Round vs Around

A conversation between my sister and me some time back.

Me:  I turned around and saw…

Sister:  Shouldn’t it be ‘turned round’?

(I looked at her blankly.)

Sister:  I mean, if you turn around, you would have turned a complete circle, 360˚,      and you would be facing where you were originally facing, wouldn’t you?

Me: I think they mean the same thing.

Sister:  Are you sure?

I wasn’t, and as an English teacher, I should know better, shouldn’t I? So I took it upon myself to check.

Short answer for those who couldn’t care less: There is not much difference between the two words and generally, they can be used interchangeably.

For the grammar Nazis amongst us:

According to the 11^th edition of the Concise Oxford Dictionary, ‘around’ is both a preposition (3 definitions) and an adverb (6 definitions). In the exchange above between my sister and me, it is used as an adverb and it means ‘to face in the opposite direction’.

The same tome explains that ‘round’ can be an adjective (6 definitions), a noun (7 definitions), an adverb (5 definitions), a preposition (4 definitions) and a verb (also 4 definitions).

So ‘round’ can also be used correctly in the exchange above. Used in the context above, it would be an adverb and it means ‘to rotate and face in the opposite direction’.

The good dictionary goes so far as to explain that in British English, the words ‘round’ and ‘around’ are interchangeable in many contexts. There is, however, a general preference for ‘round’ to be used for definite, specific movement (I turned round; the red car came round the corner), while ‘around’ tends to be used in contexts which are less definite (I wandered around for ages; a rumour circulating around the cocktail bars).

In US English, the normal form is ‘around’. ‘Round’ is generally used in certain fixed expressions such as all year round and they went round and round in circles.

So now you know. And if someone questions you on your usage of ‘round’ or ‘around’ in the future, you can confidently say that they are interchangeable.   ;)

PEA OF HAPPINESS

This week's composition is based on a recent PSLE question, probably from 2013 or 2012.  Can't remember which.


Again it's the picture-based question. My personal preference is usually question 3, the one whereby you have to continue the story given a opening scenario. Even as a PSLE candidate many many moons ago, I never chose picture-based compositions, whether it was in the actual examination or during practices.


My preference for open-ended questions simply stems from the fact that such questions usually give you more rein for creativity than picture-based ones. However, I've noticed since I began teaching that more than half the students prefer picture-based ones, mainly because they find it easier to stick to a story based on the picture, and also because it's less likely that they will go out of point when they do picture-based compositions.


I've also noticed that in the last 2-3 years, the picture-based composition is getting more difficult. This is because the picture presents a very simple event like birthday celebrations. Such events may be simple to describe but that is also their main problem -- they are too simple. How are you going to score high points for content when describing a birthday celebration?


The idea is to make the story more complex by:

1. adding emotional depth (like what we did here)

2. putting obstacles into the story (perhaps there were some difficulties during the preparation of the party - hence the lack of a birthday cake and dishes?)


This week's format is the same as the previous week's. The first video will analyse the picture and present the storyline we are doing.


Video 1 - Storyline




The second video will go through the sample story.


Video 2 - Sample Story




In the third video, we'll present a list of words and phrases that can be used in the description of happiness.

Video 3 - The PEA of Happiness




Notes:

1. In Video 2, Paragraph 3, second last bullet, 'packed' should be 'pack' because of the modal 'would' in front of it. If you remember, a verb after any modal (can, could, will, would, etc) must take the base form; that means no past tense, past participle or singular form.

2. In Video 3, Action -- one of the actions people do to express their happiness is to pump their fist in the ear air. Sorry for the typo in the video. And it's really tough to re-do the video, so I'm putting the correction here instead.


Resources:

Assignment

PEA of Happiness

PEA OF SADNESS

We've done anger and fear.


This week we're doing sadness.


I've divided the video this week into three parts.


The first video will analyse the picture and see what storyline would be suitable for the picture. (Do note that this is not the only acceptable storyline. In writing, creativity and imagination are paramount.)




In the second video, we will go through the sample story. Once again, the sample story is not cast in stone. It is only meant as a point of reference. Feel free to explore and use your own ideas.




In the last video, we cover the theme of the week: the PEA of Sadness. You'll learn how to describe sadness in your writing here.





Resources for this week:

Assignment

PEA of Sadness

PEA OF ANGER

This is this week's composition. I've split it into two videos as it came up to almost twenty minutes despite my best efforts.


The first video will go through the outline of the story, and in the second video, we go through how to describe anger.


The first video (I tried to embed the video, but being rather technically unsavvy, I'm having problems, and I'm in a hurry, so will leave it as a link instead, and come back to fix it later). Edit: Embedded already. Whoo hoo! Learnt a new trick today. Who says you can't teach old dogs new tricks?

Book Review: THE OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE

There is no denying that Neil Gaiman is a compelling writer. He comes up with cliffhangers that demand you continue reading to find out what happens next.

