SECONDARY 2 (LEVEL 1)
LESSON 1 – Narrative Structure & Narrative Planning + Transitional Phrase
& Order of Events
SECONDARY 2 (LEVEL 1)
LESSON 3 – Personal Recount Structure & Show Not Tell
SHOW DON’T TELL EXERCISES
The following snippets are telling the reader in a boring way. Re-
write them, so they show the situation instead:
The tour guide looked trustworthy.
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Charley looked like a violent guy.
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The inside of the bus was very comfortable.
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Michael felt intimidated. All the other guests seemed to know each
other.
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Andy felt tired after playing soccer for two hours.
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The mansion looked uninhabited.
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Re-write the mini scene below.
Mark was a backpacker, and it was his first time in Paris. He was
excited when he stepped up the many steps to the top of the Eiffel
Tower. The view up there was breathtaking.
Personal Narrative Essay Topics
Use one of the topics below to write your personal recount essay. Try
to plan based on the structure above before you start writing!
Describe a time when you learned a valuable lesson from your
parents.
Describe an experience that made you appreciate our natural
world.
Describe a time when you had to face one of your greatest fears.
Describe a time when you performed or witnessed an act of
kindness.
SECONDARY 2 (LEVEL 1)
LESSON 5 – Figurative Language & Emotive Language, Narrative Writing
Practice
Types of Figurative Language
1. Simile
A simile compares two things using the words “like” and “as.” For
example:
busy as a bee
clean as a whistle
stand out like a sore thumb
as easy as shooting fish in a barrel
they fought like cats and dogs
2. Metaphor
When you use a metaphor, you make a statement that doesn’t
make sense literally, like “time is a thief.” It only makes sense
when the similarities between the two things become apparent or
someone understands the connection. For example:
The world is my oyster.
You are a couch potato.
He has a heart of gold.
America is a melting pot.
3. Personification
Personification gives human characteristics to inanimate objects,
animals, or ideas. This can really affect the way the reader
imagines things. For example:
Opportunity knocked on the door.
The sun greeted me this morning.
The sky was full of dancing stars.
The radio stopped singing and stared at me.
4. Hyperbole
Hyperbole is an outrageous exaggeration that emphasizes a point
and can be ridiculous or funny. Hyperboles can be added to fiction
to add color and depth to a character. For example:
You snore louder than a freight train.
You could have knocked me over with a feather.
I had to walk fifteen miles to school in the snow, uphill.
I’m so tired, I can feel my legs starting to break.
5. Symbolism
Symbolism occurs when a word which has meaning in itself but is
used to represent something entirely different. For example:
The color green in The Great Gatsby illustrates wealth and
money as a lifeblood among its characters.
The scarlet letter “A” in The Scarlet Letter represents sin, shame,
and the consequences of guilt.
A raven in The Raven symbolizes death and the narrator’s
descent into madness and despair.
Using Figurative Language in Writing
There are many common types of figurative
language that come in a variety of different Why should
forms. You can use these different figures of we use
speech to describe a setting, convey a specific figurative
point of view, or reveal a character trait. There language?
are no real limits to how you can make use of
Sometimes literal language
figurative language, as long as it fits into your
isn’t enough to convey a
writing and enhances your text, rather than message or intent, and more
weighing it down. vivid imagery is necessary to
help readers understand the
To reveal character traits: Hyperbole is an scope of your narrative. This is
example of a figurative language that can be where the use of figurative
used to express the way a character thinks or language comes in. When
writers use figurative language
behaves. For example, “I’ve called you, like, a
(or a figure of speech), they are
million times” is something a young, dramatic able to express a clearer
character would say, but probably not a doctor picture with their words,
or senator. Hyperbole can also be used to creating more of an impact
with their creative writing.
express the intensity of a character’s traits
—“His sharp, grating voice was literally the
worst thing she had ever heard.” Although it’s
an exaggeration, it conveys just how the character feels about
another in a vivid way.
To describe a setting: Similes and metaphors are both strong ways
to describe the way an environment looks and behaves. “The sky
was angry like a vengeful god” denotes not only that a storm is
imminent, but that it could be as large as those described in religious
texts. The reader understands just how intense the storm will be
because the writer has gone further to describe the scene than
saying that the sky was “dark gray.” An example of a metaphor to
describe setting would be “The ocean was a dark abyss.” The reader
immediately knows this is not a tropical beach setting—this is an
ominous stretch of water that denotes a feeling of uneasiness and
uncertainty.
To describe a sound: Onomatopoeia can be used to help your
audience envision the noise of a particular scene. “He screeched to a
halt” is an example. “The clanging of the bells woke up the town
Onomatopoeia is the use of words that sound like their meaning, or
mimic sounds. For example: The burning wood hissed and crackled. The
girl hummed a song as she cooked over the open fire, the tune
occasionally interrupted by the rhythmic clang, clang, clang of the spoon
stirring inside the pan.
square” gives another layer of immersion to your text by including
the additional sensory detail of sound. Alliteration (the repetition of
consonant sounds) is also a way writers can give more rhythm to
their writing, creating memorable imagery through repetitive sound.
For example, an airline might say that they, “fly from Berlin to
Bogotá.”
To amplify humor: While hyperbole can be used as a humor device,
so can understatement. For example, if a character is in frigid
temperatures but only expresses they are “a little bit chilly,” they’re
speaking in understatement. Another example: In Monty Python and
the Holy Grail, the Black Knight gets his limbs cut off only to declare,
“It’s just a flesh wound.” Understatements can deemphasize the
magnitude of a particular event for humor, creating a sense of irony
that audiences find funny.
