Description in Autobiography

Descriptive writing gives an idea of what a person, place or

thing is like, or used to be like. It works by creating a picture
in words: our imagination is stimulated by the verbal picture so
that we can see and perhaps sense the described subject.

When describing a person, place or thing, try to do the

following:
• Select your information carefully - choose only the things
about their appearance, behaviour and personality which
are typical to them and bring them to life.

• A good way of making people, places and things real in the

imagination of your reader is to stimulate their senses by
referring to colours and shapes, to sounds, textures,
smells and perhaps tastes.

• Try to use words which give a strong sense of the person

being described but which are as precise as possible. For
example, words like ‘thin’ or ‘fat’ are general adjectives
(descriptive words). More precise words for ‘thin’ would
be: gaunt, elfin, lean, wiry, slight, etc. For ‘fat’: stout,
portly, burly, corpulent, ample, etc.

• Use a thesaurus to help to widen your vocabulary and

to choose less obvious descriptive words. Be careful
though! Avoid using clever sounding words for their
own sake.

• Remember to use comparisons in order to make your

descriptive writing more vivid. Similes and metaphors help
to make your writing more descriptive.

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 Paragraphs

A paragraph is formed from a group of sentences that have

something in common. Paragraphs are formed either by an
increase in line spacing, or by ‘indenting’ - starting the first
line further from the margin (as on this sheet).
Often it can be difficult deciding when a new paragraph
should start. Subjects often overlap, making organisation of
text very difficult. The decision must be made, however,
because without them, the page becomes a solid block which
makes it difficult to read. Too many short paragraphs are also
a problem because the reader then has to re-group them in his
mind.
The secret of writing good paragraphs is separation
(dividing the work into units) and continuity (carefully choosing
words to begin a paragraph so that they ‘link up’ with the
previous paragraph). Paragraphs carry your ideas forward like
the carriages of a railway train. To make sure nothing is left
behind they must fit onto one another like automatic couplings.

NEW PARAGRAPH FOR A CHANGE OF SPEAKER

When writing dialogue (i.e. speech) it is essential to begin a

new paragraph every time one person begins to speak. This
enables the reader to know who is speaking. Compare
examples A and B:
A The doctor asked, ‘Does it hurt?’ ‘Only when I laugh.’ ‘In
that case,’ he said, ‘don’t laugh.’ ‘But I laugh all the time: I’m a
circus clown.’

B The doctor asked, ‘Does it hurt?’

‘Only when I laugh.’
‘In that case,’ he said, ‘don’t laugh.’
‘But I laugh all the time: I’m a circus clown.’

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NEW PARAGRAPH FOR THE PASSING OF TIME

Do not change paragraph every time you wish to show that

time has passed; there would be far too many paragraphs. Do,
however, decide when the passing of time is important in your
work and in such instances, begin a new paragraph. The
following example has a minor point in which time passes, and
one which requires a new paragraph.

Waiting impatiently for the local bus in a small village, I got

talking to a man who was passing. We stood chatting for about
five minutes while I was giving my opinions on how awful the bus
services were these days. He nodded understandingly, then said
he must be going, as he was late for work.
A few minutes later, the bus appeared - with him at the
wheel.

NEW PARAGRAPH FOR CHANGE OF PLACE

Characters in a story often move from one place to another.

Whether or not a new paragraph is required depends upon how
much the move affects the development of the story.
In the following example a new paragraph is required
because there is an important change of place.

Almost daily, John Smith went for a jog in the park. One
morning, a man bumped into him and ran off. John felt for his
wallet: it was gone! He set off in hot pursuit, pounced on the
fellow and demanded, ‘Give me the wallet!’ The fellow promptly
handed it over.
On returning home, John discovered he had left his own
wallet on his desk.

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NEW PARAGRAPH FOR A NEW PERSON

A new paragraph is generally required when a new person

enters a story. In the following example, a character (the lady)
is merely mentioned in the first paragraph, but merits a new
paragraph when she comes back into the story.

A lady hired two workmen to fit her living-room carpet. When

they had finished, one noticed a bulge under the middle of the
carpet. ‘Oh, no,’ he said, ‘I must have left my cigarettes on the
floor. Well, I’m not going to take all that lot up again.’ With his
hammer, he squashed the lump quite flat.
At that moment, the lady came in with cups of tea, and said,
‘Well, you’ve done a good job, and I’ve found your cigarettes in
the kitchen. By the way, have either of you seen my escaped
hamster anywhere?’

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TASK: WRITE OUT THE FOLLOWING, ORGANISING INTO
FOUR PARAGRAPHS.

