Narratives You are going to learn about using sensory details in a narrative and about using adverbs as stance markers. You are then going to use these to write

Narratives

You are going to learn about using sensory details in a narrative and about using adverbs as stance markers. You are then going to use these to write a narrative essay about a time when you faced danger and describe your feelings and reactions in detail.

USING SENSORY DETAILS IN A NARRATIVE
When you describe an event or a personal experience in writing, it is helpful to use sensory details to 'paint a picture' for the reader. Sensory details describe events in terms of how they affect for five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. For example:
Sight: red-hot flumes, smoke rising, blinding sunlight, the dark night
Hearing: a crackling fire, breaking glass, a heartbeat, a car's tires squealing
Smell: wood smoke, food cooking, fresh coffee
Taste: bitter medicine, sour, sweet, strong
Touch: summer heat, cool water, dry mouth, sharp pain
Using these types of descriptions can make your writing richer and more interesting to read.
Activity 1. Read a student's story about her hiking experience. Complete the text with the sensory details in the box.
bright, sunny birds singing colorful fresh, clean-smelling
pinkish orange rough and rocky sharp pain snap steep, narrow





Activity 2. Rewrite the sentences as one sentence, beginning with the part in bold.
For example: She won £2,000 in a competition. Last night Sally was celebrating.
Last night Sally was celebrating because she'd won £2,000 in a competition.
1 He got up at dawn. He was driving for ten hours. Peter was tired when he arrived home.
2 I parked my car on a yellow line. It was towed away. I went to get my car, but it wasn't there. (When...)
3 He wasn't always poor. He had a successful business. Unfortunately, it went bust. Mick was a homeless beggar.
4 They were shopping all day. They spent all their money on clothes. Jane and Peter arrived home. They were broke. (When...)
5 He saw a house in Scotland. He first saw it while he was driving on holiday. Last week John moved to the house.