The Sunday News
Charles Dube
FOREMOST, we start this week’s episode by providing answers to last week’s questions where we were to remove unnecessary words from given sentences. The eliminated words are in brackets in the sentences that follow: At the party I hope to meet up with some of my friends. (up with). The boy was standing all alone by himself with his surfboard. (all alone). In my opinion I really think that school students should wear uniforms. (In my opinion). Early on a clear morning, the mountains are visible to the eye. (to the eye).
My mother is one who worries about her children all the time. (is one who). His hat was too large in size for me to wear to the beach. (in size). The harbour was brown in colour after the heavy rains. (in colour). If you do not finish your meal we shall miss out on the beginning of the film. (out on).
Some useful verbs students may like to try in their writing. Here are answers to last week’s exercise. Mix together — blend. Shout angrily — bellow. Walk through water — wade. Wash your throat – gargle. Squeeze together – compress. Sink on purpose — scuttle. Pull sharply — wrench. Make very angry — incense. Set on fire — ignite. Lean lazily — loll. Hunt without a permit — poach. Give evidence — testify. Creep about — slink. Crouch in fear — cower. Lie in wait for — waylay. Run hastily — scamper. Send away — banish. Shake threateningly — brandish. Save from loss — salvage.
We continued our vocabulary development by replacing a phrase with a single word as follows: university grounds — campus. Treat harshly — oppress. Small village — hamlet. Make changes — modify. One of a kind — unique. Dead flesh — carrion. Heroic deeds — exploits. Escapee from justice — fugitive. Plot together — conspire. Ponder moodily — brood. The very best — prime. Agitated state — frenzy.
Ten-year period — decade. Glare of publicity — limelight. Make empty — evacuate. Make foul — defile. Turned aside — diverted. Make worse — aggravate. Provide food — cater. Mix well together — blend. Of lower rank — subordinate. Strength of mind — fortitude. Moo like a cow — low. Think deeply — ponder. Answers to fill in questions, still on increasing students’ word power:
We had no refrigerator so we could not take any perishable food with us on the trip. Soldiers who fought in the jungles of New Guinea overcame insurmountable problems. Clothing that can easily catch fire is labelled inflammable. It is hardly worth buying a television set overseas as it would be dutiable coming through customs. A dictionary is invaluable when attempting many of the exercises in this book. Arabs in the desert wear sandals because boots have been found to be impracticable. The intruders acted in a despicable manner when they stole the pensioner’s savings.
The scrawling of offensive words on the memorial was a severe case of vandalism. Communism is a system in which all or most property is owned by the state. Sadism is the practice of receiving pleasure from hurting someone. People who believe in anarchism think that all forms of government are harmful. A condition in which a person cannot control their intake of beer, wine or spirits is known as alcoholism. A colloquialism is a word or phrase used in everyday conversation. Capitalism is a system in which private people own property and factories.
Providing answers for last week’s work has ended with the above presentation. The following words might be of great use to the students as well: indelible, audible, invincible, combustible, infallible, gullible. Follow their usage in these sentences:
The doctor diagnosed heart problems but another opinion was sought because nobody is infallible. We were advised to mark our clothing for the camp by using a/an indelible pen or pencil. People who win the lottery are sometimes gullible, and easy prey for swindlers. During the thunderstorm the actors in the hall were barely audible. The Persian fleet was thought to be invincible until it was beaten at the battle of Salamis by the Greeks. Petrol is a dangerous liquid to transport as it is highly combustible.
I believe students have picked up some words to use in their writing. But this is not to say they should litter their writing with unfamiliar words all the time. They should keep their writing simple and straight forward. Before I end this week’s episode I would like to refer briefly to creative writing to help one reader who needs assistance in that area. As shown in previous episodes there are skills required to write creatively and with accuracy.
Creative writing includes both descriptive and narrative writing. You can produce a piece of writing in the first person or in the third person. First person writing mainly uses, “I”; third person writing mainly uses “he” or “she”. Points to remember when writing creatively, is to use your imagination. Write in controlled sentences paying particular attention to punctuation.
Choose words carefully to express meaning. Write a focused piece of descriptive writing and a sensible piece of narrative writing. You can write realistically about fictional places and fictional events. In other words, you can make things up that can still be believable. The best approach to creative writing is to write about places and events that are reasonably close to your own experience and knowledge of the world.
When writing a piece of descriptive writing the key word to remember is focus; this means making sure you meet the requirements of the question. Do not set out to write a story.
Your description needs to be engaging and believable. Create a proper sense of place. Begin by forming a picture in your head and then try to put it into words. Little details such as people and movement in the scene, which can help bring writing to life.
It is also important not to overdo the description — senses, adjectives, similes and metaphors are useful, but not as important as sentence control and clear punctuation.
Make use of the following tips: Stop at the end of sentences – with full stops, question marks or exclamation marks. Slow the pace of sentences — with commas, semi-colons, brackets and dashes.
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