Transcript Descriptive Writing

DESCRIPTIVE
WRITING
WHAT IS DESCRIPTIVE
WRITING?
Descriptive writing: A writing strategy using
sensory details to describe a person, place, or
thing.
What are sensory details?
• Details that appeal to the reader’s senses
• Sight, smell, hearing, touch, taste
• Descriptive writing often evokes specific feelings within it’s
readers
GOOD DESCRIPTIVE
WRITING…
• Includes many vivid sensory details.
• Often makes use of figurative languages such as
analogies, similes and metaphors.
• Uses precise language (specific adjectives, nouns,
adverbs and strong action verbs)
• Is organized (chronological, spatial and order of
importance)
• Makes the readers feel strong and specific feelings.
2) THE BLOND GUITAR
What is your most prized possession?
My most valuable possession is an old, slightly warped blond
guitar; the first instrument I taught myself how to play. It's
nothing fancy, just a Madeira folk guitar, all scuffed and scratched
and finger-printed. At the top is a bramble of copper-wound
strings, each one hooked through the eye of a silver tuning key.
The strings are stretched down a long, slim neck, its frets
tarnished, the wood worn by years of fingers pressing chords and
picking notes. The body of the Madeira is shaped like an
enormous yellow pear, one that was slightly damaged in shipping.
The blond wood has been chipped and gouged to gray, particularly
where the pick guard fell off years ago. No, it's not a beautiful
instrument, but it still lets me make music, and for that I will
always treasure it.
PARAGRAPH 1
Write a short paragraph on the following topic:
What is one of your prized possessions?
Follow these guidelines:
1)
Your paragraph should be a minimum of 50 words
2)
You should have sensory details in your writing
3)
Your paragraph should be free of spelling errors
4)
Your paragraph should be double-spaced
5)
Your paragraph should be handed in at the end of class
today
ADJECTIVES
Words used to describe a person, place or
thing.
Example:
-The happy students walked into class with
a huge smile on their faces.
-The boy gave his girlfriend pretty red
flowers.
ADVERBS
Words used to describe a verb, an adjective
or another adverb.
Example:
-The students were happy to work in their
groups.
-The kids patiently waited for Santa to
come.
SYNONYMS
Synonyms are words that mean the same thing as an other
word.
We can use synonyms to limit repetition in our writing.
Example:
I have a big house
large
huge
enormous
gigantic
ANTONYMS
Antonym: word that means the opposite of another
word.
Example:
love------hate
small-----big
tall--------short
SYNONYM EXERCISE
Complete the handout
“SHOW ME”
SENTENCES
In groups, rewrite the assigned sentences by adding sensory
details.
The old man stood in the grass
and relaxed as the sun went down
The grass caressed his feet and a
smile softened his eyes. A hot puff
of air brushed against his wrinkled
cheek as the sky paled yellow,
then crimson, and within a breath,
electric indigo.
FIGURATIVE
LANGUAGE
Similes: directly comparing two things through connective words
(like, as, than, so, such as…)
• Ex: as brave as a lion, crazy like a fox
Metaphor: describes a subject by saying that one is the same as
another (without connective words)
• Ex: it’s raining buckets. Her eyes were stars picked from the sky.
Personification: giving human characteristics to something that is
non-human.
Ex: the light danced across the sky. The fire alarm screamed.
Analogy: comparison between two things, typically on the basis of
their structure
• Just as a caterpillar comes out of its cocoon, we must come out of
our comfort zone
FIGURES OF SPEECH
* Complete
the handouts
EXAMPLES OF
METAPHORS
• Her home was a prison, her parents the wardens watching
over her every move.
• Daggers of heat pierced through his black t-shirt.
• High school was a fashion show, it’s hall the runway.
• Words are the weapons with which we wound.
• His promise was a delicate flower.
• The computers in this classroom were dinosaurs.
• Her hair was a flowing golden river streaming down her
shoulders.
• She was just a trophy to him, another object to possess.
EXAMPLE OF SIMILES
She swims as fast as a fish.
He is as tall as a giraffe.
Santa has to be as quiet as a mouse.
My hands are as cold as icicles.
He has the memory of an elephant.
EXAMPLES OF
PERSONIFICATIONS
The snowflakes danced through the air as they fell to the
ground.
The book flew across the room.
The wind whistled…
FIGURATIVE
LANGUAGE
• Trigger our senses by connecting an otherwise unrelated
subject to sight, sound, smell, touch, or taste.
• If you can engage any of these senses through figurative
language, your writing will take on new life.
• Not only will it become more entertaining and more
memorable, it will be easier for readers to relate to what
you’re saying.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJXxLD-WmaM
ALL SUMMER IN A DAY
Short story by Ray Bradbury
Originally published in 1954
Genre: Science-fiction
Materials needed:
• Two colors of highlighters
• A section of the story “All Summer in a Day”
• Your brain ;)
Activity:
• Groups of two or three
• Re-read your section
• Highlight all sensory details that you find in
one color
• Highlight all metaphors that you find in the
second color.