improving word choice
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Improving Word Choice. Why Word Choice is Important. Ideas are rarely new. So when you write, there’s a good chance that what you are presenting has been said before. In order not to bore your audience, you have to make your writing unique and original. But how does one accomplish this? - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Why Word Choice is Important
Ideas are rarely new. So when you write, there’s a good chance
that what you are presenting has been said before. In order not
to bore your audience, you have to make your writing
unique and original. But how does one accomplish this?
Write with style.Quality word choice is significant improving a
to a writer’s style.Clever phrases, powerful verbs, just-right
nouns . . . these lead toa voice all your own, one you will enjoy using
and one that willkeep your audience reading.
Using Powerful VerbsVerbs come in two types: state of being
verbs and actionverbs.
State of being verbs are most often variations on the “to be” verb: is, was, are, were, has been . . . Most other verbs are action verbs, showing someone or something doing. These are the ones you can have fun with: blast, tip-toe, wrench, guzzle, fling, mutate,project, wink, plop, flutter, cascade, sink, yelp and snooze.
Using Powerful VerbsFirst of all, look for ways to use action
verbs over state ofbeing verbs whenever possible.
Original: The teacher is at her desk while the kindergarteners are all over the room.Rewrite: The teacher cowers at her desk while the kindergarteners sprint all over the room.
Using Powerful VerbsSome action verbs are very common and
over used. Replace boring action verbs with ones that
are not onlysnappy, but precise. Consider this
sentence:“No,” she said and walked out of the room.
The verbs are actions verbs, but not very exciting ones.
How about this instead:“No,” she murmured and shuffled out of
the room.
Using Precise NounsThe man walked into the room.
The nouns in the sentence above are vague, general
and unexciting.
The priest walked into the courtroom.Isn’t that better? Strive to use interesting,
precise nouns to describe objects and people.
Using Precise NounsHere’s another example:Original: A dog bounded across the yard,
scaring the group half to death.
Rewrite 1: A Doberman Pincher bounded across the estate,
scaring the vandals half to death.
Rewrite 2: A toy poodle bounded across the Astroturf, scaring the trick-o-treaters half to death.
Using Adjectives
Use adjectives with caution. One mistake of beginning
writers trying to improve their word choice is to go into
“adjective overload.”Here’s an example of what NOT to do:
The lovely, fluffy, wonderful pillow helped me get a peaceful, relaxing and great night’s sleep.
Boomer, our hyper, crazy, big, furry dog, licked my little cousin’s small pink hand until she gave him a treat.
Using Adjectives“Adjective overload” doesn’t just happen when
long stringsof adjectives get thrown into a sentence. Some
writers will only use one adjective per noun, but the problem is when
they use an adjective for EVERY noun.Another example of what NOT to do:
My fantastic friend gave me a wonderful present for my very special day. It was an awesome poster of a cute kitten and an adorable puppy playing. It sure made up for the terrible name she called me on that awful school day last week.
Using Adjectives
If you were gagging on that last example, you tuned into the
fact that many commonly used adjectives are just that –
common and overused – and a bit sickening when used too
heavily. Avoid adjectives such as wonderful, pretty,
lovely, great, awful, terrible and the like. These words
“tell” ratherthan “show” and make for boring reading.
How was theday beautiful? Describe it!
Using AdjectivesSo what DO we do?
Use strong, descriptive adjectives only when they really add
to an idea. Consider lively adjectives such as these:
blistered sun-kissed raspy saturatedsilken
papery bejeweled turbid willfuleerie
gritty catastrophic acrid tatteredhaunting
crystalline redundant soullessvariegated cynical
sinuous unruly sluggish vacuousbitter
discombobulated scaly brazen polished lucid
Using AdjectivesThose listed on the last slide are just a few
examples of hundreds of adjective possibilities. Here
are a few in use:• We followed the sinuous path of the river
through the forest. • Cortez’s bitter conquest of the Mayans
was the beginning Western rule in the Americas.
• Grace’s haunting voice lilted over the airwaves.
• The sluggish clerk scanned our items, grabbing each with scaly hands, which made me reach for the travel-sized bottle of hand lotion displayed in the checkout line.
Using AdverbsWhereas an adjective describes a noun, an
ADVERB describes, who would have guessed it, a
verb. Most adverbs are “ly” words.Again, you want to avoid over using
adverbs, but let’s take a look at a few good examples in action:• The thief stealthy crept down the
museum hallway.• Tirelessly trudging through the mud, the
oxen harnessed to the plow continued their thankless job.
• Superman intuitively sensed the danger.
Creative PhrasingPhrasing is probably the area where you
can have the most creative fun in writing. Creative phrasing
is taking ordinary words and phrasing them
together in a unique, pleasing manner. Look at these words to describe a desert
scene: cactus, sand,windy, hills, arid, sun-baked, blue sky,
expansive, tumbleweed, harsh, unforgiving,
sparse, rocky, rigidUse these some of these words
creatively to create a descriptive picture of a desert scene
(#10 on your notes).
