English 10 Writing Workshop: Descriptive Paragraph Assignment.

Appealing to the five senses with Words

Borrowing Liam O’Flaherty’s use of vivid verbs

Like "Show, don't tell,"the expression "Paint a picture in your reader's mind" has become almost cliché in the English classroom. If you've ever caught yourself hearing those words from your teachers, ask yourself, "Have I really understood what that means in an actual piece of my writing?" If not, use the first few paragraph of O’Faherty’s story “The Sniper”to understand the meaning of "Paint a picture in your reader's mind."

In those very first paragraph of O’Faherty’s story “The Sniper,” a pictureispainted through words:

“The long June twilight faded into night. Dublin lay enveloped in darkness but for the dim light of the moon that shone through fleecy clouds, casting a pale light as of approaching dawn over the streets and the dark waters of the Liffey. Around the beleaguered Four Courts the heavy guns roared. Here and there through the city, machine guns and rifles broke the silence of the night, spasmodically, like dogs barking on lone farms. Republicans and Free Staters were waging civil war.”

The words that O’Faherty chooses: the adjectives, excellent and thoughtful; the nouns, precise; the color words; the texture words; the fact that we not only see, but hear this setting make this paragraphs stand out as an example of classic writing.

WRITING WORKSHOP

STEP ONE:

In partners, discuss the details in the above paragraphs and fill in the graphic organizer below.

Word Art!

Liam Oflaherty was an amazing writer! Work together to find examples of imagery appealing to the five senses in the opening paragraph of his short story “The Sniper.”

Sight / Sound

STEP TWO:

You are to write a descriptive paragraph describing a place that you have been. Your writing should be one paragraph long and about a1/2 page single spaced. You should describe a place that evokes emotion. You are to be sure that your writing paints a picture of a place with words and maintains flowing and original sentence structures.

In the space below, compose your paragraph. Submit this entire booklet to the hand in folder by the end of the class.

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English 10

Mrs. Taylor

Descriptive Paragraph Rubric

Area of assessment / 6 / 5 / 4 / 3 / 2 / 1
Mechanics, Grammar and conventions of writing / Clear, controlled, and precise writing. Grammar, punctuation and spelling correct, but need not be error-free. / Clear and controlled writing. Grammar, punctuation and spelling correct, but need not be error-free. / Competent writing. Grammar, punctuation and spelling may have errors. / Barely competent writing. Grammar, punctuation and spelling have errors throughout. / Lacks control of language conventions which hinders communication. / Very little to no control of language conventions which hinders communication.
Style and use of language / Mature style with depth of discussion. Excellent syntactical choices and outstanding vocabulary. / Proficient style with depth of discussion. Good vocabulary used throughout. / Competent style with some depth of discussion. Basic vocabulary utilized. / Basic style with some depth of discussion. Very basic vocabulary used. / Chooses inappropriate level of language and voice for specific audience and purpose. / Chooses inappropriate level of language and voice for specific audience and purpose.
Creativity and Ideas / Chooses perceptive ideas that address the topic with insightful details. / Chooses solid ideas that address the topic with clear details. / Chooses a straightforward idea that addresses the topic. / Chooses a straightforward idea that, for the most part, addresses the topic / Chooses an inappropriate idea that does not address the topic. Ineffective details or information. / Chooses an inappropriate idea that does not address the topic. Few to no details or information.
Organization / Provides a carefully shaped and effective controlling idea or thesis which is skillfully integrated throughout. Connections and organizational structure are excellent. / Provides a well-shaped controlling idea or thesis which is integrated throughout. Connections and organizational structure are proficient. / Provides a controlling idea which is integrated throughout. Connections and organizational structure are competent.
May be short in length which hinders full discussion of the topic. / Provides a controlling idea which may be integrated throughout. Connections and organizational structure are basic. May be too short to fully address the topic. / Provides little to no controlling idea. Connections and organizational structure are lacking. May be too short to address the topic. / Provides no controlling idea. No connections or organizational structure evident. Too short to fully address the topic.

Total /12

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