A hare was continually poking fun at a tortoise because of the

slowness of his pace. Although the tortoise tried to ignore him,
the day came when the hare challenged the tortoise to a race.
A course nearby was set by the animals, and the fox was chosen
as judge. He gave a sharp bark and the race was on. In a flash,
the hare was out of sight, while the tortoise plodded along at
his usual speed. After a time, the hare stopped to wait for the
tortoise to come along. The hot sun made him feel drowsy, and
he thought he might as well have a quick nap, and finish the race
when it was a bit cooler. Meanwhile the tortoise plodded on.
He passed the sleeping hare and was almost at the finishing line,
when the hare woke up with a start - too far away to save the
race. Much ashamed, he crept away while all the animals
cheered the winner.

Her name was Mrs Pratchett. She was a small skinny old
hag with a moustache on her upper lip and a mouth as sour as a
green gooseberry. She never smiled. She never welcomed us
when we went in, and the only times she spoke were when she
said things like, ‘I’m watchin’ you so keep yer thievin’ fingers
off them chocolates!’ Or ‘I don’t want you in ‘ere just to look
around! Either you forks out or you gets out!’
But by far the most loathsome thing about Mrs Pratchett
was the filth that clung around her. Her apron was grey and
greasy. Her blouse had bits of breakfast all over it, toast-
crumbs and tea-stains and splotches of dried egg-yolk. It was
her hands, however, that disturbed us most. They were
disgusting. They were black with dist and grime. They looked
as though they had been putting lumps of coal on the fire all
day long. And do not forget please that it was these very
hands and fingers that she plunged into the sweet-jars when
we asked for a pennyworth of Treacle Toffee or Wine Gums or

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 Nut Clusters or whatever. There were precious few health laws
in those days, and nobody, least of all Mrs Pratchett, ever
thought of using a little shovel for getting out the sweets as they
do today. The mere sight of her grimy right hand with its black
fingernails digging an ounce of Chocolate Fudge out of a jar would
have caused a starving tramp to go running from the shop. But
not us. Sweets were our life-blood. We would have put up with
far worse than that to get them. So we simply stood and
watched in sullen silence while this disgusting old woman stirred
around inside the jars with her foul fingers.
The other thing we hated Mrs Pratchett for was her
meanness. Unless you spent a whole sixpence all in one go, she
wouldn’t give you a bag. Instead you got your sweets twisted up
in a small piece of newspaper which she tore off a pile of old
Daily Mirrors lying on the counter.
Extract from ‘Boy’ by Roald Dahl

I AM

I am a carefree girl who loves horses.

I wonder if there ever was a horse that could fly.
I hear the stomping of a hundred mustangs on the desert in
Arabia.
I see a horse with golden wings soaring into the sunset.
I want to ride swiftly over a green meadow.
I am a carefree girl who loves horses.
I pretend to be an Olympic jumper.
I feel the sky pressing down on me as I ride along a sandy shore.
I touch the clouds on a winged horse.
I worry that I’ll fall off and become paralyzed.
I cry when a colt dies.
I am a carefree girl who loves horses.
I understand that I will not be able to ride every day of my life.

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 I say, let all horses roam free.
I dream about the day when I have a horse of my own.
I try to be the best rider in the world.
I hope to ride all my life.
I am a carefree girl who loves horses.
--ELLY TATUM

I am a nutty guy who likes dolphins.

I wonder what I, and the world, will be like in the year 2000.
I hear silence pulsing in the middle of the night.
I see a dolphin flying up to the sky.
I want the adventure of life before it passes me by.
I am a nutty guy who likes dolphins.
I pretend that I am the ruler of the world.
I feel the weight of the world on my shoulders.
I touch the sky, the stars, the moon, and all the plants as
representatives of mankind.
I worry about the devastation of a nuclear holocaust.
I cry for all the death and poverty in the world.
I am a crazy guy who likes dolphins.
I understand the frustration of not being able to do something
easily.
I say that we are all equal.
I dream of travelling to other points on the earth.
I try to reach out to poor and starving children.
I hope that mankind will be at peace and not die out.
I am a nutty guy who likes dolphins.

--SANDY MAAS

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 I AM — MODEL
FIRST STANZA
I am (two special characteristics you have)
I wonder (something you are actually curious about)
I hear (an imaginary sound)
I see (an imaginary sight)
I want (an actual desire)
I am (the first line of the poem repeated)

SECOND STANZA
I pretend (something you actually pretend to do)
I feel (a feeling about something imaginary)
I touch (an imaginary touch)
I worry (something that really bothers you)
I cry (something that makes you very sad)
I am (the first line of the poem repeated)

THIRD STANZA
I understand (something you know is true)
I say (something you believe in)
I dream (something you actually dream about)
I try (something you really make an effort about)
I hope (something you actually hope for)
I am (the first line of the poem repeated)

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