successful writing book 1 todays lecture is an introductory one

Successful Writing Successful Writing Book 1Book 1

Today’s lecture is an introductory Today’s lecture is an introductory one one

Coverage for TodayCoverage for Today

• 1. Who is this guy?

• 2. The Importance of Writing

• 3. What should I do to become a good writer?

• 4. About the book

• 5. Syllabus

• 6. Lecture One Diction

Who is this guy?Who is this guy?

• 姜东• 667003

• [email protected]

• I love English and teaching writing

The Importance of WritingThe Importance of Writing• 1. Highest Level of Language Learning

• 2. Contributes to the way we learn and reinforce what we have learned

• 3. Leads to personal growth

• 4. Good writing leads to success in college and career.

• Back

To Become a Good WriterTo Become a Good Writer

• Know the right things to do, and DO IT!!!• Extensive Reading • Emulation (imitation) • Thinking • Writing • They should be done simultaneously.•

• Back

About Book OneAbout Book One

• Not a writing instruction textbook; starting point. But important

• It will help you solve the common problems you commit or meet in your writing and lay a solid foundation of becoming a good writer.

• Two focuses: Diction & Sentence Building

Back

Syllabus Syllabus

• I. 13 lectures (12 book-based, 3 or 4 about the TEM4)

• II. Intended coverage of the book: all plus

other materials

• III. Assignments (I will grade) + work (not

grade)+ the exercises

SyllabusSyllabus

• IV. Printouts available and to work on.

• V. Units of Book 1 may not be followed

accordingly.

• VI. About the Final: book content + ppt +

printouts account for 50%; an essay

and a note (50%)

Suggested References Suggested References • Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English Publisher: Foreign language Teaching and Research Press• Collins Co-build Advanced Learner's English

Dictionary Publisher: Foreign language Teaching and Research Press• Oxford Collocations for Students of English Publisher: Foreign language Teaching and Research Press• A good thesaurus is preferable.

Suggested On-line ResourcesSuggested On-line Resources• http://owl.english.purdue.edu •

• On-line Dictionaries • www.answers.com• www.thefreedictionary.com

• Pen pal sites:• www.epals.com • www.eslcafe.com

Do’s and Don’ts Do’s and Don’ts

• Hand in the assignment in time; • Don’t plagiarize, or you’ll regret.• Make full preparation before going into the

classroom (thinking about the topic, reading relevant books or consulting other resources, forming questions)

• Challenge me if you want to and have questions. I am not afraid of admitting my ignorance.

• Work hard, harder and hardest to write well, better and best.

Lecture One DictionLecture One Diction

Choice and use of words in Choice and use of words in speech or writing.speech or writing.

Intro to DictionIntro to Diction

• Words -----the building blocks of writing----the basics

• However, if you don’t know how to choose the right word, where to use it despite your large vocabulary, you’ll risk misrepresentation of your message.

• For example: Intimate friends； fast; cute


• Diction ------a complex system of selecting and using words.

• This lecture is just to give us a brief and introductory glimpse of it.

• Divided into following sections.


Dictionary

Preciseness conciseness

Levels

Meanings

Diction

Meanings Meanings • The meaning of word is multi-faceted-----Words that refe

r to the same thing always have different meanings; and the same word in different contexts may vary tremendously in meaning.

• 爸爸• 爹• 父亲• 家父• 老不死的• 李刚• Father, dad, daddy, papa, the old man• Who uses which at what time and where, and what is rel

ationship?

Four Types of Meanings Four Types of Meanings

• Denotation

• Connotation

• Affective (attitude)

• Collocation

Denotation & ConnotationDenotation & Connotation

• Denotation: A word’s denotation is what it literally means, as defined by the dictionary

• Connotation: A word’s connotation is the feeling or idea implied or suggested by it.

•

Example

• Official, statesman, politician


Connotation is cultural-specific

• Magpie---- garrulous, nagging

• Owl---------- calm, wise


What are the connotations for these words: country, nation, state, land

• country ---- refers to an area of land and its population and government. E.g. an island country; neighboring countries In area China is the third largest country in the world.

• nation ---- the people of a country. E.g. a peace-loving nation; the awakening nations of Africa

• state ---- the government or political organization of a country. E.g. state organs; state-owned enterprises

• land ---- more literary and emotive China is my native land.


big, large, huge

• big ---- a common word

• large ---- slightly more formal and may be used to describe things that are unusually big, so it is more emphatic than big

• huge ---- more literary than these two words, means extremely large and is more emphatic than large

• Which can modify “success”, “problem”, “number”, “amount”?


• Work with your partner and others on P3-2

• Work alone on 3 and below

• 1. After all, he is just a boy.

• 2. Teachers are human.

Affective (Attitude)Affective (Attitude)

• Like connotation, the choice of diction contributes to the attitude.

