writing

Sad… Sometimes it’s more precise than you think!

Stacey Shubitz

Last week, during the Writing Institute, Lucy stressed the impotance of writing with precise language since that enhances meaning. I was shocked when she said that sometimes “I felt bad,” in a kid’s writing MIGHT truly be exact. I sat there wondering about that for awhile since I’ve been teaching kids to “crack open” general words for quite some time. (Cracking open words comes from Georgia Heard’s Book.)

Advance to this morning: I watched Matt Lauer interview Maggie Gyllenhal about Heath Ledger’s last appearance in the new “Batman” Movie on “The Today Show.” When asked how she felt about Ledger’s death with regard to his last on-screen performance, Gyllenhal kept saying, “It’s so sad.” Not a very powerful word, BUT it was exceedingly precise and truthful.

So, I went back to thinking about what Lucy said last week about reaching for precise words when writers go to the page to write. Even though I want my kids to use powerful words when they write, sometimes I think I need to lay-off of my students. Afterall, sometimes we really do feel just plain ol’ sad!

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Published by Stacey Shubitz

Stacey Shubitz is a K-6 literacy consultant and former elementary teacher. She is the author of CRAFT MOVES and other professional books on writing workshop. Her forthcoming book, MAKE THE SCHOOL SYSTEM WORK FOR YOUR CHILD WITH DISABILITIES (Guilford Press, 2026), empowers parents to navigate the special education system.

5 thoughts on “Sad… Sometimes it’s more precise than you think!”

  1. Yeah. I think “I felt bad” can be precise and exactly what a piece needs. Yet, I also think we have to help kids who are ready in their writing journey to understand that “I felt bad” might not help your reader actually feel what you felt. I think this somehow goes with the “use as many words as you can” tip from a few days ago…

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  3. I’m so glad you mentioned that. “Writers use strong verbs…” is usually the start of many of my detail-oriented conferences when I confer with student writers. It’s one of the best lessons Lucy taught me when I took “The Teaching of Writing” with her in grad school. Hence the reason I use it so much with my kids. (Cutting the lard, aka: the adverbs and adjectives, is a good one too!)

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  4. Sometimes, I think when students get into the upper middle grades, they have a tendency to over-adjective-ize their sentences, instead of using strong verbs or exacting descriptions. There’s a sense, for me as their teacher, of responsibility to help them through the process of creating a balance between precise wording and beautiful language. One of my college professors referred to this as “cutting the lard”–something I still struggle with! The best way, for me, is to seek out mentor texts that showcase the balance well.

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  5. Great point. I think I also – speaking purely for myself – I expect more of my students than is age-appropriate — I want them to write beautifully and perfectly and forget that they are only 9 or 10 year olds and for them at this age “I felt bad” could be pretty darn eloquent.

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