You are on page 1of 5

CONTINUOUS WRITING

6.1 Teachers Notes


Narrative essays are a favourite among students as they are easier to handle. This type of
essay enables the writer to use and share experiences with the readers.
1. Students must read the question carefully and know exactly what they are supposed
to write.
2. Ask the students to decide whether to write their essay from their own perspective or
someone elses. The first person or third person singular is the most popular choice.
3. Students should use a simple plot. Asking students wh-questions will help them to
develop ideas. Advise them to list in chronological order.
4. Students should use the past tense forms.
5. Encourage the students to include adjectives and adverbs.
6. Students may also use dialogue.
STUDENTS TIPS
WRITING A NARRATIVE ESSAY
A narrative is a story with a sequence of connected events. It could be about a personal
experience or an imagined event or events.
Let us look at some typical examination questions:
1. Write a story of a man who returns to his home after many years.
2. The day I lost my temper.
3. Write a story ending with, I shall never forget this day for the rest of my life.
4. Write about an occasion when you got into trouble.
5. Write a story beginning with, I could not believe my eyes.
How do I write a narrative essay for the examination?
ACTION PLAN: (1 hour)
A. Planning = 15 minutes
B. Writing = 35 minutes
C. Checking = 10 minutes
This is how we do it.
A. PLANNING
Lets say you have chosen question 3, - Write a story ending with, I shall never forget this
day for the rest of my life.
1. Read the question carefully and underline important phrases. Pay particular attention
to the ending.
2. Brainstorm for ideas by using the 5Ws and 1H approach and jot down notes.

Who is the character?


When is the event taking place?
Where is it happening?
What is happening?
Why is there a problem?
How is the problem solved?

Example:
Introduction
Who - main character, first person narrator (I) and cousin from Cambodia
When - holidays, one Sunday
Body
What
Why

- had to accompany cousin


- cousin loved riding escalators

Problem 1

Where - at the shopping centre


Why - riding escalators again

Problem 2

Who
What
How
Why

Problem 3

- main character
- nearly had an accident
- stumbled
- tried to escape from cousin

Climax

Conclusion
What lesson learnt gratitude

B. WRITING THE ESSAY


Now that you have got the skeleton of your story, it is time to begin writing.
1. Use linkers and phrases which link the events to move your story in a chronological
order. Some phrases that are suitable :
It was very dark.
I will never forget ..
A few minutes later.
Suddenly,
When the disaster happened, ..
2. Use the past tense forms. Check all the verbs you have used.
3. Use descriptive language (adjectives, adverbs)
4. Use sensory details to reveal the events and to get the readers involved. Do not
merely tell but show the events through words and phrases.
Example:
a. I went into the restaurant.
b. I walked into the restaurant.

c. I sauntered into the restaurant.

5. Sentence a: merely states that I went into the restaurant


Sentence b: gives a little more information as to how I went into the restaurant.
Sentence c: uses a more specific word to show clearly the idea of how I went into
the restaurant.
Sentence c. allows the reader to see what I am doing. The word sauntered means to
stroll. It gives the image of a person walking slowly into the restaurant. Thus, sentence c.
is more effective in narrative and descriptive writing.
6. Use direct speech, but use it sparingly and effectively. Remember, you are writing a
narrative, not a script.
7. Avoid using informal language
C. CHECKING
Read your essay once through and check for the following things:

Is the spelling accurate?


Is the punctuation appropriate? Did you use too many commas in a sentence?
Did you vary the sentence structure? Are your sentences too long?
Does one thought follow the next in a logical order?
Did you stick to the topic? Did you use words so that your reader could experience
the incident?
Did you use the appropriate tense of the verb throughout?
Make any corrections neatly.