• Words of this kind are also called slanted, or loaded words.

• Some words contain affective load themselves. For example, Coward, cheat, love, hope; others sometimes obtain it according to their context: Money-loving, communism---the red thread or the communist menace


Types of Attitudes:

• Favorable (laudatory), unfavorable (derogatory) and neutral: Similarly, the three kinds of meanings are conditional, not absolute.


Which is laudatory, derogatory and neutral?• mob gathering crowd• old person senior citizen fossil• naked nude unclothed• unique unusual bizarre• bookworm student scholar• writer literary artist hack• copy replica counterfeit

CollocationCollocation

• The meaning a word has in a set combination with other words.

• E.g. a suspicious woman---- a suspicious character. Tremble and quiver: with fear or with excitement.

• Collocation has long been a big problem for Chinese learners.

• Advice: Be on the alert and accumulate.

Meaning and ContextMeaning and Context

Meaning is context-bound.• I’ll give you a ring.• Perfect!• Neighbor: neutral• Here is a joke: Teacher: How do you spell the word “neighbour”, Tom? Tom: N-E-I-G-H-B-O-U-R. Teacher: Yes. And what does it mean? Tom: It’s the woman that comes to borrow things on Sundays.

False FriendsFalse Friends

Words that are misused because of the surface meanings

• 老闺女• 好容易 ; 好不容易• Sweet water• Guinea pig• Dry goods• Thick-faced, thin-faced

False FriendsFalse Friends• To best one’s opponent; to worst one’s

opponent• Unloosen; unfasten• Valuable ; invaluable • Flammable; inflammable• Shameful; shameless• A good scare; a bad scare• Inheritable; heritable• Slim chance; a fat chance

In short, English Is a Crazy Language

Grammar Grammar

• Do it on your own.


• 1. Review what we went through last time and do the exercises provided in the book.

• 2. Levels of Diction

• 3. Conciseness

Levels of DictionLevels of Diction

Pop Quiz• Would you speak to your friends in the same wa

y as to your parents, teachers or strangers?• Scenario: Your friend did you a favor. To show y

our thankfulness, you would say “Thanks Frank” or “I really appreciate your help, Mr.Smith”?

• Why should we be concerned about levels of diction.

• Appropriateness

Levels of Diction (Styles)Levels of Diction (Styles)

Different audiences and situations call for different levels of diction.

Non-standard language (informal)

• Slang

• Colloquial

Standard (general)

Formal diction

Levels of DictionLevels of Diction

• Standard – language grammatically correct, but conversational.

• Formal diction–language appropriate for more formal occasions; often more abstract and more figurative.

Levels of Diction Levels of Levels of Diction Levels of DictionDiction

Non-standard (informal) Colloquial – are nonstandard, and

language of everyday speech. Contractions, clipped forms, placeholders, utility words, verbal phrase.

• Slang – refers to recently coined words; slang is ephemeral and exclusive (understandable to a specific group of people)

ColloquialColloquial

• Contractions

• Clipped forms： exam, intro., doc., prof.

• Placeholders : kind of, you know

• Utility words: great, nice, good

• Verbal phrase:

• get across= communicate, come up with=find, check out=investigate

SlangSlang

• A-yo: "What' up?" "Hey!" • Freaky: weird • Jerk: idiot• Pissed off: mad, irritated • Suck: to be annoying

A Word of WarningA Word of Warning

• Avoid non-standard language in your college writing unless you want to give your writing a strong conversational tone.

Classroom Activities & ChinglishClassroom Activities & Chinglish

• P 18-21

ConcisenessConcisenessCut out all unnecessary, redundant, wordy expressions. Conciseness is a virtue and the soul of wit.

because of the fact that because• in spite of the fact that although

• Mary is a girl who is beautiful.• He said he would draft a plan which was appropriate to his client’s

needs.

• Mary is a beautiful girl. • He said he would draft a plan appropriate to his client’s needs.

ConcisenessConciseness

• Watch for those words that are just needless, only taking up space---adding nothing to meaning.

• Emission allowances are issued every year on an annual basis.

• Open wells in hard-rock formations are usually rectangular in shape.

• A wide variety of inhaled corticosteroids are now currently available.


1. Eliminate unnecessary determiners and modifiers

Wordy• Any particular type of dessert is fine with me.• Balancing the budget by Friday is an

impossibility without some kind of extra help.

More Concise • Any dessert is fine with me.• Balancing the budget by Friday is impossible

without extra help.


2. Change phrases into single words Wordy • The employee with ambition...• The department showing the best

performance... More Concise• The ambitious employee...• The best-performing department...


3. Change unnecessary that, who, and which clauses into phrases

Wordy • The report, which was released recently...• All applicants who are interested in the job

must...

More Concise • The recently released report...• All job applicants must...


