“The Gift of the Magi”
Diction Exercise
Name: __________________
Date: __________ Period ___
If you were explaining the main theme of “The Gift of the Magi” to an English Professor at
Harvard, what might you say?
If you were explaining the main theme of “The Gift of the Magi” to a six-year-old child,
what might you say?
Diction (word choice) changes depending on the audience. Below, write the letter of
the word or words that best describes each type of diction.
A. Ornate
B. Plain
C. Slang/nonstandard
D. Precise, Technical
______ 1. Lightly leaning into the high wind, he felt a stab of joy.
______ 2. She feverishly devoured her sumptuous repast.
______ 3. Steve said, “I ain’t got a cent o’ money.”
______ 4. We rode on the train to see the horse show.
______ 5. The team noticed a 10 percent increase in both activity and growth.
______ 6. The illuminated skyline ignited her memories of her past escapades.
______ 7. A simulation of the program was activated as scheduled.
______ 8. “What it is, is that I don’t know if I like yo necklace, ” Jo said.
______ 9. The movie version of the book opens in theaters this June.
II. Rewrite each of the sentences using a different type of diction, as directed.
1. The gifts in “The Gift of the Magi’ seemed simple, but signified a great deal to Della and
Jim. (slang, nonstandard)
2. Della cut off and sold her long, pretty hair for only twenty dollars. (ornate, grandiloquent)
3. “Woah, Della! That’s like a totally radical hair chop!” exclaimed her husband. (Plain)
4. Della’s exquisite chocolate-covered hair cascaded over her slender shoulders. (Precise,
technical).
5. Jim sold his watch to buy some combs for Della’s hair. (ornate, grandiloquent)
III. REVISION The following paragraph is part of an essay on “Gift of the Magi” that a
student wrote for an English class. It contains several examples of slang or nonstandard
diction. Underline the inappropriate diction; then, on the lines provided, revise the
paragraph to improve the diction.
Della is a totally cool character. She like grooves on running her
household on little bits o’money. She is generous to boot. Della even looks fly
after she gets her hair buzzed. It’s too bad those awesome combs ain’t happen’
after her crop chop.
NEW PARAGRAPH:
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