Activity: Finding the Right Word

Writing is an amazing skill! First there is the physical thing our hands do to write — whether punching keys on a keyboard or moving a pen about on paper. Then there is the flurry of mental processes that must take place to write. There are memory considerations, grammar concerns, spelling constraints, and concepts concrete and abstract to play with. And as those thoughts sail from mind to form there is the pathway of finding the right word.

Consider:

Say the word “writing” and most people think of a completed publication. But say the word “writing” to writers, and they will likely think of the process of composing. Most writers would agree with novelist E. M. Forster, who wrote, “How can I know what I think until I see what I say?” (Forster, 1927, p. 99). Experienced writers know that the act of writing stimulates thinking.

Purdue University Global Academic Success Center, “Writing to Think“

And to write you must use words. Finding the right word is a skill to develop.

Looking at Words

Have your students work through the following:

What are your favorite words?
What are your least favorite words?
Make a list of both. Then consider what makes them favorites/least favorites.
- What about your favorite words make them favorites?
- What about your least favorite words make them … not favorites?

Try This

Change each word on your favorite word list to a least favorite word with similar meaning.
Change each word on your least favorite word list to a favorite word with similar meaning.
Determine what is different between the two. What changed?
Compare/contrast the two lists — what you started with and what you ended with and the characteristics that make them different.

Words carry meanings and associations. By using words we attempt to convey thoughts to one another. The thoughts can be factoids or fuller descriptions of something. Choosing the right word is important.

Here are a few ways to sharpen this skill.

Why you don’t want to provide a word box.

What happens to your brain when you get to choose a word from a list? You are not evaluating a thought and moving it to sentence form. Instead, you are evaluating a word in isolation, looking at it from a few angles, checking its fit and moving it from choice to placement.

Instead, ask questions. For example:

What is needed to complete the thought? Action, thing, idea, description, etc.
What are some words that show action (or thing, idea, description, etc.)?
Which word you mentioned best fits? Go ahead and have your student place the word. It may not be what he was actually thinking or looking for.
Is there a way to modify the entire sentence to reflect your meaning? Or do you like it as it is?

Using Fill-in-the-Blank or Mad Libs Instead

The beauty of these fun games is that the student is supplying the word. For example:

The batter was ______ to strike. The pitcher stood ______ the ball carelessly. Suddenly, he ______ himself and ______ it like a ______ straight over the plate, so it seemed. The batter ______ ______ but he hit ______.

“Three strikes and out!” ______ the umpire.

Then the winning crowd went ______ . They ______ and they ______ and they ______ and acted, so the losing side thought, like ______.

Live Language Lessons

Mad libs are included in these units:

Use a Graphic Organizer

The idea here is to focus on thinking. It is one option for finding that elusive word when a child is in a less creative mood.

Using Graphic Organizers ~ Plus Resources

Copy Great Writers

I know. Oft repeated. Nevertheless, it is so important. By copying great writing we are applying that writing process mentioned above — just using someone else’s thoughts and words. But once we have done that we can change up their words and make them our own.

Just Write That First Draft

Sometimes it is best to get the thoughts out. Then we can go back and rework the work.

Test the Words

Those with a journalistic background will encourage you to be brief. Don’t include an unnecessary word. And certainly avoid adjectives.

Some writers use adjectives as a way of explaining something that they should show. For example:

It was very hot.

How do I know? How might a person know at a glance that it is hot? What would they feel? A dry, hot wind, or a sticky, wet sweat?

Try This

Write a sentence reflecting a very hot day.

Exercise 1

Take a favorite passage. Start replacing words or phrases. Why do you think the author chose the words or phrases he did?

Perhaps it was this—perhaps it was the look of the island, with its grey, melancholy woods, and wild stone spires, and the surf that we could both see and hear foaming and thundering on the steep beach—at least, although the sun shone bright and hot, and the shore birds were fishing and crying all around us, and you would have thought anyone would have been glad to get to land after being so long at sea, my heart sank, as the saying is, into my boots; and from the first look onward, I hated the very thought of Treasure Island.
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

What atmosphere is Stevenson depicting? What words does he use that bring that atmosphere to the reader?

How might you change this piece to depict a different scene?

Write as though “glad to get to land after being so long at sea.”

Start by changing the description of things:

Grey, melancholy woods.
Wild stone spires.
Surf foaming and thundering.

Another similar exercise is to replace the words in a way that conveys the same atmosphere Stevenson was conveying.

Exercise 2

Tell a story from your own life. You might tell it aloud to someone first (this will help you organize your thoughts). Then write the story on paper.
Read your story out loud. What words can you change to make your meaning more clear? How might you better phrase your work to make it more interesting to the reader?
In addition, look for the following characteristics:
- Every word counts.
- You are showing with your words vs. saying it is so.
- The work is not boring.
- It reads smoothly when read aloud.
- The meaning is clear.

Keep Practicing

Now you have a few tools to work with when choosing the right word. If you want to continue to improve here are a few thoughts taken from Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography:

First he found a piece of writing that he thought was “excellent” and wanted to imitate.

Second, he outlined the article, “making short hints of the sentiment in each sentence.”

Third, he would lay his outlines aside for a few days and then when he came back to them would try to recreate the article by looking only at his outline.

Fourth, he would then compare his creation with that of the original, finding and correcting any faults.

He continued this process over time, adding the exercise of turning tales into verse. Or after forgetting the original tale, turning his verse back into prose.

Franklin also rearranged some of his outlines into a jumbled mess, and then recreated the whole. This process he felt taught him”method in the arrangement of thoughts.”

Eventually he felt he had attained the level at which at times his own writing was actually better than the original!

Learn to Write, Write!

As you can imagine, much of the exercise above involves … finding the right word!

Learn to Write, Write!: A DIY Writer’s Companion
Ready to get started writing? Learn to Write: Write! is your guide to discovering and practicing the art of writing. Cover the basics, such as finding something to write and overcoming fears, to more advanced topics like revising your work and cultivating your voice and style. The book gets out of the way as great writers and their writing encourage you to apply their ideas to your own writing. Put pencil to paper and stretch your abilities as you learn by doing. Learn more.

Additional Resources

Academic Style: Word Choice
Download from Brandeis that most will find helpful.

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