ILIGAN CITY NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
General Wood Street, Mahayahay Iligan City
Senior High School Department
SELF- LEARNING ACTIVITY
CREATIVE WRITING
Quarter 1 Module 1
LESSON 2
MELC 1: Use imagery, DICTION, figures of
speech, and specific experiences HUMSS_CW/MP11/12-Iab-
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES: At the end of this lesson, you will be
able to:
1. define what diction is.
2. differentiate formal diction from informal diction.
3. choose the correct word to complete the sentence/line
in the text.
In the first lesson, you have learned one of the
important literary devices you can use to come up with a creative
writing composition and that is IMAGERY. However, your
knowledge of it may be useless if you don’t have enough
vocabulary words that will correctly expressed the exact picture
you want to imprint in your reader’s mind. In choosing the
accurate words to express your thoughts and ideas you need the
knowledge of DICTION. What is then a Diction?
Before we will define the term, let us first watch this
video and find out how formal and informal diction differ from
each other.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyAq4mj96bo
What did you notice on the video specially on the words
they used to communicate with each other? Did you spot
differences? What are those?
Direction: Plot your observation on the video watched using the
table below.
Video A B
Dialog
Relationship of the
person talking with
Setting (Where is
the conversation
happens)
WHAT IS DICTION?
Diction refers to the speaking or writing style or the
choice of words that a speaker or writer uses. The choice of
words has a significant effect on the quality of a speech or
writing. Well-chosen words help a writer or a speaker to pass a
message clearly and easily. On the other hand, poor word choice
can cause message misinterpretation by the readers or listeners.
All forms of communication, whether written or oral, are
made up of words. They are considered the basic kernel of
transmitting ideas and information. Knowing how to properly use
the right words in any form of creative writing is an advantage.
The words you employ in your writing ultimately reveal your tone
and attitude in your work.
Qualities of Good Diction
The words a writer or speaker chooses must be
accurate and right. This is vital since it helps to prevent message
misinterpretation. Secondly, the words must go in line with the
context within which the writer or speaker uses them. Thirdly, the
words should be easy to understand to help the reader/listener
understand the message being conveyed clearly. Using complex
words might put off your listeners and readers.
TYPES OF DICTION
A. FORMAL DICTION
This diction entails the use of formal language which is used
to address formal situations. In this type of diction, sophisticated
language is used and it also follows grammatical rules. People
use this diction to write articles, address audiences, make formal
presentations, or even address a press conference. Additionally,
you can also find formal diction in legal papers, business
documents, and professional texts. Generally, formal diction is
typically used in formal settings.
Other characteristics of formal diction are:
➢It involves choosing words that are polite and proper.
➢Often filled with descriptive words that are quite precise and
sentences may be longer.
Example:
Formal: The man spoke to his father in a low voice so others
could not hear. Informal: That guy told his dad secrets in a low
voice.
Going to the extremes of formal diction, jargon is a
highly technical language or specialized terms that only people in
a certain group understands.
Example: The candidate must be adept at both the
latest communications technology and heritage voice systems to
keep all stakeholders informed of developing trends in the
workplace.
B. INFORMAL DICTION
Informal diction refers to the use of informal,
casual, and conversational words while speaking or writing.
Unlike formal diction, it is more relaxed, and it is what people use
in real life to interact with their colleagues and friends. In writing,
you can use informal diction to write personal letters and emails
to friends and relatives. Some writers also use informal diction
when writing poems, short stories, and novels.
In addition, informal diction uses shorter words and
sentences may be shorter.
Going to the extremes of informal diction, colloquialism is a
language which is highly informal and may include regional
expressions and spelling that reflect dialect and non-standard
pronunciation.
Example: I am gonna become the best player in the world.
(‘gonna’ is a colloquial word that means I am going to)
Direction: Read the different types of diction and understand how
the choice of words affects the meaning of the sentence.
Formal Diction Informal Diction
Hello, young man. It is a true
Hey, kid. Nice to meet ya.
pleasure to make your acquaintance.
What's up?
How are you feeling today?
The man spoke to his father in a low That guy told his dad
voice so others could not hear. secrets on the down-low.
Would you care to explain the
Why'd you leave the party
reasoning behind your decision to
so soon?
leave the gathering early?
Explanation:
In the first example, the speaker uses longer words such as
"pleasure" and "acquaintance" as well as longer sentences. By
contrast, the informal speaker uses monosyllabic words like "kid",
slang like "ya" and very short sentences. Though both examples
convey the same information, they do so with different levels of
formality.
Colloquial Diction: She was hotter than a hen on a July Sunday.
