The terms affective and effective are often used in the same sentence, but we rarely stop to think about what they mean separately — or how we can use them together. So let’s break down exactly what these two terms entail:
Affective: The emotional impact of a piece on its audience.
Effectiveness: How well the story accomplishes its goal. This is more than just success; it also includes a measure of thoroughness and completeness.
In most cases, affective and effectiveness go hand in hand — an effective story will have positive affects on its audience! But when you’re dealing with stories that explore serious topics like grief or mental illness, “effective” doesn’t always imply “affective.” In this case, there are two main ways to evaluate effectiveness: The degree of success in the story’s aims. How well the audience is affected emotionally by the finished product.
What are Affective Words?
Affective words are adjectives that describe how individuals feel in response to what is happening around them. These types of words can be used in a variety of ways, including:
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1) creating characters who have unique emotional responses
2) developing scenes that rely on emotional tension
3) describing specific moods and tone
4) adding touches of humor. It’s not always necessary for authors to explicitly state what their characters are feeling; they might include details about other characters’ reactions instead to suggest feelings. Affective language is sometimes called “showing” on the page; this refers to writers who prefer to work through action and leave their character’s feelings as implied.
How To Use Affective in a Sentence
1. Find an adjective that describes how your reader should feel about what is happening within the scene, then make sure it fits into a sentence properly and there aren’t restrictions on its use. Does earlobe mean she was nervous or afraid? Did her exaggerated tone indicate panic or joy? You need to be more specific if you want readers to understand exactly what emotions are present for all characters involved.) The princess stretched her earlobes. (stretching can mean she was tired)
2. Start with a base word, then add suffixes or prefixes to change the tone of the word entirely. A happy person might be described as cheerful, ecstatic, buoyant…but a hysterical person wouldn’t be so charming! hysterical/hysterical-ly
3. Add descriptive words in-between parts of nouns and verbs to describe how characters feel. “I’m feeling great!” vs. “I feel like a million bucks!”
4. Be careful with adjectives and adverbs together; they can sometimes lead to wordy or awkward sentences — make sure you choose your words carefully!
5. Check your work for passive voice; this is especially important if you’re dealing with a character’s emotional responses. Writers sometimes fall into passive voice to avoid responsibility for the outcome of a scene — you don’t want that happening to your work!
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6. Make sure there isn’t an active verb form involved if you’re trying to describe feelings. “She is embarrassed” will lead to a weaker sentence than “She blushes at her friend’s joke.”
What are Effective Words?
Effective words are able to convey what is happening within a scene by describing actions. If your character wants something or if someone is trying to stop them, effective language will let the reader know without having to explain further. There are many different types of effective language.
How To Use Effectiveness in a Sentence: a step-by-step guide
Find an adjective that describes a character’s actions or method within a scene, then make sure it fits into a sentence properly and there aren’t restrictions on its use. Did her exaggerated tone indicate panic or joy? Did the princess stretch her earlobes? (stretching can mean she was tired)
1. Find an adjective that describes how your reader should feel about what is happening within the scene, then make sure it fits into a sentence properly and there aren’t restrictions on its use. Does earlobe mean she was nervous or afraid? Did her exaggerated tone indicate panic or joy? You need to be more specific if you want readers to understand exactly what emotions are present for all characters involved.)
The princess stretched her earlobes. (stretching can mean she was tired)
2. Use effective language to describe what’s happening in the situation. The princess stretches. (the action is implied, but it’s clear what is happening within the scene)
3. Decide how you want your reader to feel about the events taking place in the story, then find an adjective that matches their feelings based on steps 1 and 2 above. If you wanted them to be nervous or afraid, the earlobe is a good word choice because it means fear or anxiety without needing further explanation.) The princess stretched her earlobes nervously
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4. Determine if there are any restrictions on using the adjectives chosen in steps 1-3 before including them in written works. You need to be more specific if you want readers to understand exactly what emotions are present for all characters involved.) The princess stretched her earlobes. (stretching can mean she was tired)
The princess nervously stretched her earlobes. (it’s clear that she was tense but implicit rather than explicit)
What’s the Difference Between “Effectiveness” and “Affective”?
Just like affective and effective words, affective and effectiveness go hand in hand. Affective words reflect how a word or sentence makes an audience feel, while effective words describe what action is taking place within the scene. By using affective and effective words together, writers can create narratives that are engaging for their readers, which will help to make stories more memorable.
What’s the difference between “Effectiveness” and “Efficacy”?
While both efficacy and effectiveness describe whether something works as intended (or not), they come from different perspectives: one focuses on the subject performing the action, while the other focuses on those observing it.
For example, A baseball player’s ability to hit a ball with his bat would be described by his effectiveness; if he hits it often enough to score runs, he has high efficiency. The people watching the game might use efficacy to discuss whether or not he’s hit it in the right place, or if his facial expressions give him away when it comes time to play another position.
What are the Most Effective Words I Can Use to Describe my Characters’ Actions?
Effective words help readers understand what’s happening within a scene, so this is where you’ll want to start. Readers will need to know exactly what action each character takes in order to move the story forward, so if you have any doubts about how it should be depicted, here are some tips for choosing the best adjective (or verbs):
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Verbs that show movement or physical force (punch, kick, insert) Verbs used to communicate strong feelings or dialogue (protest, sob, shriek) Detailed descriptions of movement ( flung her arms around his neck; he sidestepped; she sprang into action) Sensory details ( the wind was cold; his boots squeaked on the floorboards)
What are Some Common Restrictions for Using Affective and Effectiveness Words?
1. Choose adjectives from a specific list of emotions, such as sad, happy, angry. These lists have been carefully researched to ensure they contain the most commonly used words with precise definitions for each emotion.
2. Use only the first letter of a word, or a few letters if you want readers to know what emotion is present without being obvious about it. For example, sad is less effective than SAD because it’s more likely that an audience will guess why your protagonist is feeling that way based on the pattern of letters alone. On the other hand, use this trick when you don’t want readers to see your intention right away. For example, touch is less effective than TOUCH because touching can be used in more ways than the implied physical contact between two characters.
3. Use words that are associated with a certain language or region, such as non-standard English (Y’all might not know what this means if you’re outside of the US, but it’s an affective word for people who use it regularly). This way, you won’t have to worry about your audience misunderstanding how something should be expressed.
4. Use onomatopoeia to convey sound effects within the story! Make sure that your onomatopoeias are consistent throughout the entire scene so it doesn’t look like you’ve missed anything (e.g., don’t use BANG to describe a gun and then BOOM to describe an explosion that happens offstage).
Final Thoughts
Effectiveness and affective words are integral to any story because they depict how characters interact with the world around them. If you’re not sure how to use these words, try studying your favorite authors’ vocabulary (and sentence structure) until you find a pattern that works for what you want to say!
