!

"#$ &'"(&)
PRACTICE FOR:
Using action verbs
Using descriptive adjectives
Using specific words
More AcLlon!
A !"#$ ls a word LhaL descrlbes an acLlon. Some verbs are vague, Lhey don'L help you see Lhe
acLlon clearly. Speclflc verbs have more acLlon, Lhey Lell you exacLly whaL ls happenlng. 1hls
acLlvlLy wlll help you Lhlnk of verbs LhaL show more acLlon.
A. Above each underllned verb, wrlLe a verb LhaL shows more acLlon. 1he flrsL ls done as
an example.
&'#()*&
+
1. !eannle goes Lo Lhe flnlsh llne and wlns Lhe race.
2. uwlghL goes slowly down Lhe hall.
3. !an goes, lL's your Lurn Lo wash Lhe dlshes!"
4. Llz angrlly Look her dlary from her broLher.
3. Cscar carefully Look hls newborn baby Lo hls proud wlfe.
6. Sam Look hls moLher Lo her blrLhday parLy.
7. 8on sald lnLo SLeve's ear, uon'L Lell her!"
8. ShuL Lhe door!" sald Lhe angry chlld.
9. l'm so happy," Lhe wlnner sald as she held up her Lrophy.
10. Sally makes her own cloLhes from her own paLLerns.
11. 1hls oven makes a perfecL cake all Lhe Llme.
12. 8lo makes hlmself run Lwo mlles every day.

8. llnd Lhe verbs ln Lhls sLory and underllne Lhe ones you Lhlnk are vague. Cver Lhose
verbs, wrlLe oLher verbs LhaL show more acLlon.
Cllff ls Laklng uenlse for a rlde ln hls new car. Pe moves fasL down Lhe
hlghway. Suddenly uenlse says, Look ouL!" A Lruck moves lnLo Lhelr lane, rlghL ln
fronL of Lhem. Cllff puL hls fooL on Lhe brake - hard. 1he car goes flrsL Lo Lhe rlghL,
Lhen Lo Lhe lefL. uon'L use Lhe brake!" uenlse says. Cllff Lakes hls fooL off Lhe brake
and geLs conLrol of Lhe car. We're safe," Cllff goes Lo uenlse.
lnLeresLlng Ad[ecLlves
An a,-".*(!"& ls a word LhaL descrlbes a noun. (nouns are words for Lhlngs such as people,
anlmals, places, ldeas, eLc.) Ad[ecLlves LhaL are speclflc, glve lnformaLlon. 1hey can make your
wrlLlng come allve. 1hls acLlvlLy wlll help you Lhlnk of lnLeresLlng ad[ecLlves when you wrlLe.
A. Above each underlined adjective, write another adjective that gives more information.
The first is done as an example.
loyal
j
1. The good fans cheered the winning team.

2. The produce market is selling nice tomatoes today.

3. The good salesperson won a good prize for having a good sales record.

4. The bad driver made a bad decision when he went the wrong way.

5. In the last few seconds, the good basketball player made a good shot.

6. Ms. Pleasac would like a good job in a good office.

7. Jay looked cool because he was wearing his neat jacket.

8. It was a nice semester for Tom because he earned nice grades all Bs and Cs.

9. Voyager II made a nice discovery about Neptunes rings.

10. Roy took Janet out for a nice dinner for their anniversary.

11. The choir sang a good song during their concert.

12. The two friends had a bad argument and didnt talk to each other for weeks.

13. The babysitter got a bad headache from taking care of the bad children.
uslng Words 1haL Are More uescrlpLlve
Some descrlpLlve words are used so ofLen or can have so many dlfferenL meanlngs LhaL Lhey do noL glve
exacL descrlpLlons. 1hese words usually can be replaced wlLh !"#$#"%! LhaL are more exacL.
-use your own vocabulary, a Lhesaurus, or a dlcLlonary Lo replace each underllned word wlLh a more
&'()*!( !"#$#"%.

