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Descriptive Writing

Descriptive Writing. Descriptive Writing. A writer has 3 ways to communicate a message (1) imply ing it, (2) tell ing it, or (3) show ing it Each type has its own specific and important purpose Writing that “shows” is usually clearest and has the greatest impact

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Descriptive Writing

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  1. Descriptive Writing

  2. Descriptive Writing • A writer has 3 ways to communicate a message (1) implying it, (2) telling it, or (3) showing it • Each type has its own specific and important purpose • Writing that “shows” is usually clearest and has the greatest impact • Words that show are: concrete, specific, and vivid

  3. Concrete Language • Concrete language points to or identifies something that the reader can experience or has experienced in some way • Things that are concrete can be seen, heard, smelled, felt, or tasted • Opposite of concrete is ____________

  4. Abstract vs. Concrete

  5. Writing that tells (bad example) Uncle Joe’s old car is the joke of the neighborhood. He should have gotten rid of it years ago, but he insists on keeping this “antique” despite protests from his family and friends. The car is noisy and unsafe. What’s more, it pollutes the environment, causes a real disturbance whenever he drives by, and is a real eyesore.

  6. Writing that shows (good example) *make a list of the descriptive words that help to create imagery Whenever Uncle Joe drives his 1957 Dodge down our street, dogs howl, children scream, and old people head inside and shut their windows. Originally, the car was painted emerald green, but the exterior is so covered with scrapes, dents, and patches of rust that it is hard to tell what it looked like when new. His wife, children, and close friends have begged him to junk this corroded patchwork of steel, rubber, and chicken wire, but Uncle Joe insists that he can restore his “antique” to its former glory. It does no good to point out that it’s cracked windshield and bald tires qualify it as a road hazard. Nor does it help to complain about the roar and rattle of its cracked muffler, the screech of its well-worn brakes, and the stench of the thick, black smoke that billows from its rusty tail pipe.

  7. Whenever Uncle Joe drives his 1957 Dodge down our street, dogs howl, children scream, and old people head inside and shut their windows. Originally, the car was painted emerald green, but the exterior is so covered with scrapes, dents, and patches of rust that it is hard to tell what it looked like when new. His wife, children, and close friends have begged him to junk this corroded patchwork of steel, rubber, and chicken wire, but Uncle Joe insists that he can restore his “antique” to its former glory. It does no good to point out that it’s cracked windshield and bald tires qualify it as a road hazard. Nor does it help to complain about the roar and rattle of its cracked muffler, the screech of its well-worn brakes, and the stench of the thick, black smoke that billows from its rusty tail pipe.

  8. Three ways to make your writing concrete: • Use your 5 senses: look, smell, sound, taste, feel • Create a concrete image using details • Use recognizable examples

  9. Making Your Writing Specific • Carefully choose your nouns and adjectives *Notice how the most specific column consists of many proper nouns

  10. Practice Add adjectives to these nouns to be more specific, descriptive, and to create imagery • building • park • beach • watch • Surfboard • lunch • movie

  11. Making Your Writing Vivid • Carefully choose your verbs, adjectives, and adverbs • Verbs express action, condition, or state of being • Kayla ran down the field. • Kayla sprinted down the field. • Adjectives describe nouns • The old house • The weather-beaten house • Adverbs modify verbs • The frightened freshmen sobbed softly.

  12. Choose vivid language (Use adjective over nouns) • Instead of horse use stallion • Instead of violent use tempestuous • Instead of cheap use miserly

  13. Descriptive Review • Use concrete language • Be specific with nouns and adjectives • Use vivid verbs, adjectives, and adverbs

  14. Before we get started… • Back to Prewriting • What 3 things do we need to consider? • Purpose • Audience • Style

  15. Assignment Details • Using notes, write one paragraph of descriptive writing on your object • Central idea may be clear or implied • It is up to you as the writer to look at your notes and decide what the central idea of your topic should be • Writing must be concrete, specific, and vivid • Must be one full page • The reader should be able to visualize the object as he or she reads your paragraph

  16. Works Cited • Buscemi, Santi V. A Reader for Developing Writers. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002. Print.

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