Descriptive+Writing

Descriptive and Narrative Writing









1) Why do we write descriptions of people? Audience Purpose

-to give instructions to people you don’t know -to describe someone who is missing -to report a criminal offence -to write about a person’s attributes for an award

2) What type of descriptions are there? Physical Personality

3) Can we form impressions of people without a physical or personality description?

//** Jane’s Bedroom **// //** -duvet neatly spread over bed **// //** -books arranged by height on the shelf **// //** -empty rubbish bin **// //** -clothes hanging tidily in cupboard **// //** -pens in holder on writing desk **// //** -magazines stacked on shelf **// //** -colourful stickers on pin-board **//

4) Picture Prompts (for static descriptions) -oral activity -Use photos or magazine pictures:
 * // -How old are you really? //**
 * // -What do you fear? //**
 * // -What do you love/hate? //**
 * // -What do you know about? //**
 * // -What would you like to do in the next 5 years? //**
 * // -If you were described as a piece of clothing/food, what would you be? //**

5) Show don’t tell (for an active description) -oral activity -avoid giving all the detail  -use action(verbs) and dialogue  Example: A girl walking down the road-tell me she is angry
 * // She strode down the road, her clipped voice clearly audible. The withering sarcasm poured from her lips as she clenched her fists and her eyes flashed daggers at the hapless pedestrians who happened to cross her path. //**

Perspective Writing (group writing) Model: Voices in the Park – Anthony Browne
 * LI: to plan and write as a group-chose an event and each person is to write their perspective of the event. **

Descriptive Writing Techniques

2. Sarah marched like a soldier on parade in the supermarket. || An adjective adds information to the noun. || Dog (Noun) The enormous dog (‘Enormous’ is an adjective giving more information about what the dog looks like.) || An adverb adds information to the verb. The adverb normally ends ‘-ly’. || Write (Verb) The students wrote quickly during the exam. (‘Quickly’ adds information about how the students wrote.) ||
 * TECHNIQUE || DEFINITION || EXAMPLE ||
 * Alliteration || A sequence of words that begin with the same letter. || Ben bounced the ball repeatedly. ||
 * Simile || Comparing one thing to another using ‘like’ or ‘as’ || 1. The boy ran as fast as a cheetah.
 * Metaphor || Comparing one thing to another by saying it is something else. || Stuart was a brick wall in goal. ||
 * Personification || Giving an inanimate object human actions or feelings. || The tree shivered as its leaves fell off in the wind. ||
 * Onomatopoeia || A word that imitates the sound it represents. || Hiss, plop, sizzle, bang. ||
 * Sensory Writing || Writing that describes what you can taste, touch, see, hear and smell. || The milk was sour and smelt putrid. I felt nauseous and could hear my heart pounding as I ran to the bathroom and saw my pale face in the mirror. ||
 * Noun/Adjective || A noun is the name of an object, person or a place.
 * Verb/Adverb || A verb is a word that expresses action.

//** LI: the use of personification in descriptive writing **//


 * Models: **

In the stillness of the quiet afternoon, the house shook with the sudden explosion of clattering shoes. The staircase glared as the children erupted through the door. School was over.

The cottage stared forlornly down the overgrown path of weeds. When would its family return for their holidays?

The snowflakes sighed as they descended gracefully through the crisp, cold air. Their journey was over.

The rain lashed the windows in an unrelenting torrent as the storm screamed and raged for what seemed liked an eternity. By the next morning, however, the sun was smiling and the clouds were dancing. The earth felt clean and new.


 * Personification: ** the house shook/ The staircase glared/ The cottage stared forlornly/ The snowflakes sighed/ the storm screamed and raged/
 * Hyperbole: ** sudden explosion/for what seemed liked an eternity.


