Syntax and Diction The Quick and Dirty… Please take notes On everything in BLUE In your journals

Diction = Word Choice Determines level of formality Shapes reader’s perceptions Reflects the writer’s vision Steers reader’s thoughts –An aged man is but a paltry thing a tattered coat upon a stick… Y.B. Yeats

Diction What picture is created by the use of the word tattered? By understanding the connotations of the word tattered, what can we understand about the author’s attitude toward and aged man? Is it positive or negative?

Specific Effects… What’s the difference between… A torn coat A tattered coat? Diction matters.

Types of Diction Type of DictionAudiencePurposeExample FormalProfessional, strangers To impressGreetings InformalFriends and colleagues to share feelingsHi ColloquialFamily and close Friends To share feelings without pretense Yo! Hey you! How U doin'? Wassup? Sophisticated (Old Fashioned Highly educated, refined Quality of education, class How do you do, madame? To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?

Occasion: Dress the words for the part. Formal: –Scholarly work –Elevated word choice –Where do you see formal writing?

This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. »Martin L. King

Occasion continued… Informal diction: –More casual –Everyday types of occasions –Newspaper editorials (opinion pages), fiction

Occasion continued… Colloquial Diction –Slang, dialects –OBVIOUS vernacular –When is it OK to use colloquial diction?

Old Fashioned Outdated language “Come hither, young man!” Who says “hither” anymore?

Sound Devices (A review) –Alliteration “while I nodded nearly napping…” –Assonance (vowels) “I made my way to the lake” –Consonance (consonants) Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village though Onomatopoeia simile/metaphor Personification Allusion Hyperbole Oxymoron

Connotative vs. Denotative Connotative = Suggested meaning Example: “That skateboard is really cool!” Cold or awesome? Denotative = Exact meaning (dictionary) Example: “That skateboard is really bad!” Awful or awesome?

Syntax = Sentence Structure Look for: –Sentence length –Sentence focus –Punctuation

Syntax in prose syntax aims to affect the readers as well as express the writer’s attitude. Page 30/31. In Cold Blood Begin with “More markings…(middle of second paragraph) –What do you notice about the sentence? –What tone is given?

Example “ A hush. For ten miles or more, the three men ride without speaking” (245). –What does this 2 sentence paragraph accomplish? Page 85 –“At the end of the day…” –What is Truman implying with the selected words?

Length Short? Long? What effect does that have? Think about PURPOSE…

Punk –tuation? Declarative – makes a statement – ends with a period. Imperative – gives a command – ends with a period. Or an ! –Get out! –Leave the books there. Interrogative – asks question, ends with ? Exclamatory – shows strong feeling- ends with ! (Exclamation marks are highly overused thanks to /texting!!!!!!!!!!!)

Now it’s your turn to find some!! In your groups: Diction and Syntax Seek and Find YOU MUST USE ICB & “A Christmas Memory” 7 examples from ICB 7 examples from “A Christmas Memory”

Focus When do you get the important information? At the beginning of the sentence? (loose sentence) Safety is a problem in schools that have metal detectors. At the end of the sentence? (periodic sentence) If schools have metal detectors, they often have safety problems.

Sources Dean, Nancy. Voice Lessons: Classroom Activities to Teach Diction, Detail, Imagery, Syntax and Tone. Gainesville, FL: Maupin House, Print.