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“The Case for Short Words”

Introduction

1. Inform the students that language is arbitrary and writers choose words

freely. Many students think that their writing becomes more impressive when

they use highfalutin, ornate, polysyllabic words, and complicated syntax.

Simple language and have greater impact on the audience, according to

some scholars.

2. Ask the students how they choose words when they write their compositions.

Do they use a dictionary or a thesaurus? What kind of words do they prefer?

3. Ask their bases for their reference.

4. Ask the students to comment on the following ending lines from the famous

poem “Ulysses” by Alfred Lord Tennyson.

“Made weak by time and fate

But strong in will

To strive, to seek, to find,

and not to yield.”

The same idea can be expressed through similar expressions:

Alternative Expression

weakened

strong-willed

struggle

discover
unyielding

Original Text

made weak

strong in will

strive

find

not to yield

Call their attention to the influence of rhythm (i.e., the succession of stressed

and unstressed syllables), brevity, and syntactic structures, specifically parallelism,

or the poet’s choice.

Give the class these last two lines of William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet XVIII”:

Ask them to react to these verses.

So long as men can breathe and eyes can see,

So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

Lesson Proper

1. What is the proposition of this selection?

2. Ask the students to prepare a list of the reasons given in the selection for

using short words.

3. Encourage the students to express their stand on the issue of using short

words whenever possible.

Concluding Activity

1. Let the students express their initial position on one of the following issues:

a. School uniforms should no longer be required.

b. The Mother-Tongue-Based-Multilingual Education (MTBMLE) policy

should be implemented up to Grade 6.

2. Assign the students to look for evidence to support their position.

3. Ask the students to write a position paper. Tell them to mention the evidences

they found to support their reasons. Show them how to cite their sources

properly.

“Women Talk Too Much”

Motivating Introduction

1. Bring to class a sample manifesto on an issue concerning women and

children (e.g., birth control or human reproduction, children’s welfare,

women’s rights.)

2. Show your class how arguments are presented in the manifesto. Begin with

the statement of the stand on the issue. Enumerate the arguments to defend

this stand. Assess the effectiveness of each argument.

Use the following guide in assessing the document:

1. Is the proposition clearly stated? The proposition is the statement to be

explained or proved.

2. How are the arguments presented?

3. Do the arguments support the proposition effectively?

4. Are the arguments logical and convincing?

5. Do they contain emotional words?

6. Are these enough proofs to support each argument? Are the pieces of

evidence based on reliable data?

7. Are the arguments sufficient to prove the proposition?

Lesson Proper

1. Let the students read the selection. Call their attention to its structure. Do the
subheadings help in identifying the important ideas of this selection?

2. According to this article, what factors should be taken into consideration in

determining whether women or men talk too much?

3. Ask the students to comment on the following statement: “Talk is very highly

valued in western culture.”

Concluding Activity

1. The class can be encouraged to continue the discussion on “Who Talks

More: Women or Men?”

2. Make the students can observe what happens in their own homes, in school,

in the community.

3. Let them summarize factors that affect talk in Philippine context.