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Introduction
Introduction
Verbs are the unsung heroes of language infusing life into words and sentences. Defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a verb is the grammatical center of a predicate and expresses an action, occurrence, or mode of being. Despite the website's main audience being students, verb choice does not only apply to students as verb choice is universal to all writers regardless of education, profession, or type of writing. The current webpage will utilize the power of verb choice and will explain the importance of using correct verb choice to every writer, not just students.
The Importance of Verb Choice
The Importance of Verb Choice
A verb dictates the meaning of a sentence. For example, the sentence “The herd of cows ran through the busy streets of San Luis Obispo.” versus “The herd of cows trampled through the busy streets of San Luis Obsipo.” The use of the verbs “ran” versus “trampled” affects the message and meaning behind the sentence. The readers can visualize the cows moving across the city, but the effect is different between the two verbs because “trampled comes off as a more violent word than “ran”. The importance of correct and accurate verb choice determines the message of a sentence. Crafting effective writing demands a keen understanding of the importance of each chosen verb's influence on the conveyed message. Phrasal verbs and rhetorical phrases have no purpose in academic writing. The usage of phrasal verbs is not clear regarding the occurring action and should be replaced with a more precise verb. Writers can accurately convey a message to the audience by utilizing precise verbs to capture the intended actions, thereby enhancing clarity for the reader.
Verb choice highly affects academic writing by contributing to greater understanding from the reader of the essay’s argument. Professors inspect the level of verb choice a student writes on paper through the evaluation of the student's stylistic choices. Most professors take note of the style and clarity of a paper, verb choice influences style and clarity because of how that verb contributes to each sentence. For example, the sentence “The confusing situation was hard to understand” sounds fine to an individual speaking to another individual, however, in a formal essay, the sentence does not have proper style and clarity. Instead, writing the sentence as “The complexity of the situation made the concept hard to grasp.” possesses more style and clarity due to verb choice. The sentence above flows easier within a formal essay, as the word “grasp” elevates the sentence structure. Over time, a student should be able to identify correct verb choices, improving style and clarity within the writing. Practicing active language and active verbs develops active writing. Active writing helps to engage the readers and enhances the essay so the readers have a grasp of the material.
Approach to Strong Verb Choice in Writing
Approach to Strong Verb Choice in Writing
Verbs are indicative of the action within a sentence; therefore, strong verb usage creates clarity of the occurring action. The usage of imprecise and weak verbs distorts clarity and is an issue that many authors struggle with. Strategically choosing verbs allows an author to write clearly and formally, articulating the message to the audience in a professional and precise manner. Regarding the usage of verbs for effective writing, Steve Peha argues that “[s]ome verbs are said to be stronger than others, and these are the ones that tend to make your writing more effective … take a verb like ‘run’ and another verb with a similar meaning like ‘sprint’” (11). Peha contrasts the verb ‘run’ and the verb ‘sprint’ to argue that a more precise and descriptive verb, like ‘sprint,’ provides clarity to the reader about the action that is occurring; therefore leading to a stronger argument. With weak verbs, the argument lacks substance and loses effectiveness reinforcing why strong verb choice is necessary to effective writing. Action, Linking, and Auxiliary Verbs provide strong verbs that aid in offering clear comprehension to a sentence.
Action Verbs
Action verbs highlight the physical or mental action of being performed by the subject of the sentence. Utilizing a specific action verb based off of the subject’s situation creates clarity and depth to the sentence.
After a tiresome day in the plains, the cows think about the days ahead of them.
This sentence makes perfect sense, but through precise action verbs, the sentence can be amplified for deeper meaning.
After a tiresome day in the plains, the cows ruminate on the days ahead of them.
Think and ruminate are synonyms on paper. However, the micro definitions of the two words make them more suitable to certain sentences than others. To ruminate means to ponder deeply, whereas thinking just means to hold an opinion. After a long day, the cows in the sentence could only be ruminating, as the cows have just endured a long day and are resting in long thought.
