
to be overused and
therefore lose their
power. These are
called “Dead” Words.
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Eliminate “Dead” Words &
Use More Descriptive
Synonyms
Also: too, moreover, besides, as well as,
in addition to
Awesome, Cool: fine, wonderful,
marvelous, fantastic
Scared:
Have to:
Like:
afraid, fearful, terrified, frightened
need to, must
such as, similar to, similarly
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Eliminate “Dead” Words &
Use More Descriptive
Synonyms
Very: extremely, exceedingly, fantastically,
unusually, incredibly, intensely, truly, fully,
especially, shockingly, bitterly,
immeasurably, infinitely, severely, surely,
mightily, powerfully, chiefly
Kid: child, boy, girl, youngster, youth,
student
Eliminate “Dead” Words &
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Use More Descriptive
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Synonyms
Mad: angry, frustrated, furious,
incensed, enraged
Got, Get: received, obtained, attained,
succeed in
Then: next, later, finally, afterward,
meanwhile, soon
Nice: pleasant, charming, fascinating,
captivating, delightful, pleasurable,
pleasing
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Eliminate “Dead” Words &
Use More Descriptive
Synonyms
Good: excellent, exceptional, fine,
marvelous, splendid, superb, wonderful
But: however, moreover, yet, still,
nevertheless, though, although, on
the other hand
Awful: dreadful, alarming, frightful,
terrible, horrid, shocking
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Great:
Guy:
Eliminate “Dead” Words &
Use More Descriptive
Synonyms
wonderful, marvelous, fantastic
man, person, fellow, boy
Funny: amusing, comical, laughable, jovial
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Eliminating
“Dead” Words
Another method to
identify “Dead” Words
and make a list of
appropriate Synonyms
is to make a
Word Web.
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Eliminate
“Dead” Words
Evaluate your writing
Identify words that are commonly used:
a lot
bad
said
good
very
like
really
Replace these words with synonyms
Create Word Webs for
“Dead” Words
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many
portion
bulk
numerous
a lot
bountiful
plentiful
batch
various
abundant
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Create Word Webs for
“Dead” Words
expressed
accounted
mumbled
whispered
screamed
said
announced
mentioned
uttered
articulated
Create Word Webs for
“Dead” Words
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deeply
amply
notably
highly
very
certainly
absolutely
acutely
decidedly
largely
Create Word Webs for
“Dead” Words
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beyond
doubt
actually
assuredly
honestly
genuinely
certainly
really
categorically
admittedly undoubtedly