Read chapters 4 and 5. Pop quiz Thursday.
Complete your descriptive paragraph on the topic of your choice, including analysis.
Today we analyzed our best of the two descriptive paragraphs we have written. On good copy, for those of you who were sick, please underline or highlight:
Words which appeal to the five sense
Good vocabulary words
Vivid verbs
Literary devices such as simile, metaphor, personification, alliteration, onomatopoeia
Note in the margins or with interlinear notes what you have identified. Eg: a simile, or sense of sight
If you were sick on Tuesday also, you missed this handout:
The Elements of Descriptive Writing:
Vivid Details
Descriptive writing includes details that show instead of tell. Sensory details allow the reader to see, hear, smell, taste and touch what the writer is describing. "The cat walked down the street," does not include descriptive details. "The gray tabby slinked across the cul de sac" includes details that create a picture in the reader's mind.
Descriptive writing requires vivid, specific, concrete language so the reader can easily visualize the action. The less your reader has to work to visualize the story, the more he grasps the story and can empathize with characters. For instance, the sentence, "It was a nice day," gives the reader no insight into that particular day. Describe why exactly the day was nice. The sun may have been shining indirectly through trees, casting soft shadows and warming the ground, and the crisp desert breeze carrying a smell of clean sand and rain.
Sensory Detail
Descriptive writing relies heavily on sensory detail. The writer relays how a stale slice of bread tasted, including its texture or smell. A character describing how the breeze feels states how it smells and feels. A breeze may be warm and heavy, or crisp and wet, or even icy. It may smell like salt, dirt, jasmine or like the grease trap from the nearby fast-food restaurant. Write down exactly which smells, sounds, tastes and sites you or your character felt during an event.
Figurative Language
Descriptive writing often includes figurative language, or language that employs figures of speech (or Literary terms or devices). Figurative language departs from literal meaning to creatively make a point. This type of descriptive writing includes devices like metaphors, similes and personification. A metaphor compares two unlike things using the words "is" or "are." One of the most memorable metaphors is "All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players" from William Shakespeare's play "As You Like It." In contrast, a simile compares two unlike things using "like" or "as." Ernest Hemingway used this device in "The Sun Also Rises" when he wrote: "The cafe was like a battleship stripped for Action." With personification, an inanimate object takes on human qualities. For instance, a tree branch grasps like a pointing finger or a dependable pick-up truck becomes a trusty confidante.
Another couple of literary devices, which are fun to try to work with in descriptive writing, are alliteration and onomatopoeia.
eg: peter piper picked a pepper....repetitive consonant sounds
eg: crash, bang, blam, pitter-patter ...are words that sound like what they mean.
Strong Verbs
Descriptive writing includes as much detail as possible in as few words as possible. Using active verbs makes writing more precise. Linking verbs--"is," "was" and "are"--are not active. Action verbs--"race," "sing" and "dance"--create compelling writing. Instead of writing "she walked slowly," it is more precise to write "she meandered." Using strong verbs draws in the reader.
Writing from Observation
One way to put the reader in the middle of a piece of writing is to write from observation. If you want to write about a basketball game, go to a game and take notes. Write about what you see, taste, touch, smell and feel. If writing a narrative from memory, sketch the setting and all of its objects. If possible, visit the place where the action in the narrative occurred and notice the particulars of the setting.
Dominant Impression and Mood
Descriptive writing always has a uniform or dominant impression that sets its tone and mood. For instance, instead of an author telling her reader she felt safe and comfortable in a particular situation, she conjures up a safe environment through descriptive phrases of the setting, time and perhaps other characters. A happy memory of eating with the family might detail how the author's mother snuggled close to her, how the sweet dessert smelled and how the worn but clean tablecloth set the background for the meal.
Compression
It is important, in descriptive writing as well as in other types of writing, to know what to leave out, and to include only the most notable details of your subject. Rather than listing twenty ways that the character of your piece looked when she smiled, describe as accurately as you can the one smile you remember most. Being selective with your details and paring down excess modifiers and phrases will not only streamline your points, but will also give your reader a definite picture of the place or character instead of a somewhat nebulous, generalized sense.
Read more: Types of Descriptive Writing | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/info_8653644_types-descriptive-writing.html#ixzz1eSaERADJ
Read more: What Should Be Included in Descriptive Writing? | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/info_10018391_should-included-descriptive-writing.html#ixzz1eSaqxKEd
Read more: Features of Descriptive Writing | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/info_8725548_features-descriptive-writing.html#ixzz1eSby2dv1
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