The Nardvark Writing Narrative Compositions for IGCSE and AS Exams
The Nardvark
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Friday, May 24, 2013
Writing Narrative Compositions for IGCSE and AS Exams
Nardvark's English Language exams are coming up, which include the daunting task of writing a composition.
Are you looking for help with your IGCSE or AS English? I can help you. Click here for more info.
Nardvark's first obstacle is understanding the difference between what they mean by "descriptive" and "narrative" writing.
Always a pal, the Nerdvark explains:
Descriptive : They don't want you to tell a story , just describe something using lots of imagery, and appealing to all five senses.
- If it helps, imagine you're sitting or standing in one place, and describe everything that you see/hear/smell/feel/taste.
- You can pretend it is part of a longer story or a novel, guide book, etc if you think it is bizarre to just be describing something for no reason.
- More on DESCRIPTIVE WRITING coming up in a future blog post. For now, if you like, look here for tips on using imagery.
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Narrative : They want you to tell a story. A story needs certain elements:
- Plot - think of it as conflict , which is usually labeled "Man vs. [something]" . " Man vs. Man ", for example, The Dark Knight is Batman vs. The Joker. " Man vs. Nature ", for example Twister is Bill and Jo Harding vs. a big tornado. " Man vs. Self ", for example The Lion King is Simba vs himself as he struggles to come to terms with his place as the king of pride rock. " Man vs. Society ", for example Mockingjay , Katniss Everdeen vs. the dystopian society she lives in. " Man vs. Machine ", for example I, Robot , short stories with various protagonists vs. various robots. Learn more about conflict at Wikipedia . Alternately , you could think of the plot as a problem and a solution.
- Characters - A short story usually has only one or two. Develop them with visual detail and thought or action to show personality.
- Setting - A short story takes place somewhere. Develop the setting using imagery.
- Dialogue - Bring your story to life with some characters talking to each other, or by having your main character thinking to him/herself (internal monologue.)
- Show, don't tell . Reading a story should be like experiencing a moment. Here's a tip - imagine that you have a magical camera on your shoulder, as you live through the events of the story. write my paper can pick up everything, not just video and audio, but even smells, tastes, tactile images and feelings, too. Write down everything that the magical camera records. Oh, but delete the boring bits.