Transcript Rules for Punctuating Dialog

Rules for Punctuating Dialog
Rule #1
Each time a new character
speaks, a new paragraph
should begin.
Rule #2
Everything a character says
should be in quotation
marks.
Rule #3
 Use a comma to separate an
explanatory phrase from the
quotation. Place it outside the
opening quotation marks, but
inside the closing quotation marks.
 Ex. Jack said, “Jill, let’s go up the
hill.”
 “We need a pail of water,” Jack
said.
Rule #4
 Place an exclamation point, question
mark, or period inside the closing
quotation marks.
 Ex. “Don’t fall down the hill!” Jill
exclaimed.
 Jill asked, “Jack, did you break your
crown?”
 Jack replied, “Of course not, silly.”
Sample Passage with Dialog
“Why is this taking so long? She has been in
surgery for six hours,” Ms. Osborne
anxiously asked the nurse.
The nurse looked at her tear-stained face and
tried to comfort her. “Dr. Kneely is a
thorough surgeon. If he found more
damage than the x-rays showed, he will
repair it, regardless of the time it takes to
do it. Please try to remain calm.”
“I can’t stay calm! My beautiful daughter is
lying in surgery, fighting for her life.”
Using Detail & Figurative
Language
Rule #1: When you are writing,
SHOW, don’t TELL!
 Telling:
 Very general paragraph
 Doesn't show the reader pictures of
images
 Reader can’t see, hear, taste, or
touch the objects
Rule #1: When you are writing,
SHOW, don’t TELL!
 Showing:
 Very specific paragraph
 Full of details and elaborated
examples
 Reader can “picture” or “feel” what is
happening
Rule #1: When you are writing,
SHOW, don’t TELL!
 Ex. It is hot.
 The bead of sweat rolls down his
sun-scorched forehead, slides down
his long, thin nose, then the
droplet hangs briefly on the cherryred ball of his nose, before his plaid
flannel shirt sleeve erases it.
Rule #2:
Use all five senses to SHOW…
 What do you see?
 What do you smell?
 What can you taste?
 What do you hear?
 What can you feel around you?
How do you feel inside?
Rule #3:
Use figurative language
 Simile= a comparison of two
unlike objects using “like” or
“as”.
 Metaphor= a comparison of
two unlike objects without
using “like” or “as.”
Now it’s your turn!
Rewrite the following
sentence:
It is cold.
Be prepared to share.
Strategies for Eliminating
Be Verbs
Be Verbs
 am
 is
 are
 was
 were
 be
 being
 been
Change the be verb to a
stronger, livelier verb.
She is unwilling to clean her
room.
She refuses to clean her
room.
Eliminate the be verb by writing
one or more showing
sentences.
 Her room is a mess.
 Susan’s room has clothes piled
in the corner, dirty dishes
under the bed, papers
scattered on the floor, and dust
an inch thick covering the
furniture.
Combine the sentence with the
one before or after it using a
phrase or clause.
 When I was six, I went to the
circus. I was thrilled at what I
saw.
 At the age of six, going to my
first circus thrilled me.
Other
Leave it alone if changing it
would diminish or change
the meaning or create
awkward structure.
Omit the sentence
Eliminating Be Verbs
 Circle all the be verbs in your essay.
 Add up the total number of to be
verbs in your essay.
 Find a way to change 1/3 of them
into action verbs.
*Again, this may mean re-wording
some sentences.
Homework
 1984 due tomorrow
 Rough Draft #2 (typed
and w/changes) due
tomorrow
 Vocabulary Quiz Friday