Show, don't tell

Show, don't tell

Starter task will be to link definitions to the correct terms.

Multiple Select

Which is the correct word for this definition?

'Pleasant smell'

• Stimulating

• Unnerving

• Adventuresome

• Everlasting

• Aroma

Multiple Select

Which is the correct word for this definition?

'Lasting forever or for a long time'

• Stimulating

• Unnerving

• Adventuresome

• Everlasting

• Aroma

Multiple Select

Which is the correct word for this definition?

'To feel slightly frightened'

• Stimulating

• Unnerving

• Adventuresome

• Everlasting

• Aroma

Multiple Select

Which is the correct word for this definition?

'Take fun risks'

• Stimulating

• Unnerving

• Adventuresome

• Everlasting

• Aroma

Multiple Select

Which is the correct word for this definition?

'Interesting and building enthusiasm'

• Stimulating

• Unnerving

• Adventuresome

• Everlasting

• Aroma

Learning outcomes

• To further understand how to enrich creative writing

• Write descriptively, embedding these techniques throughout.

Show, don't tell.

• This is crucial to good descriptive writing.

• Focus on painting a picture for the reader, rather than just telling them.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHdzv1NfZRM&ab_channel=LearnEnglishwithBenjamin%5BengVid%5D. We will watch this 6 minute video that explains how it works a bit more.

Multiple Choice

The stench of the heaps of garbage turned my stomach.

To which sense or senses does this sentence appeal?

• feel

• smell

• sight

• smell and sight

Multiple Choice

To spice up your writing and make it more descriptive, add .....................................to your sentences.

• Action verbs

• Common nouns

• sensory details

• ideas

Multiple Choice

Which of the following statements shows rather than tells?

• The cake was extremely delicious and palatable

• I ate the cake that was mouthwatering

• The moment I caught a whiff of the fluffy freshly baked chocolate cake, it's irresistible prevailing aroma made my mouth water.

Fill in the Blanks

Showing can tell us something about a character without having to explicitily say it. For example, what does this tell us about Suzie?

'Suzie felt for the bench with a white cane.'

What does this show?

Suzie is

.

Multiple Choice

I could feel butterflies in my stomach and a lump in my throat as I walked on stage.

Which sense does the sensory details in the sentence appeal?

• sight

• sound

• feel

• taste

Open Ended

I was in the waiting room. I was nervous.

Rewrite this description by ‘showing’ the reader what it was like to be nervous. Appeal to the senses and focus on the physical body’s response to the emotion. Focus on the face, the eyes, the mouth, the hair, the skin, the heart, the blood, the pulse, the sweat, the breath and the tears.

Show, don’t tell!

Figurative Language

The other key component of good descriptive writing is figurative language. These allow you to bring the page to life:

Similes

Metaphors

Personification

Oxymoron etc.

Multiple Choice

"Act naturally", "Bittersweet", & "Open Secret" are examples of what?

• Oxymoron

• Onomatopoeia

• Metaphor

• Hyperbole

Multiple Choice

"My alarm clock yells at me to get out of bed every morning" is an example of what?

• Synecdoche

• Idiom

• Simile

• Personification

Fill in the Blanks

A

is an exaggerated statement or claim not meant to be taken literally.

Multiple Choice

“Conscience is a man’s compass.” - Vincent Van Gogh

• simile

• alliteration

• metaphor

• idiom

Multiple Choice

“It's a piece of cake.”

• hyperbole

• idiom

• allusion

• simile

Multiple Choice

”A mind is like a parachute. It doesn't work if it is not open”.-Frank Zappa

• onomatopoeia

• simile

• metaphor

• alliteration

Multiple Choice

“Tick, tock.” ― Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire

• metaphor

• simile

• onomatopoeia

• allusion