2. Traits of Writing

Lesson Set B: Copy Action Writing

Lesson 6: Action versus Linking Verbs

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STOP boring your readers before they stop reading!  Learn what puts them to sleep versus what pulls them to the edge of their seat with bated breath.

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After receiving back your editor's comments on your Narrative 1 Draft, read through them carefully. These comments and corrections are an essential part of learning to write well.

• E-Docs: 1. Action Verb List 1 helps you to know action verbs. You will use this document all through your writing but especially for the following task. 2. Linking & Helping Verbs help you to determine what these are. Circle all of them in your paper.

Action Verb List

Linking & Helping Verbs

• Task: Go through your Narrative 1 Draft and underline all action verbs that DO NOT end in "ing," (as in "was walking"). At the same time, circle all linking verbs, helping verbs, and weak infinitives.


• Task: Now compare the number of straight action verbs with the number of linking and helping verbs. If you have more straight action verbs (without "ing") than linking and helping verbs, your paper is strong and interesting. If you have mostly linking verbs, lots of helping verbs, lots of "ing's" and weak infinitives with almost no straight action verbs, your paper is weak and boring. Linking and helping verbs serve a purpose, but they cannot dominate your paper.

Following are examples of First Draft student writing. The straight action verbs are underlined; the weak action verbs inside of weak verb constructions are highlighted green; the linking, helping, “ing” verbs, and weak infinitives are highlighted in yellow instead of being circled.
Only three action verbs in these selections say something – fished, beat, and packed. All other verbs and verb forms are fairly useless “fillers.” Regardless, the verbs rule, making these “ideas” fairly useless.
 

Lesson 7: Traits of Writing

The traits of writing are a popular and useful way to approach writing. In order to understand anything, we take it apart and look at each part individually. But we never assume that writing is a bunch of parts. When all the parts work together, we have something useful and meaningful, something alive.

Here are the 6 + 1 Traits of Writing as shown on the Education Northwest page linked to in this Lesson. We will add 8: Publishing to our list.

1. Ideas, the main message;
2. Organization, the internal structure of the piece;
3. Voice, the personal tone and flavor of the author's message;
4. Word Choice, the vocabulary a writer chooses to convey meaning;
5. Sentence Fluency, the rhythm and flow of the language;
6. Conventions, the mechanical correctness;
7. Presentation, how the writing actually looks on the page.


8. Publishing, sending your work out to your reader.

All writing Units offered by The Writing Conservatory use these traits of writing. Each of these traits have a lesson explaining them more fully in Unit I except "Organization" and "Sentence Fluency" which are found in in later units. The Traits of Writing show up throughout all the rubrics. This lesson is an introduction to these traits as a group.

• Task: Read through 6 + 1 Trait Definitions - and - 5-Point Writer's Rubric. Print out what is useful to you and add it to your Notebook. Building with the 6 Traits - and - Six Traits of Writing are written for younger writers, but sometimes the simplest explanations are the best.

We will also approach the eight traits of writing through a particular metaphor, building a home.

• E-Docs: 1. A Builder's View of the Writing Traits gives a unique approach to understanding the parts of writing. 2. The Writing Traits – Structural Overview then gives a chart view of how these parts work together.

These documents along with a number of key elements in using the writing traits to improve your writing are available through enrolling in the course.

Lesson 8: Ideas: Action & Suspense

Ideas are the message - the main points and the supporting details. Ideas begin in pre-writing. To write what you know, you do two things: jog your own memory and research.

• Task: Read through the following web pages: 1. Pre-Writing: Developing Ideas and 2. Organizing and Pre-Writing. These pages are provided to help you get a handle on the meaning of "Ideas" and how it applies to your writing. In addition, read through 3. these definitions of "Ideas." You may want to copy and paste to print this page for your Notebook.

• E-Docs: Ideas: Action & Suspense.  Read through and apply to your own writing.

Ideas: Action & Suspense is a primary key to effective writing.

Writing Is Fun  I learned that writing can be fun. This Writing Course allowed me to let go of all the rules and to "just write!" as one might say. I enjoy this teaching style. It fine-tunes me down to the wire to make sure we are well-oiled writing machines, so that squishy muscle I call a brain can get a work out. It's given a challend with every assignment. - Zach.

 

Lesson 9: Word Choice

Good writing depends on a large stock of interesting and specific words. Increasing your vocabulary is always a good idea. However, you already know many words that do not find their way into your writing. Throughout this Unit and others, you will receive word lists. You know most of these words; use them to expand your writing vocabulary.

• E-Docs: Word Choice. Follow the suggestions in your own writing.

Word Choice

 

The following book is required if you want to get the most from this course. You will find it extremely useful. You will find that you know what all the words in the lists mean; it's just that one does not always remember them while writing. Banish Boring Words!: Dozens of Reproducible Word Lists for Helping Students Choose Just-Right Words to Strengthen Their Writing.  It is strongly recommend that you purchase this book for this Unit. It would be included as a PDF except it is copyrighted. It costs less than $10 to order it from Amazon. You will find it highly useful for writing your Narrative Paper. Then here are some more books that will help you with vocabulary and word choice.

