The Confident Writer
Chapter 8:
Narrating and Describing
What is Hughes’s thesis? Why is he
writing?
 How are the details organized?
 What pattern(s) of organization does he
use?


Can you think of any such defining
moments in your own life?
“Salvation” by Langston Hughes

Organizational
patterns are…
◦ Thought patterns
◦ Options for helping a
writer achieve unity
and coherence
◦ Frameworks for ideas
◦ Determined by topic,
audience, and
purpose

One organizational
pattern is
.
◦ Narration is the
storytelling pattern

Another pattern is
.
◦ Description brings
subjects to life.

Which pattern should
you use?
What Are Organizational Patterns?

Use narration to
develop your topic as a
story.

A narration develops a
series of events that
take place over a
period of time.

Tell your readers what
you learned from the
experience—reflect!
Determine the
story’s significance.
2. Follow the sequence
of events.
3. Choose a point of
view.
4. Add dialogue for
accuracy and
variety.
1.
Use Narration to Tell a Story
Determine the
Story’s Significance


Try to understand the
meaning of the
event.
On notebook paper,
do Exercise 8.1 on
page 201.
Follow a Sequence of
Events

In what order did the
events occur?

Which details are
necessary?

What transitions
words will maintain a
time sequence?
Use Narration to Tell a Story
Choose a Point of
View

POV=the perspective
from which a story is
told
1st Person: I
 3rd Person: he, she, it
 2nd Person: you
(Avoid using this
one!)
Add Dialogue for
Accuracy & Variety

Dialogue=quoting
what someone says

Dialogue makes
people come alive.

Dialogue allows
people to speak for
themselves.

Use Narration to Tell a Story
1.
New speaker, new paragraph.
2.
Put “ ” around the words of the speaker.
George said, “Really? I can’t believe it!”
3.
Attribute words to the speaker.
Ron said,
Alexis replied
Hamilton quipped
4.
Place ending punctuation inside “ ”.
Trish murmured, “You know I love you.”
“You know,” Trish murmured, “I love you.”
“You know I love you,” Trish murmured.
5.
After establishing speakers, you can omit attributions.
Rules for Using Dialogue
Larry approaches Bob, who is reading
with a very intent look on his face, and
asks him, “Whuh you reading, Bob?”
“Ees book on how crocs keel prey with
death roll,” answers Bob without looking
up from the book. “I geet from child’s
seshun of library.”
Larry’s brow furrows with intrigue. “Roll
keel dem?” His fists clench as he
struggles toward an epiphany.
“Oh, yeah. It snap neck,” Bob replies.
When he notices Larry’s look of
enthusiasm, he cannot help asking,
“Why?” But Larry dashes off without a
reply.
Several hours later, Larry rings Zebra’s
doorbell. “Peese,” he says, when Zebra
opens the door, “Eet wid dinner.” Zebra
just stares a Larry, wondering at his
remarkable resemblance to the Pillsbury
Dough Boy, the proffered basked of
dinner rolls, and look of bland
innocence.
Use the above cartoon to write a
brief narrative that includes
description.

Use description to bring
your topic to life.
Find a controlling
idea.
2. Choose sensory
details.
3. Consider your
audience and
purpose.
1.
Use Description to Enliven Your
Writing
Find a Controlling
Idea

A controlling idea—
◦ Is the overall
impression that a
person, place or object
conveys
◦ Is part of your thesis
◦ Controls your selection
of details
Choose Sensory
Details

Sensory details
appeal to your five
senses:
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
Touch
Taste
Smell
Hear
See
Use Description to Enliven Your
Writing
Consider Your
Audience & Purpose

When you describe,
you can have either:
◦ An objective purpose
◦ A subjective purpose

To decide on a
purpose, ask
yourself:
◦ Who am I writing this
for and why?
Use Description to Enliven Your
Writing
Questions to Consider:
What is your topic, and why have you chosen it?
2. Is your purpose to relate an event or to create an impression?
3. If your topic is an event or story, then what makes it significant?
4. If your topic is an impression or feeling, then what is the
controlling idea?
5. Is the topic something you know and care about?
6. Will the topic interest readers or seem important to them?
7. What is your central idea, thesis, or message?
8. What point of view will you take?
9. What examples or sensory details will bring this topic to life?
10. How will dialogue add realism to your story or enliven your
description?
1.
Think through Your Topic

Ask yourself the 5 Ws and a H Questions:
◦ Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?

Plan your essay with:
◦ A three-level outline
 Main Idea  Major details  Minor details
◦ A coherence pattern
 Time order, emphatic order, and spatial order

Look at Figure 8.4 on page 221.
Plan and Write Your Essay