Thirty Days to Unlock FCAT Writing Success - Polk County School ...

One Syllable Words
Big words can make the way dark for those who read what you write and hear what you say.
Small words cast their clear light on big things—night and day, love and hate, war and peace,
and life and death. Small words are the ones we seem to have known from the time we were
born, like the hearth fire that warms the home.
Writing Magazine, March 1994
Directions
Write a piece using only one syllable words. This does not mean you only use simple words. Think of
concrete words that have depth and are single syllable. It might help to first make a list of words.
Nouns: brute, range, clay, dawn, mast,
Verbs: rhyme, slice, shear, prove, lure,
Adjectives: slim, beige, weak, bronze,
Student example:
Not once this week, but twice he woke at four a.m. just to see her. The dawn came too quick, like their
love for each other had—in what seemed like an hour. The girl crept from the glass pane like a bold thief
and sat with him in the wet grass, her skin chilled and yet her core warm. They spoke in a soft hush as
they each kept their eyes to the house. When the light came on and a dark gray moved past the shades,
the boy kissed the girl once more, soft, soft. And she felt full, like the star-crossed pair they knew from
the play.
Now, it’s Your Turn!
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