Banish Boring Words

1100 Words You Need to Know -*- Verbal Advantage: 10 Steps to a Powerful Vocabulary These are vocabulary builders. 1100 Words is a good choice for a moderate level of vocabulary, Verbal Advantage is more suitable for readers with a larger vocabulary already. If you purchase either one, set up a schedule to go through it and increase your vocabulary.

Roget's International Thesaurus, 7th Edition A good thesaurus is always important to have on hand.

Troll Fell 1 (Troll Trilogy) -*- Troll Mill In Lab 2, you will copy from Troll Mill by Katherine Langrish, a writer who knows the craft of words. Many students buy the book to read for themselves, Troll Fell comes first in the story line.
 

Following are simply some sites that enjoy words and are useful to all lovers of words. Feel free to peruse them. Word Spy -*- Word Quests -*- Word Lists  Words to Avoid -*- Merriam Webster Thesaurus

Word of the Day ragbag Definition: A motley assortment of things. Synonyms: farrago, gallimaufry, hodgepodge, melange, mishmash, mingle-mangle, oddments, omnium-gatherum Word of the Day provided by TheFreeDictionary.com

 

Lesson 10: Action Verbs & Verbals

The verb rules the sentence.

Any piece of writing works only as well as its action verbs. Everything being said revolves around the verb. If the verb is weak, the meaning is weak. Strong, specific, and interesting verbs impact the reader. Linking verbs are necessary, but are grossly overused. Except for a few weak and tired action verbs such as "got," "had," “took,” and "went," most action verbs, used well, convey depths of meaning and interest to the reader. If you want to be read, use action verbs as often as possible.

Writing Rule #3: Show, don't tell.

If you wish to show instead of tell, then write with straight action verbs instead of the passive linking and weak verb drivel that bores the reader.

Another element of strong writing is the use of verb forms used as adjectives or nouns, known as verbals. Participles are verbs used as adjectives and gerunds are verbs used as nouns. Learn to use them extensively in your writing.

The best way to learn to write well is to study and copy good writing. We are not so much interested in what the text is about, as in the use of words and the construction of sentences.

In Lab 2, you will copy from a great writer who uses many well-chosen single action verbs and many participles. This style of writing is termed “Action Writing” by The Writing Conservatory. In the Lab, you will underline every action verb and circle every participle or gerund on the first page of the excerpt. You may not know action verbs or participles and gerunds - learn what they are. If you want to write well, learn action verbs and participles, as well as their effective use.

• Task: Lesson 6 includes a List of Action Verbs, study it to become familiar with action verbs. Better yet, use Banish Boring Words. Then, do the following exercise to understand participles and gerunds. You will use participles far more often than gerunds, but they are similar.

• E-Docs: Participles and Other Verbals. Read through it and work the exercise.

Lab 2: Copy Good Writing - Langrish

Copying good writing is an essential part of learning to write well. Copying good writing also helps us develop our own voice and style. Pick your favorite passages from your favorite writers and copy word for word.

Typing onto a computer screen works better than copying by hand, but only if you type well.  That means if you type whole words and the words enter your mind as whole thoughts. On the other hand, if you type only letter by letter, than you should copy by hand. The whole point of copying is so that the word choices and sentence structures used by a good writer will filter into the back recesses of your brain until you know yourself the patterns of good writing.

Those who have learned English as a second language MUST copy good writing if they wish to write well in English. Another practice ESL writers should use is to find audio recordings of well-written books in English and listen to written English being read aloud while following along with the text in the book.

• E-Docs: Instructions for Lab 2 – Copy Langrish

Instructions for Lab 2

• Task: Complete the entire Lab as delineated in Instructions for Lab 2 – Copy Langrish.

Unit 1: Personal Narrative and all future Units are based, fully, on what you learn by copying effective action writing. You will see the term "Action Writing" all through the Rubrics for each draft. "Action Writing" refers directly to a style of writing that you will learn here. This Lab is your introduction to Action Writing.

Note: It is at this point that many aspiring writers quit, imagining that copying a silly children's book is not for them. They are right to quit, because nothing ahead can be learned without the writer embedding styles of word usage in their brains by active and thoughtful copying. Copying Langrish is one of the three vital elements in this course on writing. 1. Lean into constructive but severe editing. 2. Copy good writing. 3. Write freely, then re-write and re-write and re-write. 

Katherine Langrish is not the only skillful writer, there are many. To learn to write well, copy different good writers word for word until the patterns of English written well are imprinted in your subconscious mind.

For a list of books to read and copy in order to learn internally well-written and expressive English, Newberry Medal and Honor Books are the books to select. I have read many and love and recommend all I have read. Those I have not read are of the same quality of written English and good story telling.