Words are very powerful, and a descriptive word is especially powerful in elevating a piece of writing to the next level. When talking with your child about writing, it’s important to help him understand that he needs to create an image for his readers using only words, not pictures. It’s not enough to write just anything to get the point across—your child needs to try to write descriptive, specific words to make a clearer picture for his reader. There are several ways you can help him do this.

One common mistake with evolving writers is that they often repeat words. It’s possible your child doesn’t even realize she is doing it. After your child has written a first draft, take the time to go through the draft with her and circle words that are often repeated. Once you’ve identified some recurring words, help guide your child to find words to replace these. This can be done easily by using a thesaurus. If there are certain words that keep coming up time and time again, why not work with your child to make a small chart of other suggestions. I remember in my classroom I had such a chart for the word “good” and my students challenged themselves to think of another words to use. By the end of the school year, we had over thirty other words to use instead of “good.” If you keep these charts in the same area as where your child does most of her writing, she will start to use it as a reference. (Quick note that while a thesaurus is a great resource, all suggestions are not interchangeable. Help your child understand some of these nuances.)

Another good way to help your child spice up his word choice is to pay attention to the verbs. After he’s finished his first draft, underline some verbs that you think are a bit boring. (My pet peeve was the verb “went” as in “The girl went to the car.”) Suggest that your child find a more descriptive action word that creates a more specific image. For example, in the sentence “The girl went to the car,” how did the girl go to the car? Did she race to the car? Did she slither to the car? Did she meander to the car? Each of those verbs give a very specific picture in the reader’s head, much more so than the verb went.

A favorite technique of children in adding more powerful words to their stories is to add in descriptive adjectives. While you don’t want your child to go overboard and add in too many extra words (after all, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing), a well placed adjective can inject your child’s story with a much needed boost. Using the example in the previous paragraph, when the girl slithered to her car, what did the car look like? What color was it? Was it new? Rusted? Dirty? Immaculate? A few adjectives here can help build a stronger image for the reader.

The good news about working on word choice is that you can do as little or as much as your child will allow. Any little bit will help improve the quality of your child’s writing. If your child starts to get overwhelmed, just pick a few words to replace or a few spots to add in some adjectives. If your child seems more amenable to working on it, you can spend a longer amount of time boosting the word choice of the whole writing piece. Also, improving word choice can happen anywhere from elementary school all the way to college. This work should begin rather simply when your child is young but can become more sophisticated as your child gets older. The sooner that children learn the power of words, the better chance they’ll have to appreciate putting in the extra time to work on word choice.