Effective Description in English Writing: Importance of Strong Verbs
Explore the significance of effective description in English writing through the power of strong verbs. Learn how accurate description enhances understanding and replicability in various writing styles, including narrative, expository, technical, and analytical. Discover the impact of verbs on bringing life to descriptions and creating vivid imagery for readers.
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ENGLISH WRITING WEEK FOUR
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY One sacred memory from childhood is perhaps the best education. -Feodore Dostoyevsky
Writing-to-Learn If you could travel anywhere in China you haven t been, where would you go? Why? If you could travel to any country you haven t seen, where would you go? Why?
Description: Why is it Important? Effective description allows the reader to see, feel, and sense a place, an artifact, or an experience vicariously. Accurate description adds the necessary details that make an experiment or scientific discovery understandable and replicable. Description appears in every kind of writing: narrative, expository, technical, analytical.
The Heart of Effective Description Many people believe that the heart of effective description lies in the use of adjectives. Yet the best writers claim that effective description demands strong verbs because they are central to all sentences and carry the visual image description requires. The carefully chosen verb sharpens an image, creates action, offers specific details, and can even bring an inanimate object to life.
WEAK VERBS VS. STRONG VERBS Weak Verbs (no muscle, movement, action): Being verbs: am, is, are, were: Being Verb:: The gravel road was on the left side of the barn. Action Verb: The gravel road curled around the left side of the barn. Being Verb: There were many trees without leaves in the garden. Action Verb: In the garden, many trees had shed their leaves.
Verbs such as make, have, give followed by nouns hiding the strong verb: Weak: John made a decision to leave. Strong: John decided to leave or John left. Weak: Sally gave her answer which was no. Strong: Sally answered no. Weak: They had a meeting during lunch. Strong: They met over lunch.
WEAK VS. STRONG VERBS Verbs such as looked, moved, went: Weak: Grant looked at the girl across from him. Strong: Grant scanned the girl across from him. Weak: The wind moved over the water. Strong: The wind whirled over the water. Weak: I go to the store every Friday. Strong: I bike to the store every Friday.
STRATEGY #3: ATTEND TO VERBS For each sentence you write, underline each main verb. Then ask these questions for each verb you ve written: Is this the best or right verb for what I want to communicate? (word choice; strong verbs) Is it the correct tense? (present or past) Does it have the correct conjugation? (agreement with the subject)
EXAMPLES FROM JOURNAL #2 The gentle breeze from the lake kisses the face and brings a sea smell. Surrounding the lake are all kinds of trees and flowers. Yixin is very famous in the history of Qing Dynasty. He was a minister who insisted on learning western science and technology.
