descriptivewriting寫作課件

1、Descriptive WritingBy Charlene.Lets read“The people in the restaurant looked as lonely as the place itself. Two men in rumpled work shirts sat at the counter, on stools several feet apart, staring wearily into cups of coffee and smoking cigarettes. Their faces sprouted what looked like daylong stubb

2、les of beard. I figured they were workers who for some reason, didnt want to go home. Three stools down from the workers, I noticed a thin young man with a mop of black, curly hair”.“He wore a blank expression as he picked at a plate of French fries. I wondered if he had just returned from a disappo

3、inting date. At the one occupied booth sat a middle-aged couple. He was staring off into space, idly tapping his spoon against the table, while she drew aimless parallel lines on her paper napkin with a fork. Neither said a word to the other.”Lets read.Descriptive Example - QuestionsWhat is the topi

4、c sentence?What is the dominant impression created by each sentence in the paragraph?How are the details arranged? Time sequence?Spatial position?Degree of importance?.Descriptive writingWhat: to present the appearance or the nature of something people/ places/ things/ ideas / even feelings.Why: cle

5、ar vivid come alive How: Use Sensory Appeals (sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell) Figures of speech.Use Sensory AppealsYou play on your readers senses so they can experience the object or place with you and identify with it through their sight, smell, sound, touch and taste.You cant always use a

6、ll 5 senses in your writing, but you should always try.Start with what the readers can see.Sight is the most helpful sense any good descriptive paragraph must first discuss what the writer wants the reader tovisualize. Using strongadjectivesto illustrate your scene, moment, experience or item.Look a

7、t this exampleSuddenly she saw the house, tucked away behind the trees almost in the shadow of the hill. It was a bare earth house in the traditional style; brown mud walls, a few glassless windows, with a knee-height wall around the yard. A previous owner, a long time ago, had painted designs on th

8、e wall, but neglect and the years had scaled them off and only their ghosts remained . Describesmellsandtastes.The best descriptive paragraphs make the reader feel as if they were actually experiencing the thing youre describing, and not just reading about it. E.g. It tastes good! It tastes like Gra

9、ndmas apple pie when its fresh and still bubbling around the edges - crunchy, flavorful and sweet“ (General-Specific).Say how the moment or item feelsWhat does it remind you of as you imagine yourself running your hand along its surface? How are you reacting to the moment? “It feels nice/tough”?.His

10、 hands are marked with scars and callouses from years of hard work. The skin is hard and rough and the finger tips split and cracked from the cold. .Mention the sounds of the moment.What can you hear? Is there a deafening silence/a loud noise? All of a sudden I heard a loud sound I jerked as all of

11、the sudden I heard an undefinable buzzing sound, so loud I put my hands over my face and ears. I assumed it was the deafening fire alarm.Sensory Appeals“I will always remember the Sunday morning breakfasts I had as a child. At 7am the smell of fresh-brewed coffee would snake its way down the hall to

12、 my room and filling it with an indescribable aroma, awaking me to tell me breakfast was ready. When I would arrive at the dining room, I would a tall frosty glass of just-made orange juice filled with orange pulp”Look at this example: 1.find the topic sentence 2. locate the places were sensory appe

13、als are used.“Steaming hot coffee is being poured into a small cup. Pancakes cooked to a golden brown are stacked almost a foot high, with butter oozing down the sides. Warm syrup covers the cakes with a soft glaze and slowly drips down to form a small pool on my plate. In a side dish are oven-baked

14、 apples sprinkled with sugar and raisins and served hot with the cooking juices still bubbling”Sensory Appeals.“I will always remember the Sunday morning breakfasts I had as a child. At 7am the smell of fresh-brewed coffee would snake its way down the hall to my room and filling it with an indescrib

15、able aroma, awaking me to tell me breakfast was ready. When I would arrive at the dining room, I would get a tall frosty glass of just-made orange juice filled with orange pulp”Sensory Appeals.“Steaming hot coffee is being poured into a small cup. Pancakes cooked to a golden brown are stacked almost

16、 a foot high, with butter oozing down the sides. Warm syrup covers the cakes with a soft glaze and slowly drips down to form a small pool on my plate. In a side dish are oven-baked apples sprinkled with sugar and raisins and served hot with the cooking juices still bubbling”Sensory Appeals.Figures o

17、f SpeechAnother way to make your writing clear and vivid is to use figures of speechexpressions that convey meaning beyond the literal sense.Useful to explain or clarify complicated ideas or things otherwise difficult to understand.Figures of Speech-SimileSimile: Creates a comparison between two thi

