1. Using a Thesaurus
Word Choices

2. Objective
use a thesaurus to determine related words and concepts

3. Vocabulary thesaurus synonym antonym
a dictionary of synonyms and antonyms
synonym
a word having the same or nearly the same meaning as another word
antonym
a word of opposite meaning

4. When writing an essay, it is important to use interesting, descriptive, and non-repetitive words.
This keeps readers interested in the story and helps them “see” what you are writing about.
For example, instead of describing something as red, you could replace the word “red” with
scarlet,
ruby, or
crimson.

5. These paint a more vivid picture in the mind of the reader.
Rather than saying
Bryan walked down the street.
You could say
Bryan raced down the street. or
Bryan wandered down the street.
These paint a more vivid picture in the mind of the reader.

6. Thesaurus
A thesaurus is a book or an online resource that provides lists of synonyms and antonyms.
For example, in one thesaurus, the following synonyms are given for the word “courageous”:
It also lists the following antonyms for “courageous”:
brave, fearless, gallant, heroic, intrepid, valiant
cowardly, fearful

7. Repetition
In the following paragraph, the word brave is used too many times!
To make the paragraph more interesting, we will find some synonyms for brave in the thesaurus.
Let’s look at our Roget’s Thesaurus to get started.

8. Repetition
Sir Gamaliel was a brave knight who fought dragons many times in his career. The king had many other brave knights, but none as brave as Sir Gamaliel. The people in the kingdom knew that Sir Gamaliel was the bravest of all the knights. They erected a statue of him in the town square.
Some possible synonyms for brave include:
courageous
fearless
the most gallant

9. Many words can be used as a noun or a verb
For example, look at the following sentence:
I will lock the door when I leave the house.
The word “lock” is an action (a verb).
Now, look at how the word “lock” is used in this sentence:
The robber broke the lock on the door.
In this sentence, “lock” is a thing (a noun).

10. When using a thesaurus, you need to know whether you are looking for a synonym for a noun or a verb.
For example, the word “guard” can be a noun or a verb.
 A synonym for “guard”
when used as a noun is “watchman.”
when used as a verb is “protect.”

11. Activity JAM Look up the word “jam” in your thesaurus.
On one side of the line, write at least three synonyms for it when used as a noun.
On the other side of the line, write at least three synonyms for it when used as a verb.
noun
verb
JAM
jelly
barrier
blockage
obstruction
cram
pack
stuff
block

12. Let’s work on our essays!