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Grammar ~ The Four Communication Elements

Writing ~ Examples of Individuality and Circumstance

Now, let’s consider this matter in more depth today. Individuality in writing is not only related with the writer, but also with the reader.

Let’s take an example from one of the classes The Arvon Foundation did in the past. The students were asked to write a piece in response to the word ‘Poppy’.

One student wrote:

“Mad Patsy said, he said to me,
That every morning he could see
An angel walking in the sky;
Across the sunny skies of morn
He threw great handfuls far and nigh
Of poppy seed among the corn;
And then, he said, the angels run
To see the poppies in the sun.

Another one wrote:

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row…

Given the same word, the same flower and we have a result at two ends of the spectrum – can you see?

Now, the above demonstrates individuality in the writer, but take for example the following fact: imagine two people reading the same story, say “The Little Prince”. One will keep a box of tissues on the side, to cope with the tears and the other will discard the book altogether, for it being ‘eyewash’. A similar scene used to take place in my home as I grew up: my father and I used to shed the tears, getting emotional while watching films together whereas my mother and brother, untouched, used to nudge each other and laugh at our ‘weakness’ .

Two people read a report in the paper about a bomb-throwing incident. One goes to his hidden drawer, takes out a box of grenades and rushes out of the house quite agitated. The other one puts the paper down, helps himself to another double portion of chips and switches the TV on.

Therefore, when writing, we need to consider what it is we wish to put across to our readers, who ARE our readers and how could we impress them most with an adequate choice of words and individual voice.

As for circumstance in writing, imagine that you’re planning to use ‘the’ four-letter word in two contexts:

- a) The word is uttered in the changing-room of the losing team, after a hard match lost on a disputed penalty in the third minute of injury time. It hardly scratches the ears of any of the participants – it’s just a background noise in the air. Equally it doesn’t disturb the reader much, as such a voice is expected in such scenes.
- b) Now imagine the same word shouted above the heads of the participants entertaining some small talk at the Lord Mayor’s Banquet… A completely different circumstance that will inspire readers to interpret the same voice in a totally different way. Do you get it?

In conclusion, we need to remember that words are explosive, they are touching the ears, minds and the spirit of those who stop to read them. However, the extent of the explosion will differ according to the individual writing/reading the piece and the circumstance outlined.

Game of the Week ~ Super Similes

On the first page are the game instructions: When you start the game you will see a 'slot machine'. Click the 'Spin' button on the right of the machine. As the pictures spin, a simile will appear at the bottom of the machine. Decide which picture finishes the simile and click the checkbox underneath that picture (if you are lucky you will get two or three of the correct picture). Then click 'Spin' again. There are three levels in this game but you will need to get all the similes correct in each level before you can move to the next one.

Either you choose to play again to reinforce your vocabulary, or you may select another game from the same website - the Gamezone of the English Online website.

This is it for now, my friends!

Please feel free to comment and suggest your ideas by replying to this email - I look forward to hearing from you. If you wish to chat either with me or with other members worldwide, go to My English Club .

All the best from me until next time,

Lucia da Vinci

Founder of My English Club