2011 Joelson Tang

Words and Phrases to Express what you have in mind

Good compositions usually contain words that make the composition look nice to read. It is
like drawing a picture and painting it with beautiful colours. However, the primary purpose of
using beautiful words and phrases is to better express the authors idea and allow the reader
to understand how the author felt about something he/she saw or something that happened.
How a Thesaurus is helpful
A thesaurus gives synonyms. Synonyms are other words whose meanings are related very
closely to a particular word. For example, if we say the truck was huge/big, the reader
might be thinking, of what size is it? Rather, by saying the gargantuan-looking truck
intimidated me as it reminded me how diminutive and powerless I was, it would help the
reader better understand how the author felt. In this case, the synonyms to huge/big is
gargantuan.
So if you can think of a simpler or more common word like huge/big, think of something
better by looking up related words in a Thesaurus!
Word Trees
The WordNet dictionary, published by Princeton University, has added to the idea of using
synonyms. Hypernyms and hyponyms are given for words.
Hypernyms (Superordinates) and Hyponyms (Subordinates)
Examples are:
Hypernym: fall, Hyponym: collapse Hypernym: collapse, Hyponym: stumbled, tumbled
down
Hypernym: happy, Hyponym: gratified, satisfied, delighted, ecstatic, in high spirits
Hypernym: worried, disturbed, anxious, Hyponym: distressed, perturbed, disquieted
Using the right word and phrase at the right time
Strike when the iron is hot! You must take your chances!
Improve on the following phrases:
Her face looked very angry. ____________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
He felt very painful. __________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
He was sick. ________________________________________________________________
2011 Joelson Tang

At your neighbourhood you witnessed this scene. Describe what happened.
Planout:
Ask yourself these questions: Why, What, When, Who, Where and How.
Fill in as many details as you can think of surrounding the scene, as well as how you felt.
E.g. Blood oozed out of his severed neck, then came out in splatters as the attackers knives
severely perforated him. (Answers What, Why and How)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-