Word Choice

“Say all you have to say in the fewest possible words, or your reader will be sure to skip them; and in the plainest possible words or he will certainly misunderstand them.”

-John Ruskin

What do you think of when you hear “word choice”

What makes “good” word choice?

• 5 – I picked just the right words to express my ideas and feelings.• Every word seems exactly right: specific and accurate.• The words create pictures that linger in your mind.• Colorful, fresh and snappy – yet nothing’s overdone.• Striking words and phrases catch your eye.• Lively verbs, precise nouns, and descriptive modifiers.• Accurate and precise: that’s me!

• 3 – It might not tweak your imagination, but hey – it gets the • message across.• Words are adequate and correct, but not very original.• My words communicate, but they seldom create pictures in your mind.• I might have over-utilized my thesaurus…• I used quite a few passive verbs and everyday nouns, adjectives, and adverbs.• I didn’t revise much for word choice. What you see if pretty much the first thing that popped into

my head.• It’s functional, with only a moment or two of sparkle.

• 1 – My reader is likely to ask, “Huh?”• I’m a victim of vague wording and fuzzy phrasing. • It’s hard to picture what I’m talking about.• Maybe I misused a word or two…• My vocabulary is limited and/or I’ve misused words.• Some redundant words and phrases might be redundant; too many clichés.• The words just don’t work in this piece.

5 – I picked just the right words to

express my ideas and feelings.• Every word seems exactly right: specific and

accurate.• The words create pictures that linger in your

mind.• Colorful, fresh and snappy – yet nothing’s

overdone.• Striking words and phrases catch your eye.• Lively verbs, precise nouns, and descriptive

modifiers.• Accurate and precise: that’s me!

3 – It might not tweak your imagination, but hey – it gets the message across.

• Words are adequate and correct, but not very original.• My words communicate, but they seldom create pictures

in your mind.• I might have over-utilized my thesaurus…• I used quite a few passive verbs and everyday nouns,

adjectives, and adverbs.• I didn’t revise much for word choice. What you see if

pretty much the first thing that popped into my head.• It’s functional, with only a moment or two of sparkle.

1 – My reader is likely to ask, “Huh?”

• I’m a victim of vague wording and fuzzy phrasing.

• It’s hard to picture what I’m talking about.• Maybe I misused a word or two…• My vocabulary is limited and/or I’ve misused

words.• Some redundant words and phrases might be

redundant; too many clichés.• The words just don’t work in this piece.

Mentor Text What can you learn

from published authors about word choice?

What words help create a picture in your mind?

My Trip to the River This story happened a few years ago, when I was smaller. It was a cold day, so my mom

bundled up my brother and I. That was usual.

My family (including me), and some of my mom's friends went on a trip to the river. I can't remember what my mom's friends name's were.

Malcolm, my brother, was bored, so he decided to pick on me. You know how brothers are.

We road in a boat. It was my first time riding in a boat. I didn't get to ride in boat's that often. Malcolm was teasing me about the boat tipping. Then, my mom dropped the paddle. She got it back though.

We ate, and then headed on up the trail that led to the truck.

Malcolm reached out for my hat and missed. It fell in the river. He reached out to pick it up as it started to drift away. He reached a little further. Malcolm got ahold of it.

Splash! He fell in. My brother started to panic.

Help I'm drowning! he said. Everyone just stood there.

One of my mom's friends told him to stand up if he wanted to live. He found out the water was only up to his knees. I lauged. He didn't think it was funny!

I may be quiet but I listen loud On my shirt I would put: “I may be quiet but I listen very loud.”

As many people know I am a quiet person. Not many people know me very well. Several reasons for this are: I don’t need to hear my voice all the time to know I’m alive. I feel and breathe, thus I know I’m around. Another reason is I don’t need to monopolize conversations to get attention, or to interrupt people all the time so I can be the center of attention—I know who I am, what I need and how to get it. I don’t need to hurt others to build myself up.

But I do hear well, I hear others cutting “friends” of theirs apart, saying unkind things just to make themselves seem better. I hear people’s feelings being hurt by others ignoring them. I hear when no one speaks to me because I choose to be more considerate of others and not to follow the crowd. I hear tears on faces, because they aren’t accepted by some because they don’t have the right looks, the right clothes, or they are not cool enough to be popular. I hear the loneliness of people sitting in the folding chairs at a school dance because they are not loud enough to be heard.

I plan on listening to my children like my own parents listen to me. Surprisingly…they were the ones that taught me to listen.

Yellow Mama When I was one year old we moved to a ranch about seven miles from the highway.

After we arrived and were fairly well settled we found out there were some cats living on the ranch too. Yellow Mama was one of them. She was a yellow cat with a white bib.

Yellow Mama was a gentle cat, in the years that followed she had at least five batches of kittens. She cared for them all, they usually looked like her, but not always. Sometimes she had six kittens in one batch!

When I was seven years old Yellow Mama was still with us. During the summer, Kirk, my brother who was nine, and I decided we wanted to climb a big rock on the hillside near our house. We were almost to the rock when I saw poor Yellow Mama lying near a brush, dead. I told Kirk to come see what had happened.

We were both very sad, we had loved her very much. We decided not to climb the rock, I was crying. When we were running back to the house, mom heard me crying and came out to see if I was hurt. We told her what had happened and then went into the house.

When dad came home we told him. The next day he buried Yellow Mama. Said it looked like a snake or something had bitten her neck.

I will never forget Yellow Mama. I am eleven years old and still think about how nice and kind she was, she had been a good cat.

The End

What are student tips for word choice? Find descriptive words that paint a picture

in your mind. Try unusual yet appropriate words to

connect with the reader. Use verbs to create an active, energetic

voice. Choose precise words rather than the first

word that pops into your mind. Select words and phrases that are accurate. Use everyday words and phrases to make

your writing sound real.

VERB POWER: CHANGE ONLY THE WORD: went

Phil went down the road

Make Phil seem… Very happy In a hurry Worried Terrified Exhausted from a tough day at school Very angry

Time for YOU… You wrote about “Your Favorite Place” Now, think about word choice.

Underline verbs in your writing What verbs will enhance your writing

Think active voice Did you use general words (things,

stuff…) Make those nouns specific

Remember – paint a picture with words

Postcard Activity Describe the

postcard you received so somebody could identify it.

Do not put a number on it!

Do NOT let anybody else see it.

Word Choice Activity Describe

something that happened last night without using the words:

I because

the and

Dawn Find the verbs…

Ardor: with great warmth or passion

Let’s brainstorm words you can use for your study of ______

Create an ABC chart. Fold paper into 32 squares. Put a letter of the alphabet in each square. Find a word that you might use in your

study of ______ Use this resource to write your book. Remember, powerful VERBS will create a

picture in your reader’s mind.