English Second Language (AS)·3 · Grammar & Language Usage · NSSCAS 5.3.4
Creating mood & atmosphere; conveying attitude, bias & euphemism
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Word choice does three jobs at once: it builds a mood, it leaks the writer's attitude, and it can soften a hard truth. Learn to create mood deliberately, catch bias in a text and quote the words that reveal it, and use euphemism where it is kind — while spotting it where it hides.
What you'll learn in this lesson
By the end you should be able to (NSSCAS English Second Language (AS) 5.3.4):
- Learners should be able to create a chosen mood or atmosphere in their own writing through deliberate word choice, detail selection and sentence rhythm.
- Learners should be able to explain the difference between mood and tone, and name the mood of a text.
- Learners should be able to distinguish denotation from connotation, and choose words for the feeling they carry.
- Learners should be able to convey a clear attitude towards a subject by choosing loaded rather than neutral vocabulary.
- Learners should be able to detect bias in a text, name the writer's attitude in their own words, and quote the exact words that reveal it.
- Learners should be able to define euphemism and use euphemisms appropriately for sensitivity, politeness or formality.
- Learners should be able to evaluate when a euphemism protects a person and when it is used to hide or mislead.
- Learners should be able to rewrite a neutral sentence with positive and with negative bias without altering the facts.
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