Narrative Writing Techniques Engl 111 4 December 2014

Description (MHG pp. 437-439) WRITING to construct in readers’ minds an image of the physical world (people, places, things, and actions), by evoking readers’ five senses – sight, taste, touch, smelling, hearing. DESCRIPTION and persuasive appeals showing people your experiences through your eyes appeals to ethos by making your experiences seem real and valid to people also appeals to pathos by showing people world through your eyes so that they can identify with you. Writing clear, understandable descriptions that people can follow and that give people a complete picture in their minds appeals to logos.

Dialogue FORMAL WRITING technique for representing human speech (utterances, conversations, etc) in your writing. Each human utterance is indicated by surrounding it in quotation marks Each time the speaker changes, a new paragraph is started. Attributive tags must be used (usually after the quoted utterance) until readers have a good impression of who is speaking at each time. Typically, it is not necessary to use dialogue for mundane interactions. Reserve it for the important things people said. Description might be used between dialogue to set the scene and describe actions, facial expressions, behavior, etc.

Dialogue DIALOGUE and persuasive appeals The conventions (rules for writing) of dialogue help clarify how speech proceeds, thus appealing to logos Like description, dialogue places readers into the writer’s shoes, by approximating the conversations the author themselves viewed, thus appealing to pathos It enhances ethos - readers don’t have to take your word for what happened, they can see and listen to other people’s actual words, especially useful if you may be incriminating others

Narrating (Plot) (MHG pp. 432-436) WRITING that describes and explains a series of events, or a sequence of actions in a single event, as it proceeds in time. Usually, but not necessarily chronological. Strong narrations Incorporate… Time Transitions – words, phrases, or sentences that help indicate the passage of time in an understandable way. Setting – a place where the event or actions occur. Point of View – in these stories, they must necessarily be written from your point of view (first person) Tension or conflict – a problem or crisis the character (you) are dealing with Resolution – a fix or solution to that conflict, or possibly just suggesting where it all stands now Other discourse strategies: Description, Dialogue, Images

Narrating (Plot) Narrating and persuasive appeals Careful narrating not only makes the story clear and understandable to readers, it also demonstrates cause and effect, thus appeals to logos Like description and dialogue, narration attempts to imitate how humans experience time and space, thus make the story seem real to reader and appealing to pathos It enhances ethos - readers can see the details and chain of events you’ve constructed as evidence that things were the way you say they were.