 * Descriptive Language Features **

· ** Specific nouns: ** Strong nouns have more specific meanings, eg. oak as opposed to tree. These specific nouns give more information, eg. instead of saying fruit, say what sort of fruit. A ** bowl of grapes and bananas ** sat on the table. Concrete nouns are stronger than abstract nouns, eg. sunset versus beauty. · ** Activate nouns: ** Make nouns actually do something, eg. It was raining could become ** Rain splashed down ** or There was a large cabinet in the lounge could become ** A large cabinet seemed to fill the lounge. ** · Judicious use of adjectives and adverbs: There is no doubt that writing needs adjectives and adverbs to bring it alive, qualify the action and provide description and information for the reader. However, ** it is important that writing is not cluttered with too many adjectives or adverbs ** or the narrative will be overwhelmed and the effect lost. Remember: all things in moderation. · Use the senses: Where appropriate, the senses can be used to describe and develop the experiences, setting and character: However, excessive use of the senses will ruin the effect.
 * · Action verbs: ** Action verbs provide interest to the writing and lift it from the mundane. Avoid over use of verbs such as come, go, went get, said, look, shouted, laughed, etc. For example, instead of ** The old woman was in his way ** try ** The old woman barred his path. ** Instead of ** She laughed try **** She cackled. **
 * · What does it smell like? **
 * · What can be heard? **
 * · What can be seen - details? **
 * · What does it taste like? **
 * · What does it feel like? **

· ** Imagery and Figures of Speech: ** Figures of speech (figurative language) and imagery are writing devices where words are used to create pictures in the reader's mind. These are not taken at face value, they are interpreted - therefore we say they are figurative not literal. As with adjectives and adverbs, use of imagery and figurative language will enrich writing. But excessive use will detract from the impact of the writing and turn the reader off. · ** Simile ** : A direct comparison, using like or as or as though, eg. ** The sea looked as rumpled as a blue quilted dressing gown. ** Or ** The wind wrapped me up like a cloak. ** · ** Metaphor ** : An indirect or hidden comparison, eg. ** She has a heart of stone. He is a stubborn mule. The man barked out the instructions. ** · **Pun:** A play on words. A word or phrase may have two meanings. · ** Alliteration: ** The repetition of the first letter of words in a line, eg. ** Crazy Charlie crunched chocolate crackles. ** · **Rhetorical Question**: a question is asked but an answer is not expected or required, eg. You wouldn't hurt your own baby, would you? · A statement: The audience is given some information, their appetite is whetted and hopefully they will want to read on to discover more, eg. ** "One morning the people of Rin woke to find that the stream that flowed down the mountain had slowed to a trickle." ** (Rowan of Rin by Emily Rodda), ** "Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much." ** (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone" by J.K. Rowling.)
 * · Onomatopoeia: ** A suggestion of sound through words, eg. ** crackle, splat, ooze, squish, boom, ** eg. The tyres ** whir ** on the road. The ** pitter-patter ** of soft rain. The mud oozed and ** squished ** through my toes.
 * · Personification: ** Giving nonliving things (inanimate) living characteristics, eg. T he steel beam **clenched** its muscles. Clouds **limped** across the sky. The pebbles on the path were **grey with grief.**
 * · The Opening Sentence of the Writing: ** The first sentence is so important. If it is well crafted the audience's attention can immediately be captured. There are various techniques that can be used for this first sentence:

· ** Beginning Sentences: ** Variety in sentence beginnings makes the writing less pedantic. There are a several ways to do this. · Participles: " ** Jumping ** with joy I ran home to tell mum my good news." · Adverbs: " ** Silently ** the cat crept toward the bird" · Adjectives: " ** Brilliant ** sunlight shone through the window" · Nouns: " ** Thunder claps ** filled the air" · Phrases: "Along the street walked the girl as if she had not a care in the world." · Conversations: these may be used as an opener. This may be done through a series of short or one-word sentences or as one long complex sentence.

· ** Sentence Structures: ** Vary the length of sentence structures for variety and interest. Try a combination of simple, short sentences with one idea followed by a compound or complex sentence, eg. ** It was freezing cold. It had snowed all night. Thinking that it was still early, Mary snuggled back down under the quilt and tried to go back to sleep. It was no use. Sleep refused to come so she threw back the bed covers and put on her dressing gown. **
 * · Personal Voice: ** A definitive definition of personal voice is difficult. It may be described as writing which is honest and convincing. ** The author is able to 'put the reader there'. ** The writer invests something of him/her self in the writing. The writing makes an impact on the reader. It reaches out and touches the reader. A connection is made.

//** LI: to use sophisticated adjectives and verbs **//

burnished leaves/teaming with life/dappled light/wise/patient/knotted
 * River: ** meanders/weaves/wends/ripples/peaceful/raging/lethal/torrent/reckless/rushes
 * Hills: ** undulating/rolling/towering/scattered across the landscape/snow-capped/sheer/
 * Valley: ** lush/abundant/untouched/leafy/deep/fertile/intense colour/saturated/infinite/moist
 * Trees: ** dense/threatening/entwined/intimidating/tangled/gnarled/ancient/