Action verbs strengthen the formality of sentences, which adds credibility to the author who wrote the body of work. There are many action verbs that are appropriate for multitudes of sentences. This chart provides a couple universally useful action verbs.
Linking Verbs
Linking verbs connect a subject to their complementary traits and descriptions. Without these descriptions, the subjects of a body of work appear plain and one sided, with no story element to the character. Linking verbs, reverse this problem by bridging the subject directly to their attributes.
As rain thundered down into the barn that day, the cows appear horrendous due to their playing in the mud.
This linking verb, although highly universal, makes no sense in this context. The word horrendous is not describing the physical appearance of the cows within this context.
As rain thundered down into the barn that day, the cows smell horrendous due to their playing in the mud.
Appear and smell are very well both linking verbs. However, notice how the two words changed the entire context of the sentence that they were placed into. By picking out the correct linking verb, the author notes which sensory details should be identified within a situation. This also holds relevance to the greater body of work, as that detail will forever be attached to that subject.
Auxiliary Verbs
Auxiliary verbs, also known as helping verbs, offer more clarity to pre existing verbs. Auxiliary verbs are added as a prefix to a verb in a sentence and elevate the mood, tense, or meaning of the sentence.
The cows wait for the tractor to go down the path in order for them to stampede the barn.
There is much more clarity that could be added to this sentence with an auxiliary verb. As the reader, the sentence does not properly clarify why exactly the cows must wait. Furthermore, the reader does not know how needed this action is given the context of the sentence. One auxiliary verb will easily fix the problems of this sentence.
The cows must wait for the tractor to go down the path in order for them to stampede the barn.
With the addition of must, the cows are now given clarification on their action. The reader can infer through the auxiliary verb must, that the tractor is in their way of the barn, explaining that there is now a strong need to wait for the tractor, because the tractor is in their way. The small edition of an auxiliary verb grants a sentence with the specific tense intended by the author.
Verb choice needs to be addressed in a way that encourages better writing. In concentrating on proper verb choice while writing, authors learn to be more accustomed to a sophisticated writing approach. When provided with the necessary tools that aid in selecting valuable verbs, writers will become better equipped with the knowledge of strong, academic writing. Writers need to know the proper verb(s) to use in sentences at any given time throughout the writing process. The development of effective strategies, in terms of verb choice, within academic writing is additionally examined in the following paragraphs.
Methods & Procedures to Apply
Methods & Procedures to Apply
Choosing strong verbs is essential for effective communication. Verb choice conveys key messages by engaging the audience through logic and persuasive rhetoric. A few strategies to improve verb choice as a writer include utilizing a Thesaurus to identify weak verbs, and replacing the words with higher-quality verbs. Along with utilizing a Thesaurus, search engines such as Google, Firefox, and Ecosia offer high quantities of synonyms to find more descriptive or fitting verbs. Avoiding generic verbs that have no specific meaning to the sentence, enhances clarity. Paying close attention to the tense of each verb ensures consistency throughout the writing, while also reinforcing the intended message.
Thesauruses are an accessible tool for finding alternative words to embed nuanced clarity within a writer's writing. Clear writing enhances the credibility of the author's perspective, as readers are more likely to trust and be receptive to well-articulated ideas. In politics, a person may observe that politicians who lack expertise can still persuade large audiences through articulate verbal expression and selective verbs. Thesauruses allow students to avoid repeating the same verb, providing further clarity. Repetition of a verb causes monotony and diminishes the overall effectiveness of the writing. Suppose a student writes a report on the effects of climate change on wildlife in a particular region and within the report is the following sentence: “The cow is impacted by the adverse climate effect from temperature changes. As the impact of the weather may affect one species, a pattern of impacts occurs within others.” The student uses the verb “impact”, a banned word in English 145, to describe the adverse effects of climate change on different species. The verb choice seems to lessen the reader’s understanding of the variety of the topic's significance. By utilizing a Thesaurus, finding synonyms for these commonly repeated verbs such as, “affect,” “influence,” “harm,” “jeopardize,” or “endanger.” the sentence can be adjusted drastically: “The cow is one of many mammals largely influenced by the adverse climate effect from temperature changes. As the weather changes harm one species, the pattern of harm occurs within others.” A variety of verbs can effectively communicate the severity and diversity of the lasting effects of climate change on wildlife in the region, and engage readers effectively.
