Post by kendall on Apr 20, 2012 9:42:39 GMT
Hey folks,
Just a reminder of some things you should use in your writing exam:
Techniques
Simile - When you compare one thing to something else using the words ‘as’ or ‘like’.
Alliteration - When the first letter of the words are the same.
Personification - When make something which isn’t human sound human.
Onomatopoeia - A word which sounds like the noise it makes.
Metaphor - A comparison between essentially unlike things without an explicitly comparative word such as like or as.
Pathetic Fallacy- very similar to personification. However, it can also be used when the weather reflects what is going on in the scene. If the weather is hot, sunny and there are people everywhere - it usually represents a ‘happy’ story. If the weather is dark, cold and stormy - you can usually guess that something bad is going to happen.
Paragraphs
Take a new one for change of:
setting, time, topic, person...
Senses and Tense
Describe - as appropriate to the scene - what you saw, heard, tasted, smelt and felt - that is, use 'sensory description';
What does it look like?
What does it sound like?
What does it feel like?
What does it taste like?
What does it smell like?
notice 'saw', 'heard'.
Also be safe and stick to writing about a past time!
present tense writing can be exciting to read but it's far too easy to forget the time frame of the present and flip back into the past - which is confusing for your reader and loses many marks.
Unless you are a very sure writer - avoid writing about 'now' - choose to write about 'then'.
Now have a go at the following task:
Descriptive Writing Task
Write about a deserted house.
You and your friend have just finished school and on the way home and you need shelter from the sudden change in weather. You see a deserted house and decide to enter it. Describe in detail the appearance of the house and the path that leads up to the front door. How do you feel as you approach? What type of door do you enter?
Imagine that you have gone through the doorway and that you are standing there listening to the sound of the ocean that is nearby. You look around and you notice all sorts of things, what’s on the floor, the walls and upon the ceiling. Think how you will describe what you see to inform the reader. You can hear a variety of noises, some are close some are further away and some are quiet distant. How do you feel? Are you scared or excited or even aware there is something not quite right? Perhaps the wind is blowing through the doorway and through the broken windows other sounds are made because of the wind? What are the scents/smells? Can a reader be made aware of what you see, hear, feel and smell what words best describe them? Explain what you see/feel in detail.
➢ Describe it in the 3rd person.
➢ You may want to describe the journey to the house as well as the house itself.
➢ You may want to talk about the setting of the house, e.g. town, country, wooded area, street.
➢ What do people think/feel about this place?
➢ Remember to use plenty of adjectives and adverbs, e.g. “the yellow net curtains, swayed rhythmically, in the gentle breeze” or “the old, heavy, wooden door, creakily swung to and fro on its rusty hinges. It fought with the enquiring wind to prevent it from entering.”
Think how will you build and create atmosphere and tension?
Fill in the senses table below and add as many descriptive words as you can think of to help you in your writing task.
Give fuller details for each
SEE /HEAR/FEEL/SMELL/TASTE
Mould
Broken windows
Rats!
Ghost!
Moonlit shadows
Cobwebs
Monsters
Birds
Bats
Sunlight
Colours
An angry silence
A piercing scream!
An eerie moan
Crashing waves
Rustling
Rattling
Bells
Drumming
Footsteps
Running
Damp clammy walls
Sharp rusty nails
Rough splintered wood
Soft fluffy feathers
Cold… icy hands
Panic/relief
Afraid/angry
Uncertainty/anxious
Hot/claustrophobic
Mildew
Sea breeze
Food
Flowers
Perfume
Decay
Rotten flesh
Fear
Remember nouns are the names of things such as wall, sea, door, bird, people and places! Add in a suitable adjective which describes the noun (you can use a thesaurus to help you with the descriptions) For Example, slimy wall, rough sea, solid door, dusty floor, slithering snake, hairy spider! Use actions words such as verbs to heighten dramatic tension.
Avoid writing 'I could see' or 'I could hear…' Instead put the noun or subject of the sentence at the start. Look at this example:
I could see mould on the walls. This is not descriptive or interesting, so instead, put the noun at the beginning and add some adjectives, like this: Green mould grew up the slimy walls.
Her hair was long, grey and straggly; it clung to her withered narrow face. Her blue eyes were deep and intense, whilst the wrinkles around them softened the effect of her gaze.
OR: Instead of writing, I could feel air coming through the door, you could write: Chilly air blasted through the rotten doorway.
Check your spellings in a dictionary and use thesaurus for alternative words to aid interest. Have a clear introduction to your story, followed by the main build up of the plot and finishing with an interesting ending. Do not be tempted to finish with a sudden abrupt end such as “I woke up and it was all a bad dream.” Or “…and I ran all the way home the end.” Make sure you use the right punctuation and use it to create dramatic effect such as the exclamation mark!
Remember to give full detail about your physical reactions to fear, shock, excitement, sorrow, joy, happiness, thankfulness etc Use of metaphors/similes may help i.e. Fear suddenly gripped my heart which beat furiously in my chest as I gasped and struggled for breath.
Overwhelmed with joy I felt as if I was walking on air and I smiled from ear to ear.
Like a bolt of lightening the shock hit me, my body froze like a marble statue.
The hair on my neck pricked up like a cat with a scare.
Good luck and send me your efforts! Keep using your past papers too.
