1. PERSONAL NARRATIVE WRITING SHOW VS. TELL

2. Give your reader a picture with your words Rather than TELL your reader what someone or something looks like, SHOW the reader with a description

3. EXAMPLE: DESCRIPTION Description: It was a beautiful day. The sun shone brightly and a warm breeze pushed fluffy clouds across the brilliant blue sky.

4. EXAMPLE: EMOTION Emotion: The man was upset The man’s face went crimson as he fumed. He crossed his arms, set his jaw in a hard line and knit his eyebrows in an angry glare.

5. USE STRONG VERBS Strong, specific verbs allow you to SHOW what a character is doing or how a situation is unfolding rather than simply TELL what is happening.

6. EXAMPLE: STRONG VERB The girl talked with her mom after school. The girl chatted with her mom after school. The girl argued with her mom after school.

7. CREATE EMOTION, DON’T ASSIGN IT With the proper use of language, you don’t often need to TELL your reader how to feel or how your characters feel either. SHOW your reader instead!

8. SHOW VS. TELL “Miss Caroline was no more than twenty-one. She had bright auburn hair, pink cheeks, and wore crimson fingernail polish. She also wore high-heeled pumps and a red-and-white- striped dress. She looked and smelled like a peppermint drop…and when Miss Maudie introduced us to her [my brother] Jem was in a haze for days.” (Lee 16)