That said, I generally find something lacking in many of his stories. There is always that something that leaves me vaguely unsatisfied after reading his book. As a result, I generally prefer his short stories to his novels. He is one of the most celebrated fantasy writers of his time, and rightly so. But for some reason, even though I find his stories interesting, unique and original, I hesitate to call any of his works ‘great’.

Recently, I finished The Ocean at The End of The Lane. My first impression was that it was his best work yet. Unlike his previous novels, I didn’t go away with that gnawing feeling of unsatisfied expectations.

The story starts off with an unnamed narrator who went back to England for some unspecified event - but which was most probably a funeral - and prompted by an urge that was only partially explained at the end of the story, he visited his old neighbourhood and drove down the lane to the farm of his old friend, Lettie Hempstock.

SPOILERS AHEAD

As he sat on the farm, his memories returned to him and he remembered the three females on the farm: Grandmother Old Mrs Hempstock, Mother Mrs Ginnie Hempstock and daughter Lettie Hempstock, as well as the role they played in the life-and-death incident when he was seven.

When he was seven, his parents fell on hard times and had to take in boarders (tenants in American English). One of the boarders was a South African miner who came in a cab that ran over and killed the boy’s black kitten. In return, he caught a hostile tomcat and gifted it to the Boy. Not particularly important plot point but for some reason I find this part hilarious.

The significant role played by the South African in the story was that he committed suicide after losing all his money, and his friends’ money, at a casino. And he chose to die at the edge of the Hempstocks’ farm.

The problem with this was that the Hempstocks were no ordinary women. They were benign supernatural beings who ensured that order was kept in all the worlds of the universe. When the miner died at the edge of their farm, a place where the barriers between worlds run thin, he awoke a being from another world (whom we shall call Rags) who began to wreck havoc on this world.

The Hempstocks were apprised of the situation by the Boy and Lettie was given the task of reining in Rags. This seemed to be a duty that she was no stranger to. Her manner was confident and easy and she decided to bring the Boy along. Just because she could. Even though her elders advised her against it. Anyone who knows fairytales would know what happens when the young go against the well-meaning advice of the older and wiser.

And indeed, although Lettie managed to subdue Rags, the latter found a way to follow the Boy back into his world, where she materialised into Ursula Monkton, an au pair (babysitter to the rest of the world) who made the Boy’s world hell. She banned him from leaving the grounds of his house, so he could not go to the Hempstocks’ home for help. She kept an eye on him as closely as the NSA monitors the world, Americans and non-Americans alike. She seduced his father, and abetted him to almost drown the Boy.

Eventually, the Boy managed to escape to the Hempstocks’ farm. Lettie came to the rescue by calling forth some supernatural birds that feed upon beings like Rags and Rags was devoured by these creatures. Problem quite easily solved? Not quite.

That was not the end of the Boy’s woes. It turned out that Rags had used the Boy as a portal to cross over from her world to his. And a fragment of the portal was left in his heart. So the birds refused to leave until their job was done, that is until they had consumed his heart. In the ensuing face-off, Lettie was badly hurt, as close to death as a being like her could be. Her grandmother and mother released her into the ocean which resembled a pond (another manifestation of the women’s powers) so that she could heal. It was hinted that her healing could take eternities and that even then, she might not return. And if she did return, it could be in another form.

After the incident, the Boy’s memories were altered so that he didn’t remember Lettie sacrificing herself to save him. What he remembered was that she left for Australia with her father. Only at the crossroads of his life would he return to the pond/ocean. Another reason offered for his occasional returns to the pond/ocean was that Lettie wanted to see how the Boy turned out. Which was the true reason? Shrugs. With Lettie’s powers, injured as she was, she could possibly have timed her desire to see the Boy with his life-changing moments. The Boy never remembered those times he returned to the farm. Just as it was shown that the moment he left this time, at the end of the book, he began to forget again.

Gaiman is a master at world-building. It is amazing how he could use such simple language to construct a layered world imbued with magic and fantasy. There was the normal mundane world which was a struggle for the Boy who was a loner and could not fit in in school. When he met Lettie, he stumbled into her world where time travel was normal and reality could be altered, or even deleted.

The charm of this story lies in the strength of the world Gaiman built. Despite all the incredulous happenings, he made it all so realistic and believable.

It is recommended that this book be read just to see how simple words and language could be used to knit a tight and gripping story.

My only gripe with the book is that the problem of the ravenous birds who would not go away was resolved so easily that it was a little contrived. But this is a minor quibble, in view of the enjoyable hours I spent in the Boy and Lettie’s world.

Contend vs Content

‘Content’ and ‘contend’ are only a letter apart but their meanings are vastly different.

Contend

‘Contend’ is only used as a verb, and it is usually paired with prepositions ‘with’ and ‘against’, giving us phrasal verbs ‘contend with’ and ‘contend against’

Definitions

1. Struggle to overcome a difficulty

2. Assert in an argument

Content

‘Content’ can be used a noun, verb and adjective.

