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Wordsmith is
written for young people who are just beginning
to explore their experiences, feelings and
responses. The purpose of the book is to develop
confidence in self-expression, first by learning
some basic techniques of effective writing, and
second by discovering that their own experience
contains plenty of material to write about. Some
of the topics that Wordsmith Apprentice
touches upon are addressed more systematically
here. Parts One and Two contain exercises and
short assignments to reinforce the principles
taught. In Part Three, the student moves beyond
exercises into longer assignments, developed
according to an orderly process of thinking,
organizing, writing, evaluating, and re-writing.
Every chapter includes a "Just Imagine" exercise
or assignment, where the student is encouraged
to apply what she has just learned to an
imaginary situation.
PART ONE: WORD GAMES
Nouns
Nouns as a major "building block" of language;
preferring concrete and specific nouns over
general ones; proofreading.
Verbs
Verbs as the other "building block"; action and
linking verbs; preferring strong action verbs
over weak or linking verbs; using verbs to show
emotion.
Adverbs
The function of adverbs; preferring strong verbs
over weak verb/adverb combinations
Adjectives
The function and variety of adjectives; the
difference between descriptive and qualitative
adjectives; over-use of adjectives
Prepositions
The function of prepositions: to turn nouns into
modifiers; the flexibility of prepositional
phrases
Pronouns
How pronouns are used; the pronoun-antecedent
connection; avoiding confusion with pronouns
PART TWO: BUILDING STRONGER SENTENCE
Basic Sentence Structure
Subjects and predicates; fragments
Successful Sentence Construction
Common "weak" constructions and how to avoid
them (particularly "it has" and "there is";
sentence transformation techniques; preferring
active voice over passive
Making Connections
Coordinating conjunctions; subordinating
conjunctions; semi-colons
Combinations
Combining sentences through appositives,
relative pronouns, relative clauses, participles
and participial phrases
PART THREE: NOW WE'RE WRITING!
Exploring Sensory Experience
The importance of the senses in connecting
writer and reader; writing sensory poems
Figures of Speech
What similes, metaphors and personifications
are; how they are used
Special Places
The use of sensory impressions in describing
a place; first steps in revision
Describing a Person
"Framing" a person at a particular time and
place; descriptions of strangers and of people
you know well
Narrative Writing I - Sequence and Detail
Telling events in order; the use of sensory
images and details
Narrative Writing II - Focus
The importance of narrowing thoughts and
impressions to a particular event; finding the
focus and holding it; the difference between
narrative and summary; writing about personal
experiences; advanced revision
Dialogue
What dialogue and how it is indicated; using
dialogue to indicate character traits, add
interest, and move the narrative along; speech
tags and when to use them; interviews; radio
plays
Point of View
First, second and third person; imagining and
including other points of view in personal
narratives
Story
The difference between narrative and plot; basic
story structure; re-interpreting personal
experience as a story; effective opening
sentences and paragraphs
Final assignment: incorporating word
choice, strong sentence constructions, effective
organization, sensory detail, dialogue, focus,
and point of view, shape an incident from your
life into a short story.
APPENDICES: How to Proofread; How to
Revise; Action Verb List; Student examples; Four
Review Quizzes
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