Word Choice
Painting pictures with
words!
Definition
Good writing contains strong, power
words, including specific nouns and verbs.
Power words help paint a picture for the
reader.
 Word choice is about the use of rich,
colorful, precise language that
communicates not just in a functional way,
but also in a way that moves and
enlightens the reader.

 Word
choice helps the reader see
what the writer saw.
 Word
choice uses “Show” sentences
not “Tell” sentences.
Vague Noun
Tree
Chair
Dog
Road
Strong Noun
Southern Oak
Varnished, cedar
rocking chair
Bull-Terrier
Red clay trail
Weak verbs
Strong verbs
Ran
Dashed
Walk
Stroll
Look
glance
Tell sentence
The house needed repair
Show sentence
The paint was peeling from the walls, and the
shingles hung on one nail. A window was broken
and the screen door had a rip in it.
More Show – Not Tell
A Sound of Thunder – by Ray Bradbury
The tyrant lizard raised itself. Its armored
flesh glittered like a thousand green coins.
The coins, crusted with slime, steamed. In
the slime tiny insects wriggled, so that the
entire body seemed to twitch and
undulate, even while the monster itself did
not move. It exhaled. The stink of raw
flesh blew down the wilderness.