In Mrs Tilscher’s Class

1. In Mrs Tilscher’s Class Carol Ann Duffy Word choice

2. Writers have to be economical with their words so they need to choose words which give the reader lots of information • For instance – the word ‘shrieked’ gives more detail than ‘shouted’

3. Considering word choice is about thinking beyond the obvious meaning of a word in order to explore what it suggests • If a character leaves through a red door, what is the significance of this colour? • Often words meaning almost the same thing imply quite different things

4. Consider the questions: • Should parents be allowed to smack their children? • Should parents be allowed to strike their children? • The questions are almost the same, but the word 'strike' suggests something more violent and aggressive than 'smack', which has connotations of a more gentle action, a slap rather than a blow

5. How many ways are there to tell the same story?

6. Word choice and bias • Words are very precise building blocks that form the basis for all communicated ideas • People express themselves not only through what they say but also by how they say it • Some words are basic, others are luxuriously flamboyant, some reveal secondary thoughts, others betray hidden emotions

7. Bias, in many forms, is not necessarily explicit in the words that have been used but can be recognized when seen in the fuller context that the words represent • Journalists use bias by manipulating single words in such a way that whole sentences' meanings are subtly changed (and sometimes not so subtly)

8. American Sources such as CNN have labeled the conflict the ‘War In Iraq’ Arab sources such as Dar Al-Hayat regularly call the conflict the ‘War On Iraq’ The following examples are taken from the context of the 2003 conflict in Iraq: What is the effect of changing to word ‘in’ to the word ‘on’?

9. The difference of a single word changes the entire thrust of the military campaign • ‘in’ = fighting dissidents within the political borders of Iraq • ‘on’ = aggression against the entire nation

10. Word choice in writing • Writers use words choice for many different reasons, e.g.: • Atmosphere • Character • Theme • Often these things emerge by looking at word choice in a particular section (or even the whole poem), not just by considering an individual word • The effect is strengthened if it is accumulative

11. Atmosphere - definition • Also called ‘mood’ • It is the emotional feelings inspired by a work • It is created by word choice, dialogue, setting, and description • Often the opening scene in a play or novel establishes an atmosphere appropriate to the theme of the entire work

12. Fill in the blanks to create a different atmosphere • Sara skipped through the sun-dappled woods. Birds sang sweetly from the lush, green trees and the ground felt soft beneath her feet. • Sara _______ through the ____________ woods. Birds ___________________ from the _______________ trees and the ground felt _______ beneath her feet.

15. Word choice and atmosphere • Sara skipped through the sun-dappled woods. Birds sang sweetly from the lush, green trees and the ground felt soft beneath her feet. • Sara crept through the storm-struckwoods. Birds screeched menacingly from the bare, overgrown trees and the ground felt brittle beneath her feet.

16. Exercise • Expand on each of these sentences to make them more vivid and alive: - The house looked rundown - The tree had new buds - The cookies were burnt

17. Write down words that describe these common, everyday, over-used words with words that sound better: - good - fat - happy - bad - hate - tired - love - sad