week 6

Assignment Instructions

One of the biggest mistakes we make when writing a narrative essay is that we tend to tell rather than show details. This means that we state things bluntly instead of painting a mental picture that can get the same information across in a better way. The reason its better to give readers a mental image instead of just telling them something (such as how a character feels) is because an image can convey much more information, while also engaging the reader in your story.

Lets look at an example of telling:

Sam was sad because he dropped his ice cream cone.

Now lets look at an example of showing this same information:

As the ice cream tumbled to the hot pavement, Sam burst into streaming tears.

The second version is the better of the two options because it gives the necessary information in a way that puts the reader into the scene as it unfolds. Conversely, the first option doesnt put the reader into the story, and isnt as engaging for the audience because of that fact.

Step One:

Take a look at the following five lines of text that are all telling rather than showing.

Telling Sentences:

1. The dog was happy to go on a walk.
2. Sally loved running.
3. It was a big storm.
4. The hall was really crowded.
5. Michael was really good at his job.

Step Two:

In a Word document, write a new version of the sentence where the information is shown through description and action (as the above example did). Feel free to add details to make the new version come alive.

Step Three:

Submit your Word document by clicking Submit Assignment. Your document should:

• Be 12 pt in size.
• Be in Times New Roman font
• Have 1-inch margins
• Be double spaced
• Be saved and submitted as a Word document (either .doc or .docx)