No warm-up today. Instead, get out your cool-down from Friday. Look at the following list of words. Try to rank the words, from the most pleasant sounding, to the most harsh sounding. Then try to write a sentence or two for why you ranked your #1 (most pleasant) as you did, and why you ranked your #8 (sounding) as you did. Dog Canine Mutt Beast Puppy Mongrel Hound Pooch

 You no longer need to bring A Separate Peace.  Well done with the novel. Thoughts on the test?  Take notes on the following slides and call them “Diction.”  Homework: Finish “The Rattler” worksheet.

Reading 1.1: Identify and use the literal and figurative meanings of words (and understand word derivations).

Question: Why do all of the words for “dog” have different meanings? Why do so many words have different meanings? Answer: So we can have fun exploring diction in English II!!! Real Answer: So when we are writing and speaking, we can say exactly what we mean.

Diction= word choice *Diction, language and figurative language are all terms that we will use interchangeably when analyze an author’s style. They all look at an author’s word choice. *Diction is one of the most powerful aspects of style. If you are writing an essay about an author’s style and the writing directions do not tell you which aspect of style to use, choosing diction is a good idea.

Denotation= the literal, dictionary definition of a word *The words “plump”, “fat” and “obese” literally describe a person who is overweight. This is the dictionary definition of these three words.

Connotation= the emotions, feelings or ideas that are attached to a certain word.  The word “plump” has the connotation of being pleasantly fat, almost in a cute way.  Plump is often used to describe cute, overweight little old ladies. Santa Claus is also described as being a jolly, plump old man.  The positive emotional feelings (or connotations ) that are attached to this word show how we use connotation to control people’s minds about a subject.

The word “obese” has a more negative connotation. It is used someone who is extremely overweight and unhealthy. Unless words are neutral (meaning that they have no association with anything in the outside world), they can be described as having a positive connotation or a negative connotation.

 Look at the words “used car” and “previously owned vehicle”. Can you guess which has the more positive connotation?

 Now consider the words “mean”, “unkind” and “evil”. How would you rank these words on the spectrum of negative connotation ?

When writing about author style you must first pick out diction in a passage, then analyze the diction. What effect does it have on the passage? What tone does it convey? How do the author’s word choices determine overall tone or theme? Now, RE-READ “The Rattler”. As you read, circle important diction. Then, make three columns: 1) List ten important pieces of diction, 2) write the connotation (+ -) of each word, 3) explain the associations with this word.