Good authors choose their words very carefully. Take a few minutes to write a short paragraph describing an experience you have recently had. Pick a location you went to or an event you attended. Once you have finished, read over what you have written. Now, write a second paragraph. In it, you will repeat the information from the first paragraph, but you will choose your words more carefully. Ask yourself questions like: What words capture this image exactly? What is the best word to convey how something looked, or how I felt? Take more time with the second paragraph. Your response should be at least 150 words in total

Recently, my family when to the beach. This would be more common in the summer, but because it is fall, there was almost no one else there. The sky was grey because it was a cloudy day, and the sand was very cold, as well as the water. I dipped my finger in the water to feel it, which would normally be I would have to get splashed by the waves to get close enough, but not today. Instead, today the water was still, just full of little ripples. It was about the time for the sunset, but you could hardly see it because of the clouds covering it.  

Within the recent past, my family went to the beach. This would be more common in the summer, but because it is fall, there was almost no one else there. The sky was clouded over and it made the whole place look eerie. The sand felt almost like snow, with a similar texture and temperature they shared. The water pretty calm, with no crashing waves, just little ripples near the edge. On a day like this there is usually wind, but not today. Instead, the air felt still and silent. I looked a the muted sunset, which was covered by the clouds, making the usually bright and vibrant sunset instead full of pastels. Even though the sun was darker than usual, it still managed to light up the shimmering water below.

b. his ability to use formal language to stress strong feelings