Weak verbs are generic and lack specificity. Rather than using generic verbs, opt for verbs that accurately depict the specific action being described. An example of a weak verb being used in an argumentative essay would sound like “John says verbs need to be strong.” Rather than using “says,” the use of “claims,” “argues,” "asserts," or “suggests,” are considered stronger, depending on the context of the sentence.
Writing an essay using an active voice provides directness, enabling readers to understand clearly who or what is performing the action. The difference between passive and active actions is that the passive voice obscures the subject, often leading to a more convoluted sentence. For example, the passive voice would be used in the sentence “the ball was tossed by the cow,” while the active voice would be used as “the cow tossed the ball.” Paying attention to the tense is crucial as verbs can be used in the context of past, present, and future. The choice of tense can affect the meaning and tone of a piece.
Selecting precise and impactful verbs is integral to effective communication. By utilizing a Thesaurus to identify and replace weak verbs, writers can enhance the clarity and engagement of writing. By replacing weak verbs with more specific verbs, writers can add nuanced emotions and capture the reader's attention with a more compelling argument. Employing the active voice fosters directness and facilitates understanding for readers, contrasting with the passive voice's tendency to obscure meaning. Attention to verb choice and sentence structure empowers writers to convey a message with clarity and persuasiveness.
Overview of Verb Choice
Overview of Verb Choice
Verb choice refers to the selection of an appropriate and effective verb to convey the intended meaning in writing. Understanding the importance of verb choice is crucial in achieving clarity and precision in written communication. Students frequently struggle with proper verb choice which often creates repetitiveness in writing. So what are common issues that students come across when choosing verbs to employ? According to Walden University, “In academic writing, it is typically preferable to use single-world English or Latin-based verbs rather than multi word phrasal verbs (also known as compound verbs)” (“Scholarly Voice”). For example, “examine” is a much stronger choice than “look into” for writing an essay. Students need to be wary about specific verbs in relation to how sentences sound to the reader. In attempts to not sound wordy or non-academic, authors must choose concise language, especially in regards to verbs. Verbs are extremely important in creating meaning in sentences and whole bodies of work, so choosing strong verbs is essential to good writing. An extremely common issue that students have with verb choice is writing with passive voice, which makes the reader immediately seem unscholarly and untrustworthy. Here are some examples of strengthening verb choice from passive to active:
Before (passive voice): After (active voice):
The book was read by the girl. The girl read the book.
Before (passive voice): After (active voice):
Mistakes were made. [Subject] made a mistake.
By making simple changes such as the examples above, student authors can sound much more confident and knowledgeable about certain topics. The choice of verbs is essential in creating meaning and a good writing style in a piece of work. Verb choice also conveys the author’s meaning, contributing to the creation of clear messages and stories. When a student chooses verbs that explain the argument of a journal the student is quoting, writing that the author “emphasizes” or “challenges” the topic versus “says” or “states” provides a much stronger argument for the student’s analysis. Choosing more specific diction will bolster a student’s argument and style as an author. By addressing the issues and providing guidance on effective verb choice, students can improve the quality of writing. Further education on verb choice will ultimately result in stronger pieces of writing by students. The significance of verb selection cannot be overstated, as verbs serve as the backbone of conveying specific meaning, establishing credibility, and enhancing clarity. By taking the advice of the webpage, students can harness the power of verbs to elevate scholarly writing to new levels of complexity and strength.
(Note: Remember to utilize verbs in the correct context of the sentence they are in!)
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