4. Avoid overusing expletives(语助词 ) at the beginning of sentences

Wordy • It is the governor who signs or vetoes bills.• There are four rules that should be observed ...

More Concise • The governor signs or vetoes bills.• Four rules should be observed:...


Some familiar expressions that are Deadwood

• I feel • I think • It seems to me • All things considered • Without a doubt • It is important to note • In my opinion • The reason why


Avoid Some Common Adverbs Denoting Degree

• Basically • Very • Definitely • Quite • Really • Simply


• Review what we discussed last time and do the exercises in the book.

• Preciseness

• Dictionary Use

• Note-writing (if we have the time)

What Is Wrong with the Following?What Is Wrong with the Following?

• something smells fishy, big shot, chick

• It’s cool.

• TV, dorm

• He is sort of pathetic.

• There are many farmers in the area who are planning to attend the meeting which is scheduled for next Friday.

• Many area farmers plan to attend next Friday's meeting.

• He dropped out of school on account of the fact that it was necessary for him to help support his family.

• He dropped out of school because he needed to help support his family.

PrecisenessPreciseness

• A way to guarantee a successful writing.

• Preciseness in word use can interest your audience, inspire their imagination, which makes your writing worthy.

General and SpecificGeneral and Specific

• Professionals, for instance, is more general than scientists, doctors, teachers, lawyers, journalists, etc., all of which are more specific.

• "When the officer ran past the gate, the dog turned on him" is vague compared with "The officer sprinted past the gate when the Chihuahua turned on him.“

• He stunned me agape: His eyes protruded like headlights of a tractor, scanning me head to toe; the scarred face, when he was opening his disproportionately thick lipped mouth, was distorted as if it was stretched by two strong hands on both cheeks.

General and Specific(1)General and Specific(1)

GENERAL

a good man

SPECIFIC

kind, honest, just, generous, sympathetic, warm-hearted, selfless, honorable

General and Specific(3)General and Specific(3)

GENERAL

laugh

SPECIFIC

smile, grin, beam, giggle, titter, chuckle, guffaw, chortle


• They seem to make the reader see, hear, or feel what the writer wishes to describe.

• Don’t tell your reader what it is.

• SHOW them !!!


• General

• affection

• sorrow

• violence

• happiness

•Specific• kiss, embrace

• weep, silent

• punch, shove

• smile

General and SpecificGeneral and Specific• 1. I have a tool in my hand.• I have an axe in my hand.

• 2. A man is walking down the street.• A man is strolling down the street.

• 3. That was a very wonderful movie.• That was a very instructive movie.


• On a fine afternoon in New York, I got into a taxi. From the driver’s expression and the way he slammed in his gears, I could tell that he was upset. I asked him what the trouble was. “I’ve got good reason to be sore,” he growled. “One of my fares left a wallet in my cab this morning. Nearly three hundred bucks in it. I spent more than an hour trying to trace the guy. Finally I found him at his hotel. He took the wallet without a word and glared at me as though I’d meant to steal it”

“He didn’t give you a reward?” I exclaimed. “Not a cent. But it wasn’t the dough I wanted…” he fumbl

ed, then exploded. “If the guy had only said something…”

General and SpecificGeneral and Specific• It used to be clean and clear, and teeming with water

creatures- frogs, carps, shrimps, crabs, and those we kids

couldn't name but were so happy with when we were swimming in it. It was a summer paradise, our kingdom where there were no homework, no dos and don'ts from parents. We, boys mostly of my age, would rush to the bank, got undressed (sometimes naked if there was no sight of the opposite sex), and with a string of loud splashes all were in it and in a split second floated up flashing our white-toothed, happy smile. Tired of swimming? Drifting along on our DIY rafts would, beyond any doubt, give rise to a run of deafening Wows. Of course, it's a river, and it was. A river can't not be called a river if there are no longer care-free children playing with a roar of laughter; a river can't not be called a river if there is no sign of life.

Use of DictionaryUse of Dictionary

Word Division• Do you know? Color , withdraw• col·or, with·drawLabels• BrE, AmE, fml, infml, old use, not polite, taboo, s

poken, literary, written.

• Etymology---a word’s history, its evolution over the years.

• Synonyms & Antonyms---use of word processor

Assignment Assignment • Printouts ----The Connotative Power of Wo

rds, Exercise on word use（ hand in on Sept. 19th) & Description

• Next time---- preciseness and note-writing.

• Note-writing: hand in next time we meet. 1. You missed a professor’s lecture on a subject you are interested in. Write him or her a note to see if you can get the handouts for the lecture. (I will grade) 2. you broke your friend’s favorite CD and write a note to make a apology.

successful writing book 1 todays lecture is an introductory one

Documents

diction slide

teaching writing slide

cute slide

politician slide

wise slide

words connotation

diction words

words denotation