(Return to the English 1301 Home Page)

About Unit 2 
Unit 2 Learning Outcomes
Concepts and Terminology 
Assignments for Unit 2 
Steps in the Assignments for Unit 2 
Notes on Descriptive Writing 
Two Categories of Description 
Types of Descriptive Words 
Using Figures of Speech in Descriptive Paragraphs
Writing a Descriptive Sentence 
Basic Patterns for Organizing Descriptive Sentences in Paragraphs 
An Example of a Linear Description 
An Example of an Alternative Descriptive Pattern
The Wordiness Exercise 
The Emotional (Subjective) Descriptive Paragraph
The Coherent Paragraph 
Some Examples of Description by American Writers 
Persuasive Writing 
A List of Persuasive Techniques 
The Writer's Voice 
The Reading: "A Shocking Start for a Freshman"
Evaluation of Unit 2 Instruction
 

Effective writing depends upon many factors, including the precise use of language. Diction--word choice--is absolutely essential for successful communication. This unit introduces you to the power of words through attention to patterns and techniques of both descriptive and persuasive writing.

Writing exercises in Unit 2 are designed to help you learn to discriminate between general information and specific, supporting details. The reading exercise will introduce techniques of persuasion found in many types of public writing and will challenge your sense of value and authority in both your personal and public writing. 

(Return to Top of Document) 

(1) selecting a subject 
(2) identifying parts of a subject 
(3) using descriptive words 
(4) using emotional words 
(5) selecting appropriate organizational patterns for descriptive paragraphs
(6) maintaining coherency in descriptive paragraphs 
(7) using description for a variety of purposes 
(8) using special sentence patterns

Terminology used in the descriptive section includes "subjective description," "objective description," "concrete words," "polysymbolic words," "emotionally impacted words," "figures of speech," "simile," "metaphor," "personification," "anthropomorphism," "directional ordering," "spatial ordering," "psychological ordering."

Terminology used in the persuasive section includes "abstraction," "idealization," "burlesque," "polarization," "innuendo," "guilt by association," "affirmation by association," "periodic development," "the catalog," "sarcasm," "vituperation," "description," "the rhetorical question," "definition," "dialect," "emotional words," "begging sympathy," "cultural stereotyping," and "voice."

(Return to Top of Document) 

Assignments for Unit 2

Following is a list of assignments for the descriptive exercises. Specific instructions for each assignment will be made during the class discussions periodically during the first few weeks of the semester.

(1) a 100-item catalog 
(2) a linear description 
(3) a revision of the linear description 
(4) the wordiness exercise 
(5) an emotional paragraph 
(6) the coherent paragraph 
(7) analysis of "A Shocking Start for a Freshman"

(Return to Top of Document) 

Steps in the Assignments for Unit 2: Descriptive and Persuasive Writing

Assignment 1: 100-Item Catalog
1. Report to an outdoor location. Isolate a small viewing space that includes within it at least five major objects (tree, building, garden, etc.). 
2. On a sheet of paper or two, write the name of each object across the top. Under each name of an object, make a list of distinctive, specific features (a minimum of twenty features for each object). 
3. FAX or e-mail it to your instructor.

Assignment 2: A Linear Description 
1. Select one object among the five in your catalog above that best lends itself to a linear description. Pick out five distinctive features of the object that fall along the imaginary line associated with that object (top-to-bottom, right-to-left, etc.). 
2. Begin the paragraph with a general statement that identifies the object and states where it is. 
3. Write a descriptive sentence for each of the distinctive features you have selected for your object. Arrange them according to the linear alignment you have selected for organizing your paragraph. 
4. Write the paragraph (which includes no fewer but no more than six sentences).
5. FAX or e-mail it to your instructor.

Assignment 3: A Revision of the Linear Descriptive Paragraph 
1. Rewrite the linear paragraph using the same object, but this time, select a different pattern of organization (psychological order, spatial order, etc.). 
2. You may wish to add or delete features that better serve the new order of development that you have selected for reorganizing the description of the object. 
3. The paragraph should be no fewer than five sentences. 
4. FAX or e-mail it to your instructor.

Assignment 4: The Wordiness Exercise
1. Complete the "wordiness exercise" included in this unit, following the instructions as given. 
2. FAX or e-mail it to your instructor.

Assignment 5: The Emotional Paragraph 
1. Return to your viewing area selected for assignment 1; ask yourself how, as a single unit, all the objects assist in creating a specific mood (peacefulness, pleasant, etc.). Identify both the mood and ONLY those details or features that contribute to that mood. 
2. Write a brief paragraph describing the physical details of the viewing space, but make mention only of those that help contribute to the mood of the paragraph. 
3. Make no mention of any person (directly or indirectly); make no mention of any emotion; do not refer to yourself. 
Examples: A direct reference to a person might read like this: "The student walking along the trail could see the fish swimming in the shallow pond." Another inappropriate pattern making a direct reference to the reader might say something like: "You can feel the breeze wiping your cheek." 
An indirect reference to a person might read like this, using passive voice: "The rippling water can be heard trickling down the wall."
Instead of saying "the tranquil, flowing stream," say only, "the flowing stream." ("Tranquil" is the name of an emotion.)
4. On the back side of your paper, write the name of the emotion that you wish to convey to a reader. 
5. FAX or e-mail it to your instructor.

Assignment 6: The Coherent Paragraph

1. Select one of the paragraphs you have already composed. 
2. Print out two copies of the paragraph. 
3. Analyze one copy for repetition of key concepts between the sentences.
4. Analyze the second copy for at least two examples of grammatical parallel construction. 
5. FAX or e-mail it to your instructor.

Assignment 7: Analysis of "A Shocking Start for a Freshman"

1. Print out one copy of the editorial and read it. 
2. Identify the various emotions that you felt during the initial reading.
3. Analyze the editorial for those words you believe the author intended to create within you a strong negative reaction and identify the words that you believe he used to evoke a strong positive emotional reaction. (Don't confuse emotions "fearful" and "elated" with physical feelings like "hunger" and "thirst.") 
4. Identify the audience and its distinctive characteristics. For example, would you characterize the intended audience as "male or female," "educated or uneducated," "white or black," "upper class, middle class, or lower class," "conservative or liberal," etc. Why? Be able to justify your analysis on the basis of both stated and implied meanings in the text of the editorial. 
5. Identify one sentence that seems to be the author's basic purpose in writing the editorial. 
6. Following the "Types of Persuasive Techniques," identify at least one example of each type. 
7. Reassess your emotional reaction to the editorial. Define an ethical code for governing your writing in the future. 

NOTE: For each assignment, consult with your instructor for clarification of any detail of the requirements or examples for each exercise.

(Return to the Top)