Ok, we looked at some sentences, now find some something in the diction that stands out. Maybe it's a word combination, the use of simple words, a word bomb that makes you reach for the dictionary.
Keep sharing your great ideas. LOVE the posts so far. Excellent work.
20 comments:
"The Republicans, in something of a tour de force of rhetoric, are making a baroque bureaucratic status a political hot button issue."
I liked this sentence, because of the punchy word choice, a lot of interesting adjectives and nouns that are descriptive and to the point. Phrases like " tour de force" and "hot button issue" may be slightly cliche catch phrases that thrown around a lot, but they really do add a sense of drama and action to the sentence. This sentence could have been written in a much less exciting way. The alliteration in "baroque bureaucratic" is nice too
"You’re older than you’ve ever been, as the song goes, and now you’re even older. And for each eight years you age, you double your chances of dying"
I really like this line because it is the first two sentences of the article and it has a nice ring to it and really catches your eye and makes you want to know more. It is the perfect amount of cream cheese on the bagel!
"collective paroxysm"
This just popped out to me because I did not know what paroxysm meant. Furthermore, the phrase "collective paroxysm" sounded like something that could make one of my essays sound more intelligent and interesting.
According to my Imac dictionary, paroxysm means " a sudden attack or violent expression of an emotion or activity."
"...that issue is now detritus of the Golden Age of excessive spending."
This sentence popped out to me because I had no idea what "detritus" meant. After looking it up, I found that it means waste or debris. I like Dowd's word choice in this phrase. It's exciting and interesting to read.
"high-octane world of women's roller derby."
First of all, I LOVE the unusual topic of women's roller derby; it adds something bizarre and exciting to the sentence. Also, "high-octane" immediately wows me and keeps me reading. This snippit of a sentence gives me a feeling of fast motion and excitement, and for me, the use of "high-octane" with women's roller derby takes the sport to a whole new and exciting level for me. After reading this sentence, I wanted to start playing some roller-derby!
Isabel - I love that song!!! what was the article it came from?
"a diet of starlets"
This phrase stood out to me at first because of the humor. Starlets and dieting often go together in my mind, but the unexpected usage of these two words gave this term life and made me read it again. Not only is it amusing, but the sound of the words in conjunction with one another is pleasing. Both end with an "it" sound, but they are different enough so as not to be distracting (or rhyming).
"The warnings about jelly bracelets are back."
This was the opening sentence to an entry about how different-colored bracelets can represent how advanced a person is, sexually. I liked this sentence because it is a great opener-it leaves the audience wanting to find out more about what the blog entry is about, and also, I like that immediately it brings up an image in my mind, and keeps me guessing about whether that image is true or not.
“dogosphere” “animals-as-cute-accessories” “spazzball” “chillmonkeys” “dogdom”
“hey-let's-lay-around-on-the-couch-for-five-hours-straight-while-you-read-a-book-and-I-take-a-nap”
These are just a few of the crazy words that Mark Morford used in his latest article about dogs. These all seem to be made-up ‘words’ with the exception of dogdom, which turns out be to defined by the Oxford American Dictionary as a noun: “the world of dogs and dog enthusiasts.” Morford seems to be fond of making up words and phrases (that he makes words by-giving-them-dashes). I like them, mostly, but they get a little tedious after a while. As in my last comment, I would advise Morford to use the literary devices that he loves so much in moderation so as to make them more effective.
In his article he also wrote this: “superbly chill like some sort of fuzzy genius monk.” I thought this description was just brilliant and captured everything he wanted to say about his big black Labrador.
This week, I liked the phrases, "my heart beat like a deranged bongo," and "great agitations of yellow butterflies."
I would have never thought to compare a heartbeat to a deranged bongo, but it captures the idea of a racing heartbeat perfectly while being humorous. Similarly, I wouldn't pick agitation to describe a flock of butterflies, but it worked seamlessly in the sentence.
"If I were Semenya, I wouldn't be planning to wear stilettos more often. I'd be getting ready to throw them."
Last sentence of the article, she makes a pun*. Awesome.
*(Stiletto shoes -> knives)
"And there it will sit — until the company figures out what it might be good for."
This is a short quote from an article about composting dog poop. I found its length fit in nicely with the tone of the article. The article read as a manual and this sentence adds to the matter of fact, directional use of language. I also like how it leaves the reader wanting more. The sentence is a cliffhanger, which reflects the nature of the article. The scientists don't know what to do with the dog poop.
The title:
"Till debts does its part"- love how it sounds like "Till death does us part' just stands out and sets up the entire article on how we are stuck in the recession and need to do our part until its over, then we can move on. Just like marriage, we are married to the recession.... but strongly hoping for a divorce.
Just to clarify, I mean "our marriage to the recession"... not marriage in general! sorry.
"Was it really fair for some to call the French and other Europeans 'cheese-eating surrender monkeys?"
This sentence really caught my eye and got me interested in the article very quickly. It is the second sentence in the article, and Friedman's word choice took me by surprise. Since he is covering a serious topic (taxing gas) as well as discussing the war in afghanistan, healthcare, and the environment, I was expecting the article to have more complex words and a more serious tone. Bringing up "cheese-eating surrender monkeys" immediately shot through all of my pre-conceived notions of what talking about these serious issues has to sound like. I love how Friedman is able to make really insightful points in his argument, while still being energetic and clever in his writing and word choice.
Peggy didn't write this week, so this is from the same as last week:
"The video of 9/11 has firmly and ineradicably entered their brains. "
ineradicably. Exactly like what it sounds like. couldn't get enough of it.
"I never wanted to marry a man. I married a guy."
I loved this sentence because we usually use the words "man" and "guy" interchangeably, but here the author alerts us to the different connotations that go along with each term by differentiating a "guy" and a "man" as though they were as different as night and day, desirable and undesirable. I thought this was thought-provoking.
"Will the bitter, smoldering feelings let loose by Washington's health-care fight ricochet across the Potomac River and decide Virginia's race for governor?"
I like his used of the verb ricochet to describe how something crosses the Potomac, because that is easy to visualize, and then when you realize he is describing "feeling" you are blown away. I had never heard of feelings ricocheting - the only intangible things I have read about ricocheting are ideas and arguments.
From the article A Race in Obama's Shadow.
"As I heard this, I imagined a huge groan emanating skyward from a frustrated phalanx of his supporters."
I liked these sentences because of the great imagery that she portrays in such few words. In my Greece Classical Studies history class, we just learned about the Phalanx formation in war, so i thought that her use of the word was interesting and left me with a very precise picture in my mind.
"To Iran's nuclear technology clock, and Israel's existential threat clock, add a third clock: Obama's promised results clock. The clocks are running"
This is from Doyle McManus' article on the US- Iran alliance. I liked this sentence because it emphasizes time. By using "clock" in this form the reader gets a clear sense that time is an issue. I think sometimes using this repetitive tool bores the reader and drives the purpose of the article into the ground. In this instance, McManus does a good job of not losing the purpose while making a point.
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