Word that shows action or state of being

Run, swim, jump, be, appear, seem, feel

There are numerous verb tenses:
Present tense, past tense, future tense,
present perfect tense, past perfect tense,
future perfect tense, present progressive,
past progressive, future progressive, present
perfect progressive, past perfect
progressive, future perfect progressive,
emphatic

Present action
I want to eat pizza right now.

Action that happens over and over

I eat pizza almost every day.

Scientific facts and other things that are

always true (literature included)
Eating twenty-five pizzas a day is not good
for you.

Less dynamic
Downplays or ignores doer of action

The ball was hit and a run was scored. The

score was kept and eventually the game
was won. Strong emotions were felt by
the fans and much applause was heard.

The doer of action is unimportant or

unknown
School is canceled today! (Who cares who
canceled it?)

You want to be polite or avoid sounding

bossy
Your application was rejected.

You want to emphasize that thing youre

talking about more than the person
performing the action
This big blue ribbon will be given to the
winner.

You are writing in an impersonal,

scientific manner
The mice were separated into two groups.

As a chiropractor I constantly remind

people that a good nights rest provides
one of the most important and often
overlooked aspects of health.
As a chiropractor I constantly remind
people of the importance of a good
nights rest as an overlooked aspect of
health.

Word used to show a relationship

between noun/pronoun and another
word in the sentence
Tell us something about where something is,

when something happens, shows some other

type of relationship between two things

About, above, after, around, at, before,

beneath, between, by, down, for, from, in
inside, of, off, on, opposite, since,
through, throughout, to, underneath, up,
with, without

Change words to not end in

preposition...if it sounds normal...if not,
rewrite the sentence completely
A senator is someone most people look up
to.
A senator is someone to whom most
people upwardly look.
Most people look up to a senator.

Notice the ease Harley hits the ball with.

Notice the ease with which Hartley hits the
ball.

Purpose
Action
Conflict
Point of view
Key events
Dialogue
Ethical

Tell what happened

Reporters stick to facts
establish an interesting or useful fact
Go beyond only reciting events
Lessons and insights
Encounter with mugger leads to
observation on self-respect

Plays a central role in narrative

Recreates action, not presents (active vs.

passive)

Action must all relate to purpose, not just

chronicle series of events

Motivates and structure the action

Man vs. Man
Man vs. Society
Man vs. Self
Man vs. Nature
http://www.storyboardthat.com/articles/e
ducation/types-of-literary-conflict

 First-person

POV
Autobiographies
I, me, mine, we, ours
Third-person POV
Biographies, histories
Narrator remains unmentioned
He, she, him, her

Chosen events should help reader share

experience of writer
Identify and build narrative around key
events
Those that directly relate to purpose
Use secondary events to keep narrative
flowing smoothly

 Enlivens

action and draws reader into

story
Essential to illustrating purpose
Written conversation does NOT
duplicate real talk
Dialogue that reproduces real talk
weakens narrative
Use simple words, short sentences
Punctuate properly
Avoid over-repetition of he/she said

Provide truthful account

Do not falsify someones behavior to
tarnish reputation (libel)
Give fictitious names to protect others
from danger
Consider audience whenever relating
possible unethical or illegal behavior

Apply the key narrative elements to each

of the following readings. Be prepared to
extensively discuss your findings with the
class.
Greenburgs Sound and Fury
Angelous Mommas Encounter
Salinas The Scholarship Jacket
*pages are listed in the syllabus

Joe, Tyler, Billy, Matt - purpose

Arionna, Jake, Brittany - action
Ryan C, Aaron, Sarah, Lyndsey - conflict
Carina, Brian, Chaymaa point of view
Jesse, Zach, Erin, Chris key events
Adrienne, Sam, Morgan - dialogue
Ryan M, Julian, Lauren, Kayla ethics
Apply your assigned narrative elements to each of the
following readings. Be prepared to extensively
discuss your findings with the class.
Greenburgs Sound and Fury
Angelous Mommas Encounter
Salinas The Scholarship Jacket
*pages are listed in the syllabus