a- Writing a dialogue

When you write a dialogue, you need to pay attention to several things:

1) The lay out and punctuation: be very clear.

* Who's talking? Introduce the scene with a short introductory paragraph and name the characters (if you're asked to continue a story or to refer to characters in a given text, make sure you spell them right!)

* If you choose to write a dialogue like a play, make sure you sometimes pause to give 'stage directions' or describe the characters' movements or feelings.

* Start a new paragraph each time the speaker changes within the dialogue. It helps the reader understand who is speaking. If you need to describe any action involving the character who is speaking, don't start a new paragraph.

* In English, no dashes are used. Anytime you quote actual dialogue, you'll use quotation marks (Tom replied, "I didn't know it was so serious!" He paused. "How come I didn't realize she was sick?"). Any other punctuation goes inside quotations.

2) Use a variety of report verbs:

We've seen many different verbs in class. Practise on Quizlet and complete the list as you read or think of a particular way of speaking.

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Some useful links include:

- a PDF file on reporting verbs

- list of verbs on edufind.com

You can also check out these pages:

- for tips

- to read examples