Descriptive Writing

WEEK
FIVE

Saturday, 2 October 2010

 Draw like a painter

• Groups of five with some A3 paper

• Draw as I describe a scene
• Be as CREATIVE as you can!
• In your own words, present your
paintings

Saturday, 2 October 2010

 Or...
You want to doodle just like
kids - it’s up to you!

Saturday, 2 October 2010

 Defining “describe”

• a thing (What), a place (Where), or a

person (Who)
• to create an impression, so that
• they can “see” what it is in readers’
minds

Saturday, 2 October 2010

 Visualising...
How can we visualise a
place is windy OR

How can we describe

“wind”?

Saturday, 2 October 2010

 Use your five senses

• How many senses do we have?

• Seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting,
touching
• Practice: How do we sense “wind”?

Saturday, 2 October 2010

 The castle is
big and tall.
True, but you only know
two adjectives “big” and
“tall”? How boring...

Saturday, 2 October 2010

 This castle is big
and tall, too.
To a 6-year old kid, it is.

So please, use more

DIFFERENT
verbs, adjectives and A bouncing castle
adverbs.

Saturday, 2 October 2010

 This massive brick structure
sprawled across a quarter
acre of ground and rose
more than sixty feet into the
air.

Another way to increase your word

count in your writings (meaningfully)

Saturday, 2 October 2010

 Characteristics of
your descriptive writing

• One (Just ONE)

impression

• Scary or lovely?

A boxer puppy
Saturday, 2 October 2010
 A dominant impression

• has something
repeating
(dominant) in a
description that
guides reader to see
the subject in the
way the author
wants them to see.

Saturday, 2 October 2010

 Objective? Subjective?
• Objective: based on
facts - length,
weight, colour etc.

• Subjective: based
on personal feelings
- e.g. People like
describing their
pets as their “lovely
children”
My kid
Saturday, 2 October 2010
 Specific (again)

• The more details

you give, the more
readers can “see”
the objects.

• Sometimes you may

even need to describe
a thread of hair.

Saturday, 2 October 2010

 Selection of details
• I have a dog.
• I have a little dog.
• I have a crazy little dog.
• I have a crazy little black dog.
• I have a lovely crazy little black dog.
• I have a...

Saturday, 2 October 2010

 Description relying on emotions

• Cecelia is lovely.
• Cecelia pretends to be lovely. (change of
verb)
• That fake cutie pretends to be lovely.
(use of new adjective)

Saturday, 2 October 2010

 Your attitude

• towards a thing is shown to readers:

• if you keep giving them single
repeating mood (impression)

Saturday, 2 October 2010

 Your attitude

• E.g. If you keep

saying good
things about a
boy, you have a
good impression
on him (or a
crush maybe!).

Saturday, 2 October 2010

 Strategies for writing

• Remember the 1st step of process

writing?
• Move readers through space & time
• Use a then-and-now approach
• Choose an emotion first (Advanced)

Saturday, 2 October 2010

 Joining ideas Part Two

Saturday, 2 October 2010

 4 Basic Skills

• And/or/but

• When/before/after

• Because/because
of/since/as

• So/therefore/thus

Saturday, 2 October 2010

 And/or/but

• Sherman sings and plays the guitar.

• You can be quiet or choose to leave the
classroom.
• You are naughty, but I forgive you.

Saturday, 2 October 2010

 When/before/after

• When the telephone rang, I was having

a shower.
• Before the bell rings, students should
stay in the classroom.
• After she tied the shoelaces, she started
running again.

Saturday, 2 October 2010

 Because/because of/since/as

• 90% of Hongkongers object to violent

movies because/since/as they do not
give a meaningful message to
audiences.
• They object to those movies because of
the bad influences on children (noun
phrase).

Saturday, 2 October 2010

 4 Killer Skills

• Starting with -ing word

• Starting with -ed word

• Appositive

• Relative clauses
Saturday, 2 October 2010
 Starting with “-ing”

• I want a getaway. I go to Okinawa myself.

• I Wanting a getaway, I go to Okinawa myself.
• Wanting a getaway, I go to Okinawa myself.

Saturday, 2 October 2010

 Starting with -ed

• An old man was knocked down by a car. He

moaned in great pain.
• An old man was Knocked down by a car, He an
old man moaned in great pain.
• Knocked down by a car, an old man moaned in
great pain.

Saturday, 2 October 2010

 Appositive

• Anna looked at Mary. Mary was talking on the

phone.
• Anna looked at Mary, . Mary was talking on the
phone.
• Anna looked at Mary, talking on the phone.
(describing Mary)

Saturday, 2 October 2010

 Relative clause

• Defining: explaining who/what it is.

• The boy who is wearing a cap is my brother.
• Non-defining: giving extra information
• Pete, who is studying his second masters degree, is
my brother.

Saturday, 2 October 2010

 Relative clause (more)
• Person (who), things (which), both (that)
• Main clause (important); relative clause (less)
• To put comma or not to:
• Many people in Canada speak fluent French.
• Many people in Canada, which is a large country,
speak fluent French. (unessential)
• People annoy me. (incomplete meaning)
• People who talk nonsenses annoy me. (complete)

Saturday, 2 October 2010

 Vincent
A song to share

Saturday, 2 October 2010

 Enjoy the Saturday starry night!

Saturday, 2 October 2010