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 eight lines of text that are all telling rather than showing. Copy and paste them into a new Word document.
Telling Sentences:
1. The dog was happy to have his ball.
2. Myrtle loved going to the movies.
3. It was snowing a lot.
4. Tad was a video game fanatic.
5. Byron loved to drive because his car went fast.
6. The cat was good at catching birds.
7. Peter hated his job because it paid too little.
8. It was hot outside when Timothy went out.
Step Two:
In your document, below each sentence, 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 to the assignment dropbox. 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)