Techniques used in the reading What's a 13-letter word for 'compassionate aide'?:

At times, Hayley Linfield, uses fragments for emphasis. For example, the single word "Admiration" forms a sentence. This acts to emphasize the word. She then goes on to repeat the word in the following sentence and explain.

The sandwich is used or the "frame." She begins with an explanation and discussion and then follows with a demonstration in dialogue and ends with a further discussion and analysis.

Many sentences demonstrate parallel structure. In one case the sentence is 59 words long and has repetitions and the final clause is her concluding point. This structure also provides emphasis.

Use of visual descriptions to help us "see" what she saw.

Dialogue is used, along with description. Not just what is said, but how it is said, and what actions are done at the same time. She feels free to say how she reacts to what the old lady has done. As in: "Oh hello!" she said cheerily, to my amazement."

The assignment is for your personal reaction. One student suggests that this piece reminds her of the time. . . What makes the old lady different? Is it her age? How would I react?

 

 

 

The Important Parts of a Folktale:

It often has a happy ending (such as, "they lived happily every after.") The Boy Who Cried Wolf does not end happily. Red Riding Hood has a happy ending for the girl, but not the grandmother.

The story must include conflicts. Conflicts are a kind of struggle between two sides (man vs. woman; man vs. environment; man vs. himself). All other "beings" such as monsters, animals etc. are grouped as environment. It should be one important conflict, often person to person or person against an obstacle.

There is a lesson in folktales. It is often a moral lesson (what is the right way or the wrong way to behave). *Consider the lesson before you write the story.

Each character has a different personality or style to them. It is very clear and simple and universal in nature. The strong police officer. The kind neighbour lady. Stereotypes are good in folktales.

Folktales are often aimed at children and teach the kinds of lessons children need to know.

The plot is easy to follow and interesting. The basic story often passes from one generation to the next. Plot is "what happens."

It is easy to imagine in the mind's eye.

Normal rules do not apply in folktales. Dogs can talk, for example.

It is, mercifully, usually a very short story. Ildiko's story is 300.

The story may include suspense. Suspense is when a reader feels the "what will happen next?" feeling.

Important Rules of Grammar or Punctuation (for story writing):

Dialogue is present in folktales. The words spoken are placed inside quotation marks. Who is speaking those words and how those words are spoken are outside of the quotations.

Brad said, "The class will be over in five minutes!"

The class responded, "Great! I want to go home now and see my children."

"Really, this class has gone on long enough," the class sighed, " and now we really want to go home, okay?"

Feel free to use more exclamations than usual!

Make the transitions clear to the reader. When it's a new day or a new location, the reader can easily see it.

 

 

Discussion on Ideas and Topics

You need to have ideas in order to write something.

Where do we find these ideas? How can we get them more easily?
It is difficult to find the details, since we lack knowledge or living experience.

Solution:

Reading, along with thinking. Accumulating ideas/knowledge is a long-term project. Make sure any goal you set is achievable and measurable. Research is a good solution for topic problems. The novel Deafening took years of research, including learning to speak sign language of the deaf.

People need to know certain things that occur or are newsworthy in society. Stay informed. Stay interested but no need to know everything.

Essays have a standard structure:

Title (There are rules to follow to make titles.
Titles and topics are two different things.)

Introduction
Body X 3
Conclusion

SO, five paragraphs in total.

Can we break the standard? What is the standard for anyway?

YES, of course. A standard, five paragraph, essay is what teachers use to teach students HOW to do an essay. At university, many essays have 10, 12, 15 or more and require 2,500 words.

Essays share the same structure with the paragraph: the topic sentence corresponds to the introduction, the details to the body paragraphs, and the concluding sentence to the conclusion.

How Big is a Topic?

If for a paragraph (100 words) a topic should be completely explained in that many words. Like the liquid in a bottle of Gatorade, a good topic just fill the paragraph up to the top, no more.

 

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