To heighten contrast: An oxymoron is another figurative language
example that can be used for effect by putting two opposite things in
direct comparison. For instance, in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and
Juliet, Juliet claims her parting with Romeo is “such sweet sorrow,”
conveying a sense of inner conflict in how she ultimately feels about
their interactions. Romeo also uses phrases like “brawling love” and
“loving hate,” two oxymorons that set up the emotional
contradictions Romeo feels in his life by falling in love with Juliet.
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE EXERCISE
WRITING TIP: SOME FIGURATIVE LANGUAGES CAN BE USED TO
FORM ANOTHER FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE. TRY USING
1. Write aPERSONIFICATION
short descriptiveORparagraph
SIMILE FORthat uses metaphor to
HYPERBOLE!
create a vivid imagery. For example, describe a sunset as “a fiery
ball of gold sinking into the ocean.”
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2. Write a short descriptive paragraph that uses personification to
give human qualities to non-human objects. For example, describe
a thunderstorm as “angry” or a book as “patient.”
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3. Write two or three sentences using alliteration to emphasize
certain sounds or ideas. For example, use the repetition of ‘s’ sounds
to evoke a sense of serenity or use ‘b’ sounds to convey a sense of
aggression or tension.
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4. Write two sentences using hyperbole to exaggerate two
different types of situations, one positive and one negative. For
example, a character is so happy that they feel like they can “explode
into a million pieces” or a character is being dramatic and says that
they feel “their tender little heart shouldn’t be hurt.”
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Using Emotive Language in Writing
Emotive language is a powerful tool used to evoke emotional
responses and engage audiences. It transforms simple messages,
through the strategic use of words, into powerful narratives in
literature. It is word-use that is specially deployed to arouse
audiences’ feelings by bringing home personal, strong messages.
This can be achieved by using several writing techniques, such as:
Imagery – Descriptive language that paints a vivid picture can
make the reader feel as though they are experiencing the event
themselves. For example, describing a scene as “a desolate,
windswept wasteland” conjures a strong visual image and evokes
feelings of emptiness and isolation.
Strong Adjectives – Words like “heartbreaking” “breathtaking”
and “terrifying” immediately convey strong emotions. For
example, “The news was heartbreaking” communicates the
intensity of the situation more effectively than “The news was
sad.”
Evocative Verbs – Action words such as “shattered” “embraced”
and “celebrated” can dramatically alter the emotional tone of a
sentence. For instance, “She shattered his dreams” versus “She
broke his dreams.”
Ideas can be expressed in a way that is positive or negative or
welcoming or threatening. It all depends on the words selected.
Examples of Emotive Language
1. Another person in the bar was injured by the man’s glass. An
innocent bystander suffered facial injuries when the thug launched
his glass across the bar.
2. Mr. Smith was attacked by Mr. Jones for two minutes. For what
seemed a lifetime, Mr. Smith was subjected to a vicious, cowardly
assault by the unemployed, steroid-pumped monster.
3. Our soldiers got into the terrorist’s lair. Our soldiers heroically
captured the terrorists' lair.
4. The government will reduce interest rates. The government will
slash interest rates.
Emotive Language Exercise
Read the newspaper headlines below. Re-write them, replacing the
words in bold with more emotive words. The first one has been done
for you as examples. If you find this difficult, try using a thesaurus to
find alternative words.
1. Man hit by robbers. Pensioner hit by muggers.
2. One hundred peasants killed by troops.
3. Argument closes factory.
4. Train seats cut by teenagers.
5. Supporters run onto pitch.
6. Shortage of money creates problems in schools.
7. Trouble on roads after snowfall.
8. Player hits referee.
9. House prices fall in Stevenage.
10. Political meeting ends in disturbance.
Assignment: Write a narrative essay (250 to 350 words) based on students’ previous
planning.
SECONDARY 2 (LEVEL 1)
LESSON 9 – Essay Feedback, Personal Recount Writing Practice
In Lesson 9, students receive feedback on the essay they wrote in Lesson 5.
Students should attempt to write a personal recount in the allotted time (250 to
350 words).
Marking Criteria:
Assessment Criterion for Content
Band Marks Band Descriptors for Content
All aspects of the task are
5 9 - 10 fully addressed & developed
in detail
All aspects of the task are
4 7-8 addressed with some
development
Some aspects of the task are
3 5-6 addressed with some
development
Some aspects of the task are
2 3-4
addressed
Some attempts to address the
1 1-2
task
0 0 No creditable response
Assessment Criteria for Language
Organisation of ideas
Clarity of expression
Accuracy of language
Band Marks Band Descriptors for Content
Coherent & cohesive presentation of ideas across the whole
of the response
Effective use of ambitious vocabulary and grammar
5 17 - 20 structures
Complex vocabulary, grammar, punctuation and spelling
used accurately
Coherent presentation of ideas with some cohesion between
paragraphs
Vocabulary and grammar structures are sufficiently varied
4 13 - 16 to convey shades of meaning
Vocabulary, grammar, punctuation and spelling are used
mostly accurately
Most ideas are coherently presented with some cohesion
within paragraphs
Vocabulary and grammar structures sufficiently varied to
3 9 - 12 convey the intended meaning
Vocabulary, grammar, punctuation and spelling are often
used accurately
Some ideas are coherently presented with attempts at
achieving cohesion
Mostly simple vocabulary and grammar structures are used;
2 5-8 the meaning is usually clear
Vocabulary, grammar, punctuation and spelling used with
varying degrees of accuracy
Band Marks Band Descriptors for Content
Ideas presented in isolation
Simple vocabulary and grammar structures used
1 1-4 A few examples of correct use of vocabulary, grammar,
punctuation and spelling
0 0 No credible response