Mrs Kendall
Just a reminder of some things you should use in your writing exam:
Techniques
Simile - When you compare one thing to something else using the words ‘as’ or ‘like’.
Alliteration - When the first letter of the words are the same.
Personification - When make something which isn’t human sound human.
Onomatopoeia - A word which sounds like the noise it makes.
Metaphor - A comparison between essentially unlike things without an explicitly comparative word such as like or as.
Pathetic Fallacy- very similar to personification. However, it can also be used when the weather reflects what is going on in the scene. If the weather is hot, sunny and there are people everywhere - it usually represents a ‘happy’ story. If the weather is dark, cold and stormy - you can usually guess that something bad is going to happen.
Paragraphs
Take a new one for change of:
setting, time, topic, person...
Senses and Tense
Describe - as appropriate to the scene - what you saw, heard, tasted, smelt and felt - that is, use 'sensory description';
What does it look like?
What does it sound like?
What does it feel like?
What does it taste like?
What does it smell like?
notice 'saw', 'heard'.
Also be safe and stick to writing about a past time!
present tense writing can be exciting to read but it's far too easy to forget the time frame of the present and flip back into the past - which is confusing for your reader and loses many marks.
Unless you are a very sure writer - avoid writing about 'now' - choose to write about 'then'.
Now have a go at the following task:
Descriptive Writing Task
Write about a deserted house.
You and your friend have just finished school and on the way home and you need shelter from the sudden change in weather. You see a deserted house and decide to enter it. Describe in detail the appearance of the house and the path that leads up to the front door. How do you feel as you approach? What type of door do you enter?
Imagine that you have gone through the doorway and that you are standing there listening to the sound of the ocean that is nearby. You look around and you notice all sorts of things, what’s on the floor, the walls and upon the ceiling. Think how you will describe what you see to inform the reader. You can hear a variety of noises, some are close some are further away and some are quiet distant. How do you feel? Are you scared or excited or even aware there is something not quite right? Perhaps the wind is blowing through the doorway and through the broken windows other sounds are made because of the wind? What are the scents/smells? Can a reader be made aware of what you see, hear, feel and smell what words best describe them? Explain what you see/feel in detail.
➢ Describe it in the 3rd person.
➢ You may want to describe the journey to the house as well as the house itself.
➢ You may want to talk about the setting of the house, e.g. town, country, wooded area, street.
➢ What do people think/feel about this place?
➢ Remember to use plenty of adjectives and adverbs, e.g. “the yellow net curtains, swayed rhythmically, in the gentle breeze” or “the old, heavy, wooden door, creakily swung to and fro on its rusty hinges. It fought with the enquiring wind to prevent it from entering.”
Think how will you build and create atmosphere and tension?
Fill in the senses table below and add as many descriptive words as you can think of to help you in your writing task.
Give fuller details for each
SEE /HEAR/FEEL/SMELL/TASTE
Mould
Broken windows
Rats!
Ghost!
Moonlit shadows
Cobwebs
Monsters
Birds
Bats
Sunlight
Colours
An angry silence
A piercing scream!
An eerie moan
Crashing waves
Rustling
Rattling
Bells
Drumming
Footsteps
Running
Damp clammy walls
Sharp rusty nails
Rough splintered wood
Soft fluffy feathers
Cold… icy hands
Panic/relief
Afraid/angry
Uncertainty/anxious
Hot/claustrophobic
Mildew
Sea breeze
Food
Flowers
Perfume
Decay
Rotten flesh
Fear
Remember nouns are the names of things such as wall, sea, door, bird, people and places! Add in a suitable adjective which describes the noun (you can use a thesaurus to help you with the descriptions) For Example, slimy wall, rough sea, solid door, dusty floor, slithering snake, hairy spider! Use actions words such as verbs to heighten dramatic tension.
Avoid writing 'I could see' or 'I could hear…' Instead put the noun or subject of the sentence at the start. Look at this example:
I could see mould on the walls. This is not descriptive or interesting, so instead, put the noun at the beginning and add some adjectives, like this: Green mould grew up the slimy walls.
Her hair was long, grey and straggly; it clung to her withered narrow face. Her blue eyes were deep and intense, whilst the wrinkles around them softened the effect of her gaze.
OR: Instead of writing, I could feel air coming through the door, you could write: Chilly air blasted through the rotten doorway.
Check your spellings in a dictionary and use thesaurus for alternative words to aid interest. Have a clear introduction to your story, followed by the main build up of the plot and finishing with an interesting ending. Do not be tempted to finish with a sudden abrupt end such as “I woke up and it was all a bad dream.” Or “…and I ran all the way home the end.” Make sure you use the right punctuation and use it to create dramatic effect such as the exclamation mark!
Remember to give full detail about your physical reactions to fear, shock, excitement, sorrow, joy, happiness, thankfulness etc Use of metaphors/similes may help i.e. Fear suddenly gripped my heart which beat furiously in my chest as I gasped and struggled for breath.
Overwhelmed with joy I felt as if I was walking on air and I smiled from ear to ear.
Like a bolt of lightening the shock hit me, my body froze like a marble statue.
The hair on my neck pricked up like a cat with a scare.
Good luck and send me your efforts! Keep using your past papers too.
Mrs Kendall