Creative PhrasingHere are some of the combinations I came up
with: • cactus-ridden, sun-baked hills of sand• Expansive tracts of gritty sand gave home
to sedentary cactus and racing tumbleweed
• the sharps winds of the desert lifted sand into the expansive sky
• spikes of cactus rose up into the unerring blue
• a palace of harsh, wind-driven sands and sun-baked rocks
• a arid canvas of sand carpets and cactus and topsy-turvy tumbleweed
• thirsty waves of sand • the fat dollop of a barrel cactus
Creative PhrasingMany times, this just take a little
rearranging of words youalready have.Original: As I drove along the highway, I could
see the summit of Pasachoa off to my left. Having hiked on it, I
know it’s green, andall of its contours make it look like some grabbed
it and twisted it,but today I couldn’t see much because the
windows were fogged up.
Rewrite: The green, twisted summit of Pasachoa slid by to
my left, but I could see little more than a dark splotch
through the veil of fog resting on the windows.
Creative PhrasingHere are a few examples from my own writing.
These arefrom an essay about Christmas lights:
electric holiday frenzyicicle merrimentpsychedelic in-your-face festiveness
From an essay about traveling in Peru:a flurry of confused activitymountains draped in noble robes of snowa makeshift woolen cocoona dark sequined mantle (to describe the
night sky)
Use “Dense” WordsOnce a month is monthly.Something new is novel.People they don’t know are strangers.Something impossible to imagine is
inconceivable.To think about for a long time is to ponder.Throughout the whole year is periodically.Over and over again is redundant or
incessant.Something that doesn’t last long is
fleeting.Refusing to follow directions is obstinate.
Use “Dense” WordsThe previous slide just gives a few
examples of howyou can reduce wordiness and
improve the flow of your sentences.A big vocabulary helps, but is not
necessary. Just pay attention to the words you use and
ask yourself if anything better is available.
Remaining attentive to your writing is the key to improving it!
Words to Avoid
Avoid “like” as a modifier. NO: I was, like, horrified by the situation.YES! I was horrified by the situation.
Avoid “like” as a replacement for said or synonyms.NO: Layla was like, “No way!”YES! Layla shrieked, “No way!”
Words to Avoid (or use in serious moderation)
run thing stuff good bad
went said pretty uglyawful
nice sucks mad sadhappy
get well so
Avoiding Clichés
A cliché is an overused expression. Many clichés are
similes, such as “smokes like a chimney” or “like a
bump on a log.”While clichés are often colorful, they
are alsounoriginal and tired. Any writer can
throw one in, and far too many do, degrading the
quality and art ofthe writing.
Avoiding Clichés More examples:
Couldn’t find his way out of a paper bagEverything is coming up rosesLet the cat out of the bagRaining cats and dogsSafe and soundSnug as a bugKicked the bucketLive and learnNo guts, no gloryFirst and foremost
Avoiding Clichés There are hundreds more clichés than the
ones just listed. How do you spot one in your writing so that
you know toreplace it?
Ask yourself if you’ve heard that before, more than
just once or twice.
If so, it’s probably a cliché.
Avoiding Clichés How do you replace a cliché?
Be creative! Use description. Look at the difference between these two
sentences:Cliché: The weather was awful! It was raining cats and dogs!Creative: Thick rain drops pounded the pavement with force, sending pedestrians running for cover.
Notice how the second sentence is much more interesting
and descriptive? Challenge yourself to, as the joke goes,
avoid clichés like the plague. Har, har, har.
Using the ThesaurusA thesaurus is a lot like a can of paint: it has
the potential tohelp you or cause a lot of harm.Many writers new to the thesaurus make the
mistake of choosing big, academic-sounding words that
they really don’tknow. While synonyms are similar, they are
nuanced enoughthat the word you choose has the potential to
throw off your reader and make you look silly. Plus, many
words have morethan one meaning. If you choose a synonym
for an alternatemeaning to the one you are using, it makes
your sentence soundquite strange.
Using the ThesaurusThe best use of a thesaurus is to find word you
know, but just hadn’t thought of at the moment. For
example, let’ssay you want to describe something a soft – a
voice, hair, theflowers of a petal, skin or music.“Soft” replacements: silky, downy,
velvety, suppleThe words mellifluous and faint can also
replace soft, but only for sounds. Diffused and dim work for
only for light or color. Chances are you know most of these words,
you just might nothave thought of them without the help of a
thesaurus.
Using the ThesaurusI even used the MSWord thesaurus in writing
this Power Point presentation. To remedy my over-use of
the wordinteresting, I looked it up and found many
alternatives –words I know, but just hadn't thought of at
that moment.Interesting: appealing, attractive,
motivating, exciting, fascinating, attention-grabbing, remarkable, note-worthy, catchy
Obviously, not all of these words will work for all
occasions, so choose your words carefully!
Last WordGood word choice does take time and
thought, although itcomes easier the more you practice. Slow
down, consideryour words when you write and revise, and
you will begin tosee a dramatic improvement in the quality
of your writing.
Reading is another great way to help improve your word
choice. Nothing builds a strong vocabulary bank like
reading books!