Concrete Language + Active Voice

Presentation

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English

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9th - 12th Grade

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Easy

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CCSS

6.NS.B.3, L.4.5, L.4.5A

+17

Standards-aligned

Ausencio Delgado

Used 1+ times

FREE Resource

14 Slides • 10 Questions

Concrete Language + Active Voice in Writing

Concrete Language + Active Voice Leads to Better Writing.

Concrete Language

A Review

Concrete language refers to the use of specific, detailed, and tangible words or phrases that provide clear and concise information. It's a means of communication that appeals to the senses and enables the audience to visualize or comprehend the idea or concept being conveyed. Concrete language is the opposite of abstract language, which is vague and less definitive.

Concrete Language

Nouns: Concrete nouns refer to specific, tangible things that can be perceived through the senses. For instance, "book," "apple," "river," etc.
Verbs: Concrete verbs describe specific actions that can be visually imagined or physically done. For example, "run," "jump," "eat," etc.
Adjectives: Concrete adjectives provide specific details or attributes of a noun. Examples include "red," "cold," "loud," etc.
Adverbs: Concrete adverbs give specific details about how an action is performed, such as "quickly," "silently," "gracefully," etc.
Imagery: This involves using descriptive language to create vivid mental pictures that appeal to the senses. For example, "The sun set, painting the sky with hues of orange and pink."

Literary Devices for Concrete Language

Imagery: This involves creating mental images for the reader through language that appeals to the senses. Imagery can be visual, auditory, tactile (touch), olfactory (smell), gustatory (taste), or kinesthetic (movement). It helps the reader to visualize and thus better understand what the writer is describing.
Metaphor and Simile: Both of these devices compare two things, making abstract or complex ideas more concrete and understandable. A metaphor says one thing is another (e.g., "Life is a journey"), while a simile makes the comparison using "like" or "as" (e.g., "He is as brave as a lion").

Literary Devices for Concrete Language

Personification: This involves giving human qualities to non-human entities or abstract concepts, making them more concrete and relatable. For example, "The wind howled in the night."
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Alliteration: The repetition of initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words or syllables, like "She sells seashells by the seashore," can create a concrete auditory image.

Literary Devices for Concrete Language

Onomatopoeia: This refers to words that imitate the sounds they denote, like "buzz," "click," or "pop." They create a sound effect that mimics the thing being described, making the description more concrete.
Hyperbole: Exaggeration for emphasis can often make an impression more vivid and concrete. For example, "I've told you a million times not to exaggerate."

Literary Devices for Concrete Language

Symbolism: The use of symbols—objects, figures, sounds, or colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts—can also make abstract ideas more concrete. For example, a dove often symbolizes peace.
Concrete Diction: The use of words that describe specific, observable things, people, or places, rather than abstract or general ones.

Literary Devices for Concrete Language

Specific Detail: Providing specific examples or details can help to make abstract ideas more concrete. For instance, instead of saying someone is "kind," you might say they "spend every weekend volunteering at the local food bank."

Active Voice

The Active Voice

The active voice is a grammatical structure that places the subject of a sentence as the doer of the action, while the object is the recipient of the action. In other words, the subject is the one who performs the action, while the object is the one who receives the action. This creates a clear and concise sentence that is easier for the reader to understand.
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For example, "The dog chased the ball" is in the active voice. The subject, "the dog," is the one who performs the action of chasing, while the object, "the ball," is the recipient of the action.

The Passive Voice

In contrast, the passive voice places the object before the subject, which can often lead to a more convoluted and confusing sentence.
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For example, "The ball was chased by the dog" is in the passive voice. The object, "the ball," is placed before the subject, "the dog," which can make the sentence more difficult to follow.

Why the Active Voice

Using the active voice in writing can make your sentences more engaging and clear. It can also add more impact and emphasis to your writing. However, there may be times when the passive voice is more appropriate, such as when the object is more important than the subject in a particular sentence.

Verbs that Favor the Passive Voice

Certain verbs favor the passive voice, often describing actions done to the subject, not by it. Common passive voice verbs include "be," "have," "get," "make," "see," "hear," and "know." For instance, "The cake was baked by the chef" uses "was baked" in a passive construction to depict an action done to the cake. Conversely, an active sentence like "The chef baked the cake" employs "baked" to show an action performed by the chef. Although the active voice is generally more concise and direct, there are situations where the passive voice is more suitable, particularly when focusing on the action's object rather than its doer.

The “be” Verbs?

"Be" verbs, like "am," "is," "are," "was," "were," "be," "being," and "been," signify existence or a state of being in English. They are highly common and often link a sentence's subject to its describing or identifying predicate. For instance, in "I am a student," "am" is the "be" verb connecting "I" to "a student." These verbs can also serve as auxiliary verbs for forming verb tenses, as in "I have been studying" or "She is going to be running."

Multiple Choice

Which of the following best describes the term "imagery"?

Comparing two unlike things using "like" or "as"