DICTION:DICTION:The Choice of

WordsThe Choice of

Words

finding the exact word that produces the exact effect that a writer intends.

finding the exact word that produces the exact effect that a writer intends.

What are you trying to do?

What is your purpose?

What are you trying to do?

What is your purpose?

The Three Qualities of effective dictionThe Three Qualities of effective diction

•Appropriateness•Specificity•imagery

•Appropriateness•Specificity•imagery

appropriatenessappropriatenessWhen writers care about Who will

be reading their words and how the reader may react

(when writers write for someone other than themselves)

When writers care about Who will be reading their words and how

the reader may react

(when writers write for someone other than themselves)

Language formality scaleLanguage formality scale

Learned popular colloquial slang

Most formal Least formal

The basic elements of everyday communication

The basic elements of everyday communication

popular(common to the speech of the educated and

the uneducated alike)

• Agree-------------------------------------• Begin--------------------------------------• Clear-------------------------------------• Disagree--------------------------------• End----------------------------------------• Help---------------------------------------• Make easy-----------------------------• Secret-----------------------------------• Think------------------------------------• Wordy----------------------------------

Learned(used more widely by the educated and in

more formal occasions)

Concur--------------------------------------Commence---------------------------------Lucid-------------------------------------------Remonstrate----------------------------Terminate---------------------------------Succor---------------------------------------Facilitate----------------------------------Esoteric-------------------------------------Cogitate------------------------------------Verbose--------------------------------------

colloquialismscolloquialisms

• Writing as friendly conversation• Highly informal• What audience is appropriate for

using such diction?

Examples:Any Contractions, any shortened words, “kind

of”, “like”, “mad” (angry), “yeah”, “Sure” (certainly), “it’s me”

SlangSlang• Least formal—its use is determined by the

audience/occasion

• Satisfies a desire for novelty of expression

• Used by everyone at one time or another

• Shifting the diction to slang may create a humorous effect or the impression of a lack of control over the writing (usually the latter)

specificityspecificity• Specific words refer to uniquely

individual persons, events, or objects• Concrete specific words attract our

senses• Abstract specific words relate to

concepts that are mostly inferred

imageryimagery• One meaning of this term

suggests the pictures (images) that occur in our minds when specific diction is employed

• In another sense, imagery refers to tropes.

Revising dictionRevising diction

• What is your purpose?

• Who is your audience?

• Does the diction used consider each of the above?

• What is your purpose?

• Who is your audience?

• Does the diction used consider each of the above?

Revising dictionRevising dictionvagueness

triteness

jargon

Ineffective imagery

Ineffective imageryIneffective imagery• Test every metaphor, every figure of

speech by seeing the image—if no image appears in your mind—well…

• Mixed metaphors confuse the mental image:

“The bill is mainly a stew of spending on existing programs, whatever their warts may be.” (New York Times)

“So now what we are dealing with is the rubber meeting the road, and instead of biting the bullet on these issues, we just want to punt.” (Chicago Tribune)

“This is awfully weak tea to hang your hat on.” (New York times) “the moment that you walk into the bowels of the armpit of the

cesspool of crime, you immediately cringe.” (Our town, New York)

jargonjargon• The specialized language of a

particular group or profession• Characteristics of jargon

include: 1. abstract, technical words (learned

instead of popular) 2. excessive use of the passive voice 3. wordiness

Examples of Jargon• Computer field: RAM, backup,

lol, gr8, gb• Military: awol, sop, ied• Law enforcement: apb, csi, perp,

clean skin• Common examples: poker face,

ufo, shrink, ballpark figure, on cloud nine

vaguenessvagueness• Similar to ambiguity, a word is

vague when, in context, it conveys more than one meaning

• Vague words belong to a group called “utility words”

• specify, name, clarify the general

TritenessTriteness• Once upon a time a metaphor was

new, fresh, colorful, and apt!• Used countless times over the years

by everyone, the sheen is dulled. The crack of dawn—do your own thing—crystal clear

—good as gold—sly as a fox—lost in thought—commune with nature—it remains to be seen—it is what it is—don’t go there—diamond in the rough

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