1.17.2019 Pick up your first formal writing assignment on the bookcase up front. Take the first few minutes to read over the assignment, so I can help answer your questions.

What is a narrative / descriptive essay? The essay should include all the parts of a story. The essay should have a purpose. The essay should be written from a clear point of view. Use clear and concise language throughout the essay. The use of the first person pronoun ‘I’ is welcomed. As always, be organized! You’ve been tasked to write a personal narrative essay?

Creative Writing 1 Unit 1: Personal Essay 2019 Quarter 3 2018- Ms. Hodge Unit 1: Personal Essay 2018- 2019

Description Mode of writing that appeals to the senses by showing the physical characteristics of a subject (sounds, smells, feels, tastes, looks)

Show, Don’t Tell

Think of this like a lesson in love (you’re welcome!) TELL SHOW Sometimes it’s okay to simple tell the person: “I love you, Mom.” Sometimes it’s better to show the person: I love Mom so much that I emptied the dishwasher without being asked.

In descriptive writing, it’s better to SHOW, and not TELL.

Let’s look at an example in writing: I was impatient. This is an example of telling.

I anxiously paced the black and white kitchen tiles, mindlessly bumping into the counter, muttering curse words under my breath each time. I felt like a dog whose only duty was to wait for her master’s return. What could be taking them so long? Here I’m showing.

Try closing your eyes and imaging this: Margaret was angry when she heard what the umpire said. What do you picture? Now, what does that look like? Shaking her head back and forth, Margaret pounded home plate with her fist after the umpire shouted, “You’re out!”

Strategies writers use to SHOW what is happening include: describing the character’s actions rather than just saying how he or she feels. using action verbs. using similes and metaphors. using dialogue. appealing to some of the five senses to paint a picture of what is happening.

Let’s try! The girl cried a lot. Describe the picture that this sentence paints in your mind. What words could we use instead of girl? What are more specific words that mean cry? How else can we say a lot? Example: The recently thwarted teenager threw herself unto her unmade, cheetah-patterned sheets and sat there letting the mascara run down her cheeks and blacken her already puffy eyes. How would she ever get over the boy she loved for the last two weeks? NOW YOU TRY IT!

Using your notes from yesterday, convert the following “tells” into “shows” Mr. Bobweave was a fat, ungrateful old man. Mr. Bobweave heaved himself out of the chair. As his feet spread under his apple-like frame and his arthritic knees popped and cracked in objection, he pounded the floor with his cane while cursing that dreadful girl who was late again with his coffee. She is a very pretty girl. He liked this more than anything else.