Definitions

Verb

1. Satisfy (someone)

2. Accept as okay although things could be better (content oneself with)

Noun

1. A state of satisfaction

Adjective

1. In a state of peaceful happiness or satisfaction

The adjectival form is the most important as it is most frequently used by pupils.

So when you want to say you are perfectly happy with a situation (very common happenstance at the end of your composition when all problems have been resolved satisfactorily), you should say, ‘I went to bed, contented that justice had been served.’

PEA OF FEAR

Stories, whether they are a 150-word PSLE composition or 100,000-word novel, are driven by plot or by characters.

Typical plots that arise regularly in the PSLE include:

* fire

* drowning (or threat of drowning)

* crime (robbery, theft, kidnapping, drug trafficking, smuggling)

* road accident

* accident (fall, injury)

* quarrel (between siblings, friends, neighbours)

* bullying

* breaking of school rules (cheating, smoking, extortion)

* being kind and gracious (giving up seats on the bus/MRT, helping older folks or young children)

* animal attacks (bees, dog, snake; if I’m not mistaken, there was even one year when there was a picture of children being chased by a goat (or is that the question of a particular school?), although in the Singaporean context, encountering a monitor lizard or wild boar would be likelier)

* special occasions like birthdays

In character-driven stories, the emphasis is on the characters, their emotions and the conflict that motivates them. Most children do not opt for character-driven stories in the PSLE. To be honest, writing character-based stories require a certain level of maturity.

That said, good stories require a mix of both plot and character motivations. A child who is more interested in developing a gripping plot could also add in elements of the characters’ emotions as the story unfolds. Likewise, a story that is centred on a character also requires some conflict (plot).

So I have decided that for the run-up to the PSLE English Paper, I would run a weekly article on emotions (fear, anger, sadness and happiness). Then we’ll move on to other components of writing. For this post, we’ll focus on fear.

To describe the emotions of a character, you can use the PEA of emotions.

PEA is an acronym that stands for:

* Physical reactions aka body language

* Emotions; the description of the emotion itself

* Actions; any action(s) the character takes in response to the emotion

Physical Reaction of Fear

The Physical Reaction is how the character’s body responds to the emotion he is feeling. A lot of it is what is known as body language. Many times, people don’t have to tell you how they feel. You can get a hint of how they feel from their expressions and other mannerisms. You can describe such body language in your stories. They will make the stories more realistic.

When a  person is frightened, he may:

* turn pale

* shiver/quiver/tremble

* freeze

Or:

* his pulse races

* his heart pounds

* goosebumps rose on his arms

Emotion (Description of Fear)

Of course you can just write ‘He was frightened when he heard the knock on the door.’ But the previous sentence is rather plain. It is possible that your story is spellbindingly interesting and such a simple sentence works fine in the story. The brutal truth is that it is difficult to weave an original, unique and gripping story in 150-500 words, the normal range of a PSLE composition. So you’re doing yourself a favour when you use more vivid language that stands out.

I must highlight that the language must be used accurately and correctly. Between using simple language correctly and bombastic language incorrectly, the former is preferable. If you’re not certain, go for the simpler word, or the simpler sentence.

However, it is better to master a wide range of vocabulary that can be used at your disposal. So I’ve provided a list of phrases that describe feeling frightened:

* An icy shiver/tingle ran down my spine.

* A wave of horror swept over me.

* An immense terror seized me, wiping my thoughts clean.

* My hairs stood on end.

* My blood turned to ice.

* My heart missed a skip.

Actions

A character may respond to his fear in different ways. He may:

* run away;

* gather his courage and confront whatever is frightening him;

* be so overwhelmed by his fear that he simply blanks out.

EXERCISE

Part One

‘Turning pale’ is a very common sentence and we often use it to show that the character is frightened.

Use a thesaurus to find synonyms for the word ‘pale’. Click here for the answers.

Other phrases you could use to replace the simple phrase:

* He turned as white as a sheet.

* His face turned as white as chalk.

* He looked like he had seen a ghost.

* The blood drained from his face.

Another way is to use the word ‘pale’ as a verb.

* He paled instantly.

* He blanched instantly.

More notes:

There are also many ways to describe how a person freezes in fear:

* Immobilised by fear, I stood stock still and pricked my ears for any tell-tale sounds.

* When I saw the figure, a helpless paralysis overcame me, rooting me to the ground.

* I stood as still as a statue, transfixed by what I was seeing.

Part Two

Note that it is not only fear that has different intensities. Most emotions have a range of intensities so you have to make sure that you use the right word for the right circumstance!

The answers to the Exercise can be found on the Answers to Exercise Page.


Likewise, previously, I've set up a Resource Page on which there are more information on how to describe fear. The Resource Page will be updated as we cover the different types of PEAs in the coming weeks.