Crowd-Sourcing a Walking Word Bank

Writers occasionally need words that we do not have or at least cannot think of at the

moment. Finding new words to add to a draft can come from many sources. Students like

experimenting with a walking word bank for one of their poems. On a small card or strip of

paper, students write their name on one side and the central image for their poem at the top of

the other side. A central image should be a common noun that represents the topic or is a

metaphor for the topic. Then, we pass cards to the right several times. Each time, the recipient

tries to add a word that connects in some way to the central image. Students write down

synonyms and antonyms; then, to make the task more expansive, I name literary techniques

like alliteration, assonance, metonymy, synecdoche, hyperbole, and so on. This is a good way

to review terms and elicit creative thinking. The walking word bank was very helpful when I

was trying to write a poem using electricity imagery. From suggestions by the class, I changed

my metaphor from an electrical shock to an illuminated light bulb. When working alone, writers

can consult a book called a Descriptionary (McCutcheon, 1992) that lists words in groups by

theme such as war, geography, automobile, flowers, etc. Finding just the right word choice can

take quite a bit of time and help from friends, but the results are very satisfying to the writer. McCutcheon, M. (1992). Descriptionary: A thematic dictionary. New York: Facts on File.    

Dr. Nancy Mack Multigenre Research Projects: Multifaceted, Multipurpose Writing Assignments

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