Final Draft of Ordinary Object - Due in class today

We wrote the final draft of the Ordinary Object assignment during class today. If you were absent today, ask me for the lined paper.

Some things to consider:

1. Avoid very - The word very doesn't mean much. We just use it to lend emphasis to the word it comes before. Consider this sentence:
It is very cold in my English class.

By putting the word very there, you are emphasizing the word cold - letting us know that it's not just ordinary cold - it's extra cold. More than just plain old cold. So what's a better way to express a more extreme degree of cold? Freezing. Frosty. Wintry. Brisk.

It is frosty in my English class.

So it is that frosty is a more interesting and concise way of expressing very cold.

That book is very weird. How about: That book is eerie. That book is haunting. That book is spooky. Peculiar. Kooky. Bizarre.

If you have access to an electronic device, http://www.thesaurus.com/ is an excellent way to get upgraded adjectives. There are also several thesaurus and dictionary apps you can download. (Nerdy, I know.)

2. Avoid repetition as much as you can. Think: How can you explore an idea if you just keep using the same words over and over? You can't help repeating some words. There is no other word for a "heart" shape, and no other word for "diamond" the jewel. You also can't help repeating pronouns, such as I, you, he, she, it.

However, there are some words that can be switched out.

my phone = my iPhone = my device = my electronics = my Apple phone

street = road = pavement = roadway 

3. Upgrade basic word choices. Words like bad, mad, small, big, and happy need to be swapped out for something more sophisticated. The easy fix would be to grab a thesaurus, but there's another way to do this.

Instead of writing, "The taco was bad." - - - describe the taco and let ME, the READER, figure out that the taco was bad.

If you tell me the taco's tortilla had mold spots and the chicken smelled funny, I will figure out that it was a bad taco. This is the difference between showing and telling. Don't tell me the taco was bad; show me the bad taco.