LESSON 1 Flashcards
Generalizations
Concrete words win over generalizations and abstractions. Why write, “The playground was full of children” when “Thirty-five screaming kindergartners jumped and ran toward the sand-covered playground of the old crumbling-brick Franklin Elementary School” works better visually and aurally? This ability hinges on your grasp of the writing craft, which requires a lot of hard work.
Abstractions
An abstract emotion, such as love, cannot be clearly defined and is difficult to describe to someone who has not experienced it. Figurative language can be used, however, to explain abstract emotions such as love, grief, envy and happiness. The statement, “Love is blind,” made famous by Shakespeare, is figurative language that employs personification in the form of a metaphor. The phrase tells the reader or listener that love has eyes but is incapable of using them to see. The phrase suggests that a person’s love for another causes them to overlook faults and discount physical appearance.
Concrete Details
Concrete details in writing can be used by applying descriptive language to the five senses.
Visual details are often successfully incorporated into writing. Details that appeal to our sense of sight ensure that the reader is able to give faces to characters, or
add concrete details to a setting. For example, through adding visual detail, a room can become more than just a blank, vague receptacle. It becomes a small, oblong room with peeling maroon wallpaper and cracked ceiling tiles. A visual description allows readers to
place themselves within a text. In the sample text, visual details help accomplish this through encouraging the reader to create a mental image of the characters, setting, and action.
Cliche
A cliché is a word or phrase that has been overused in writing. Clichés such as “leave no stone unturned” have been used so much in writing that they have lost all their effectiveness. These phrases have become weak and meaningless. … If you want your writing to be fresh and interesting, you should avoid using clichés.