1. We had such a (nlce) ___________________________ Llme ln Lhe mounLalns.
2. Lveryone admlred her (cuLe) ___________________________ dress.
3. She was such a (good) ________________________________ worker LhaL she had many [ob
offers.
4. 1hose chlldren are so (bad) _____________________________LhaL baby-slLLers never reLurn.
3. Pe (sald) _______________________ Lo Lhe operaLor LhaL Lhe house was on flre.
6. Seelng Lhe car accldenL was a (bad) _________________________ experlence.
7. We were (happy) ______________________ Lo see Lhe glfLs under Lhe ChrlsLmas Lree.
8. Pls parenLs were (sad) _____________________ Lo see Lhe poor reporL card.
9. We had a really (greaL) ________________________ parLy ln Lhe park.
10. 1he (preLLy) _______________________ sunseL made us very happy.
11. 1he chlldren (wenL) _______________________ lnLo Lhe house Lo see Lhe new puppy.
12. My faLher llked my (nlce) __________________________ ldea very much.
13. 1he lce cream was so (good) ________________________ LhaL we asked for more.
14. 1he man (sald) ___________________ LhaL he was very upseL.
13. 1he muddy dog (came) _____________________ Lhrough Lhe open door.
16. 1he brlde looked (preLLy, ___________________ ln her weddlng dress.
17. 1he man (ran) __________________ Lo Lhe burnlng house as fasL as he could Lo see lf anyone
was ln Lhe house.
Cood SenLences
Look aL Lhe followlng examples. Pow are Lhey dlfferenL from each oLher? Pow have Lhe words
ln dark Lype been changed?
l. Luls works ln a very %$-('# facLory. 1he bulldlng ls new and modern, and lL has
all Lhe mosL %$-('# equlpmenL.
ll. Luls works ln a very modern facLory. 1he bulldlng ls new, and lL has all Lhe mosL
up-Lo-daLe equlpmenL.
SomeLlmes you repeaL lndlvldual words unnecessarlly, especlally when you are addlng
supporLlng deLalls Lo Lhe maln ldea. lf your maln ldea ls LhaL Lhe facLory ls modern, you wanL
Lhe deLalls Lo Lell how LhaL Lhe facLory ls modern. 1he Lrlck ls noL Lo keep repeaLlng Lhe word
!"#$%&/ SomeLlmes you can Lake lL ouL alLogeLher. SomeLlmes you need Lo flnd a '(&"&(! as
a subsLlLuLe.
.*'()/*$#!0 8ewrlLe each group of senLences Lo avold repeaLlng words. 8emember LhaL you
can elLher Lake ouL a repeaLed word or flnd a synonym Lo use lnsLead. 1here ls more Lhan one
way Lo rewrlLe each lLem.
1. l remember AugusL 14 besL of all because lL was a perfecL day. 1he weaLher was sunny and
perfecL, and Lhe beach looked perfecL as we sLepped onLo Lhe sand.
________________________________________________________________________
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2. A Lerrlble dlsasLer occurred. lL ls hard Lo lmaglne anyLhlng more Lerrlble. 8oberL had made a
Lerrlble mlsLake.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
3. nexL year wlll be very lmporLanL. lL wlll be fllled wlLh lmporLanL declslons. 1he lmporLanL sLeps l
Lake Lhen wlll affecL Lhe resL of my llfe.
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________________________________________________________________________
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4. 1hls arLlcle conLalns good ldeas for savlng money. lL explalns a good, easy way Lo flnd bargalns
when you shop. lL also has some good Llps on puLLlng your money Lo work for you.
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________________________________________________________________________
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racLlce Chooslng Speclflc Words
.*'()/*$#!0 Some words ln Lhese drafLs are vague. underllne Lhose words. 1hen revlse Lhe
drafLs: Cross ouL Lhe vague words and wrlLe speclflc words above Lhem. When you are flnlshed,
wrlLe a clean copy of each revlsed drafL.

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l am golng for Lhe [ob of sLock clerk LhaL you Lold abouL ln Lhe paper. l Lhlnk l
would be greaL aL Lhe [ob because l have greaL experlence. l Look wood shop ln
hlgh school and lL was my besL Lhlng. l dld a parL-Llme [ob as a sLock clerk ln a
supermarkeL. l also helped ouL ln my faLher's sLore. l have greaL work hablLs. l
am responslble and cooperaLlve. l can glve you greaL references. l hope you wlll
glve me Lhe [ob. ?ou can call me aL 333-4870.

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(A)*/*#9 5#- 7*<(- */ @('" %?)42
1he movle l saw was called 1he 8ug. l LhoughL lL was someLhlng. lL was abouL a
dude LhaL was welrd. Pe was a sclence person or someLhlng. Pe dld Lhlngs wlLh
bugs and sLuff. Pe bullL a machlne LhaL had x-rays or someLhlng and zapped Lhe
bugs. 1hey goL welrd. Cne day he had an accldenL and he zapped hlmself. Pe
Lurned lnLo a glanL bug. lL was welrd. Pe wenL around Lhe clLy and aLLacked
Lhlngs. 1he army wlped hlm ouL. 1he movle was Loo much. l Lhlnk everybody
should check lL ouL.