18、ngs using “l(fā)ike” or “as.” Literal: “Tom has gained a lot of weight.”Simile: “Tom has gotten as heavy as a horse.”Literal: “My sons bedroom was a mess.”Simile: “My sons room looked like a pigsty.”.As strong as an oxAs hungry as a wolfas light as a feather (when something weighs very little)as busy as

19、 a beeas quiet as a mouse (someone who is untalkative; someone who is being quiet so as not to be heard)as quick as a flash (when something moves fast; someone does something quickly)as dry as a bone (when something is very or totally dry)as white as a sheet (when somenes face is white due to fear)a

20、s red as a beetroot (someones face when embarrassed)as brown as a berry (when someone has a deep suntan)as black as nightCommon similes.as deaf as a post (to describe someone who hears badly)as blind as a bat (to describe someone who sees badly)as thin as a rake (to describe someone who is very slim

21、/underweight)as drunk as a lord (when someone has drunk too much)to eat like a horse (to describe someone who always has a big appetite)to drink like a fish (to describe someone who drinks a lot of alcohol)to have a memory like a sieve (sieves have holes in them)to sleep like a baby (to sleep very d

22、eeply and for a long time)to have eyes like a hawk (describing someone who sees every small detail)to work like a dream (when something works perfectly, e.g. a plan, a machine).Figures of Speech-MetaphorAlso a kind of comparison, similar to simile but does not use “l(fā)ike” or “as.”This is a very usefu

23、l figure of speech.Read the following excerpt from Martin Luther Kings “I Have a Dream” speech.*Try to find all the metaphors and similes used by Mr. King to arouse the audiences feelings and emotions:.Figures of Speech-Metaphor“Five score 100 years ago, a great American in whose shadow we stand tod

24、ay, signed the Emancipation Proclamation freed the slaves. This momentous decree law came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity. But one hundred years

25、 later, the negro is still not freethe life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination.”.Figures of Speech-Metaphor“Five score 100 years ago, a great American in whose shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation freed the slav

26、es. This momentous decree law came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity. But one hundred years later, the negro is still not freethe life of the Negr

27、o is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination.”.tips for descriptive writingAlways use your real life experiences as a basis for your descriptions.Choose a dominant impression.Before writing, picture in your mind of who or what it is that you are setting o

28、ut to describe.Incorporate descriptive passages into the overall piece of writing rather than write descriptively for the sake of it. Prove you were there. Throw in your thoughts and feelings.Everything has to be detailed. Use senses and figures of speech.Describing Placesdormitory.Describing Places

29、 - Example“My dorm room, on the second floor of Building 3, is small and crowded. The dark green walls make the room seem dark and even smaller than it already is. As you walk into the room, you are stopped short by my bed which fills half of the room. The large windows over the bed are hidden by he

30、avy dark curtains.Describing Places - Example“Against the wall on your left, pushed into a corner behind the head of the bed, is a large bookcase crammed with papers and books. Wedged in between the bookcase and the wall opposite the bed is a small metal desk. Stuffed under the desk is a wastepaper

31、basket overflowing with paper. The wall above the bookcase and desk is completely taken up by two small posters. On the right side of the room is a narrow wardrobe with clothes bulging out of its doors”.Describing peopleAn encounter.Describe peopleexampleHe stood in the doorway, almost blocking out

32、the sun. His shaggy hair, darker than coal, reached just past the top of his ears. His piercing green eyes held my attention as his long lean legs walked to towards me. Are you feeling better? He asked, his soft voice an oxymoron to his rough and rugged looks. A grizzly shadow of stubble stretched o

33、ver his gaunt cheeks, eyes sunken as if he had not slept for days. .Describing eventsAn exam.Describe eventsexampleEntered the room at nine forty five; I could sense the activity that had taken place in the room, knowing that I will have to put my skills to pass this stage. The officer pointed at my

34、 seat, as I walked towards my seat, the adrenaline in my body was building and my face portrayed the image of fear. I had been waiting for this encounter for a year, and soon it would be right in front of my eyes.Describe eventsexampleAs the exam papers were handed out, an urge of sickness filled in

35、 my stomach. The day had come, where I had to come face to face with my enemy. This was not just a test of my knowledge but an indication of my future. The room was enclosed with walls indicating that there was no way out, the scent of the room reminded me of the London dungeon. I was now in complet

36、e isolation and no one but me could write on this dependent paper that may well decide my future.Describing objectsA gift.Describe objectsexampleOn one corner of my dresser sits a smiling toy clown on a tiny unicycle - a gift I once received last Christmas from a close friend. The clowns short hair, made of