Writing from experience

Charles Dube Highway to success

You write best about the things you know best — places you have seen, people you have known, experience you have had. O write well about these things, you must observe them carefully or remember them clearly.

Details in description — all good descriptions have details that help readers see, feel, hear, taste, and smell what is being described. These kinds of details are called sense details. As you read any novels of your choice, notice the details that help you see, hear and taste what that particular writer describes.

Some details in a place description may be data. The word data is plural. The singular form is datum. Data are statements of fact or measurements of things. There are thirty-five students in my class. Sometimes data add to a description. Remember at times you are asked to write reports based on data.

This is not just repetition of figures presented, but you study the story they tell to you. When you describe a place, imagine you are part of the place sitting at a given point. What do you see, hear, feel, taste and smell? Use sense details and data to help readers share your experience.

If you write about a real place, try to visit the place before you begin writing, even if you have recently been there or it is a place you see every day, such as your classroom. Take notes about what you see, feel, hear, state and smell. Your notes might also include data. Later you can make these note into sentences and organise your writing for your readers.

Before we proceed with what we are discussing let us remember the four functions of a sentence. Sentences can be classified according to what they do — that is, whether they state ides, ask questions, give orders, or express strong emotions.

The four types of sentences in English are declaractive, interrogative, imperative and explanatory. Declarative sentences are the most common type. They are used to declare or state, facts. A declarative sentence states an idea and ends with a period. For example, declarative: The leopard has a beautiful pattern of brown sports edged in black.

To interrogate means to ask. An interrogative sentence is a question. An interrogative sentence asks a question and ends with a question mark. Whose text book is this? In what country do gorillas live? An imperative sentence gives an order or a direction and ends with either a period or an exclamation mark.

Most imperative sentences start with a verb in the type of imperative sentence, the subject is understood to be you. Imperative: Follow the directions carefully. Watch out for lions while on the safari. An explanatory sentence conveys strong emotion and ends with an explanation mark.

Explanatory: She is not telling the truth! Wow!

Writing about people: The purpose of writing about people is to make them seem real to readers. Readers want to be able to imagine how the people they read about look, so descriptions of people include details of physical appearance.

To help you think of details about physical appearance, ask yourself questions like these:

What physical features do you remember most? Everyone has features that stand out more than others: beautiful hair; a large nose; delicate; long fingers; a square chin. How does the person usually dress? Does the person wear especially colourful clothes? Does the person keep up with the latest styles?

How does the person stand and move? Does the person stand very straight or tend to slump over? What is the person’s voice like? Is it loud or soft? Is the voice pleasant or in some way unpleasant? Does the person have any distinctive habits, such as constantly twisting a lock of hair?

Another part of describing a person is telling what the person is like on the inside. Describing the inner part of a person means writing about personality. Personality is what makes one person think and act differently from another. One of your friends may be shy and another outgoing. Some people prefer quiet activities such as reading while others enjoy being outdoors.

Some people might be known for their loyalty to friends and others may be known for a good sense of humour. One way to describe personality is to make direct statements about people. Paul loves animals. Kate is very shy. More than anything, Maria loves being outdoors.

Another way is to reveal personality by showing how people behave and what they say. Then let your reader decide for themselves what a person is like inside. For example, instead of saying directly that Paul loves animals, you can describe the way he behaves:

Paul is the only person I know who spends his allowance on dog food instead of on himself. So far he has picked up two strays, and his father has told him he would help feed them. He does not seem to mind though, even when he has to miss a move a basketball game.

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