WRITING A DESCRIPTIVE ESSAY


Writing a descriptive essay is perhaps more difficult than writing a narrative essay because it
makes more demands on ones use of language. In a descriptive essay, you need to give a
detailed description of a person, place, object, experience or memory. Your description must
be so effective that the person, place, object, experience or memory described is clearly
visualised by the reader.
If you are describing a person, the reader should feel that he knows the person well. If it is a
place that is described, the reader should feel as if he is there and seeing it with his very
eyes. How can this be achieved? Through the use of details that appeal to your readers
senses and a lively tone that draws his emotions.
Techniques in Descriptive Writing
STEPS
A. PLANNING
1. Read the question carefully. (eg. An Unforgettable Character)
2. Understand the question.
a. What does the phrase Unforgettable Character mean?
He/She is a person you will always remember.
b. What is your focus?

A favourable or unfavourable impression of the character.


3. Brainstorm for ideas. Expand and elaborate the points.
Introduction
Who is being describe
Body
Detail 1

Detail 2

Detail 3

- the canteen lady

- General Appearance
Neat
Height short
Age 50
The way she walked - limps
- Non-physical features
Manners of speaking gentle, low voice
Habit smiled a lot
- Why she is unforgettable
Kind - art lesson
- the way she treated a bully
Keenness to learn the way she read newspapers
even though she was illiterate

Conclusion
Give an opinion not a person to sit back and let things go by
B. WRITING THE ESSAY
1. Use details Focus on the five senses (sight, sound, smell, taste and touch). Details
are very important and when properly used, enable descriptions to come to life. Use
nouns, adjectives and verbs to evoke these senses. Nouns and adjectives help the
reader see; verbs help the reader feel.
2. Use a lively tone Show your own feelings, responses and reactions as these make
your description more vivid and lively.
3. Describe different aspects If you are describing a person, do not limit your
description to the persons physical appearance. Include a detailed description of the
persons character and personality and how other people react to him. Include a
detailed paragraph of an incident which highlights one of these aspects.
Lets look at the two extracts below on the topic An Unforgettable Aunt.
Sample 1
Aunt Eleanor had a sharp nose and a pair of black eyes. She was thin, and had a
thin, long face, an aquiline nose and sunken cheeks. Her hair was always tied in a
knot and her clothes were only of one colour grey. My cousins and I were afraid of
her and always found an excuse to disappear whenever she was around.
Sample 2
Aunt Eleanor was thin and scrawny and her protruding bones almost made her look
like a walking skeleton. Her aquiline nose and sunken cheeks added to her witch-like

looks and her dark eyes, when they flashed in anger, were capable of sending
tremors of fear down ones spine. The dreary grey tones of her clothes and her
sparse dark hair, which was always tied in a knot, further emphasised her sternness.
My cousins and I cringed with fear and were reduced to silence when she glared at
us with her smouldering dark eyes. Her serious demeanour and scrooge-like
appearance did nothing to endear her to us.

Sample 1 is a plain description of the narrators aunt. Although there are several verbs
and adjectives, the description is somewhat dull. Sample 2, on the other hand, is a vivid
and interesting description which brings the character to life. We can almost see her in
our minds eye and this effect is achieved through the description of the persons features
that are prominent and striking.

Note the details about


- her overall physical appearance (thin, skeleton-like)
- her facial features (aquiline nose, sunken cheeks, dark eyes)
- her manner of dressing and grooming (dreary grey tones, tight bun)
- feelings stirred by her appearance (tremors of fear, reduced to silence, cringed with
fear).
The description of her physical appearance supports and reinforces her character and
personality, and this makes the essay interesting and engaging.

Some writers like to merge descriptive writing with narrative writing. There is nothing
wrong with this as the description enriches the narration.

C. CHECKING
Read your essay once through and check for the following things:
Is the spelling accurate?
Is the punctuation appropriate? Did you use too many commas in a sentence?
Did you vary the sentence structure? Are your sentences too long?
Does one thought follow the next in a logical order?
Did you stick to the topic?
Did you use the appropriate tense of the verb throughout? Make any corrections
neatly.

You might also like