Explanation: This sentence is highly informal, and it assumes that
the reader understands that the hen is hot not just because it's
summer, but because she's likely to end up in the soup pot for
Sunday dinner as part of rural tradition. In some ways,
colloquialisms such as this one can be just as exclusive as jargon,
appealing only to groups who are in the know about local traditions
and expressions.
https://examples.yourdictionary.com/diction-examples.html
 Dalumangcad, Jona S. Creative Writing (fiction) Module &
SLA SY 2021-2022 Condensed Self- Made Learning Module.
Unpublished Materials.
ACTIVITY SHEET
CREATIVE WRITING
Quarter 1 Module 1
LESSON 2
Name: _____________________________________________
Grade & Section: ____________________________________
Contact#: __________________________________________
Address: ___________________________________________
Date received: _______________________________________
Date submitted: _____________________________________
MELC 1: Use imagery, DICTION, figures of
speech, and specific experiences HUMSS_CW/MP11/12-Iab-
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES: At the end of this lesson, you will be
able to:
1. define what diction is.
2. differentiate formal diction from informal diction.
3. write a script in both formal and informal diction.
Activity 1: DEFINE ME!
Directions: Answer the following questions briefly and concisely.
1. If the lesson Diction can be compared to a certain thing
what it is and why? (5 pts.)
2. How important the skills of choosing the right words to
express thoughts and feelings in your day to day
conversation. (5pts)
Activity 2. IDENTIFY ME!
Directions: Identify to which diction in literature do the following
literary passages belong by putting a tick/check mark under
columns B or C. Numbers 1 & 2 are done for you.
Formal
Literary Passages Diction in
Literature
"But I reckon I got to light out for the
territory ahead of the rest, because
Aunt Sally she's going to adopt me
and sivilize me, and I can't stand it. I
been there before." - The
Adventures of Huckleberry
Finn, Mark Twain
"It is a truth universally
acknowledged, that a single man in
possession of a good fortune must
be in want of a wife. However little
known the feelings or views of such
a man may be on his first entering a
✓ Scenario: Asking if they go for vaccination or not.
neighborhood, this truth is so well
fixed in the minds of the surrounding
families, that he is considered as the
rightful property of someone or other
of their daughters." - Pride and
Prejudice, Jane Austen
"What a piece of work is a man! How
noble in reason, how infinite in
faculty! In form and moving how
express and admirable! In action
how like an Angel! In apprehension
how like a god! The beauty of the
world! The paragon of animals! And
yet to me, what is this quintessence
of dust? Man delights not me; no,
nor Woman neither; though by your
smiling you seem to say so."
- Hamlet, William Shakespeare
"The sun set; the dusk fell on the
stream, and lights began to appear
along the shore. The Chapman
lighthouse, a three-legged thing
erects on a mud-flat, shone strongly.
Lights of ships moved in the fairway-
a great stir of lights going up and
going down. And farther west on the
upper reaches the place of the
monstrous town was still marked
ominously on the sky, a brooding
gloom in sunshine, a lurid glare
under the stars." - Heart of
Darkness, Joseph Conrad
"Anyway, I keep picturing all these
little kids playing some game in this
big field of rye and all. Thousands of
little kids, and nobody's around-
nobody big, I mean-except me. And
I'm standing on the edge of some
crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have
to catch everybody if they start to go
over the cliff-I mean if they're
running and they don't look where
they're going I have to come out
from somewhere and catch them.
That's all I do all day. I'd just be The
Catcher in the Rye and all. I know
it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd
really like to be." - The Catcher in
the Rye, J. D. Salinger
"Sometimes God gits familiar wid us
womenfolks too and talks His inside
business. He told me how surprised
He was 'bout y'all truning out so
smart after Him makin' yuh different;
and how surprised y'all is goin' tuh
be if you ever find out you don't
know half as much 'bout us as you
think you do. It's so easy to make
yo'self out God Almighty when you
ain't got nothin' tuh strain against but
women and chickens." - Their Eyes
Were Watching God, Zora Neale
Informal Hurston
Diction in
Literature
Activity 2: WRITE ME IN!
Direction: Write a script in the following scenario.
Scenario 1:
Event: Press Conference
✓
Setting: City Hall
Person: President Duterte
Scenario: Act as a reporter and ask questions address to the
Presidents regarding how effective vaccine is.
Scenario 2:
Event: Birthday Celebration
Setting: Go Hotel at Robinson’s Place
Person: Close Relatives
Watch this video for better understanding of the lesson.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBNQF6IHimc
Prepared by: JACKYLYN M. MANEJA
Contact #:0905-715-8661
Schedules:
MONDAY/TUESDAY/WEDNESDAY: Webi /Digi Class
(Work from Home)
TUESDAY: Modular Class
Distribution/Retrieval/Checking of Module
THURSDAY: Follow-up calls. (School)