写作课件description

c. Metho源自文库s of organization
Using the senses Using spatial order Using chronological order
Techniques
To show, not merely to tell
E.G 1 Original: He dances very well. Revised:
Introduction
• Description can be found in almost any kind of writing: history books, scientific articles, magazine advertisements, character sketches, novels, geography books, etc. It may be used as an end in itself but can also serve other purposes: usually combined with narration or exposition, making it more lively, colorful and exciting. • In descriptive compositions, one describes what is seen or what would be seen (shapes, colors, positions and relationships of people, objects, or scenes) with an aim to convey to the reader what something looks like by painting a picture with words.
without specific words
He has a very thin mouth.
with specific words
Sight
He’s got a very thin mouth that is almost like a single pencil line, always turned up into a smile.
His gift for dancing in a style that no
one has even imagined, known as the
“moonwalk” made him an instant superstar.
Vivid description with sensory impression
Remarks:
My fellow roommate is a very hardworking and warm-hearted guy though he comes from a poor family of countryside.
• Appearance: He was thin, short, and dark. His hair was like a bundle of straw. His dirty clothes and tired look were clearly signs of a long travel. His clothes were made of cheap cloth. The coat was
• In descriptive compositions there is no underlying ―story‖ as in a narration to hold your composition together, so it is necessary to maintain a central idea or overall impression to which everything you describe can be related, and this can be achieved by the selection of details, the perspective from which they are presented, and the tone of the writing. Whether or not the writing will be interesting depends entirely on the details it includes.
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•
I looked at him. He was thin, short, and dark. His hair was like a bundle of straw. His dirty clothes and tired look were clearly signs of a long travel. His clothes were made of cheap cloth. The coat was too short and the trousers too loose. And he wore a pair of rubber shoes, which were very unfashionable. He did not look like a smart freshman at all. “ A yokel,” I concluded.
Description of a person:
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Sample 1
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• •
A Fellow Student It was my first day at the university. I walked into the building where I was going to live, and looked at door after door for my name. At last I found it. In the room there was already a student making his bed. • After we said “ How do you do” to each other, he continued his work, paying no more attention to me. “What a stuck-up fellow,” I thought. I examined the room. It was not different in the fittings and furnishings from any other room I had seen, but it had been thoroughly cleaned—by my new roommate, no doubt.
Vivid description with sensory impression
without specific words
He has a special mustache.
with specific words
Shape and color
Hanging over his top lip is a thick orangebrown mustache, extending from one corner of his mouth to the other, thick toward the middle and tapering (尖端细的)at the ends.
Three basic features
a. Types
Objective description Subjective description
b. The dominant impression
An overall attitude, mood or feeling about the place you are describing.
Dominant Impression
• As shown in the samples, descriptive writing often focuses on a single point or emphasizes a dominant impression. Linked closely to the purpose, the dominant impression derives from a pattern of well-chosen details. When describing a person, you add up the details derived from your senses and form one central impression of that person; and when describing a place, you also gather details ro from a central impression—an atmosphere, or a mood.
Description of a person
• In describing a person, the writer should not merely give details of his appearance. He should try to reveal the person’s character, thoughts, and feelings, which may be shown in what the person does and says, or in how he behaves to others. And it is important to grasp the characteristic features that distinguish him from all other people. Those features that he shares with others can be omitted. Peculiarities and traits of a person, if any, should be included in the description, for they usually impress the reader deeply and give life to the person described.
Unit 14 Descriptive Writing
Lecture 12
Objectives
1.To learn basic features of and techniques in a well-developed description 2.To learn how to select specific words
too short and the trousers too loose. And he wore a pair of rubber
shoes, which were very unfashionable. • Words: 1) “ How do you do” , 2) The second time he spoke, his accent told me that he was from the south. “ Shall I help you to get your luggage from the office?” • Behavior: 1) it had been thoroughly cleaned—by my new roommate; 2) He was quick in movement. He walked out of the room and was soon far ahead of me in the corridor.
• The second time he spoke, his accent told me that he was from the south. “ Shall I help you to get your luggage from the office?” • I did not refuse since I really needed help. He was quick in movement. He walked out of the room and was soon far ahead of me in the corridor. • “ A good guy.” I said to myself. “I will make friends with him.” I hurried and caught up with him. ( 270 words )