Writing Techniques
S. LAKSHMANAN, M.Phil(Psy), M.A.(Psy), PGDBA., DCL.,
Psychologist (Govt. Regd)

What is writing?
• Writing is an important form of
communication
• If you are unable to write well, you
will miss many opportunities in
your life.

Purpose of Writing
• Through writing we express our
 Feelings
Hopes
Dreams
Joys
Ideas
Plans
Fears
Angers
Frustrations
commitments
values
recommendations

TECHNIQUES OF WRITING

Descriptive writing

Descriptive writing
• Descriptive writing is a literary device in
which the author uses details to paint a
picture with their words. This process will
provide readers with descriptions of
people, places, objects, and events through
the use of suitable details.
• It helps the reader use the senses of
feeling, seeing, hearing, smelling, and
tasting to experience what the writer
experiences.

Descriptive writing Contin…
• Descriptive writing immerses the reader into a
story by creating a vivid picture of characters,
settings and events in their mind. Writers who
use a descriptive writing style often use
literary tools like similes and metaphors in
their writing. The purpose of the descriptive
writing style is to make the reader feel like
they are experiencing the events for
themselves. Most descriptive writing isn’t very
long. Examples include poems, personal
journals and lyrics.

Descriptive writing Contin…
• You can use descriptive writing
in the workplace when you
want to bring a story to life,
such as a brief biography or
autobiography written to
introduce a new employee to
the company.

Examples of Descriptive Writing
• Her last smile to me wasn't a sunset. It
was an eclipse, the last eclipse, noon
dying away to darkness where there
would be no dawn. My Car driver looked
like a deflating airbag and sounded like
talk radio on repeat.

Good Descriptive Writing
Good descriptive writing creates an impression
in the reader's mind of an event, a place, a
person, or a thing. The writing will be such
that it will set a mood or describe something
in such detail that if the reader saw it, they
would recognize it.
To be good, descriptive writing has to be
concrete, evocative and plausible.

Good Descriptive Writing Contin..
• To be concrete, descriptive writing has to
offer specifics the reader can envision.
Rather than “Her eyes were the color of
blue rocks” (Light blue? Dark blue?
Marble? Slate?), try instead, “Her eyes
sparkled like sapphires in the dark.”

Good Descriptive Writing cont..
• To be evocative, descriptive writing has to unite the
concrete image with phrasing that evokes the
impression the writer wants the reader to have.
Consider “her eyes shone like sapphires, warming
my night” versus “the woman’s eyes had a light like
sapphires, bright and hard.” Each phrase uses the
same concrete image, then employs evocative
language to create different impressions.

Good Descriptive Writing cont..
• To be plausible, the descriptive writer has to constrain the
concrete, evocative image to suit the reader’s knowledge
and attention span. “Her eyes were brighter than the
sapphires in the armrests of the Tipu Sultan’s golden
throne, yet sharper than the tulwars of his cruelest
executioners” will have the reader checking their phone
halfway through. “Her eyes were sapphires, bright and
hard” creates the same effect in a fraction of the reading
time. As always in the craft of writing: when in doubt, write
less.

Narrative writing
• Narrative Writing tells a personal or fictional
experience or tells a story based on a real or
imagined event.
• A Narrative writing style tells a story. The writer
introduce different character and a setting to the
readers, while keeping his or her own voice silent.
Narrative stories present a problem that is played
out and eventually solved. One of the most
common examples of a narrative is a movie
script, but narratives are also frequently used in
short stories as well.

Types of Narrative Writing
 Personal Narrative
 Imaginative Narrative Writing
 Narrative Essay

Personal Narrative
• A personal narrative essay is about a personal experience,
so you should write it in the first person. A personal
narrative is a story about yourself, and great personal
narrative essay topics include experiences you've had,
people you know, your reactions to books or other writing,
and many other options.
• When using a first-person writing technique, the writer is
able to incorporate his own ideas into the story. Instead of
just presenting the facts, the writer can left his own
opinions come out in the writing. For example, a story
written in a first-person technique would have the word “I”
worked in throughout the text.

IMAGINATIVE WRITING

Characteristic of Imaginative writing
1. Clarity:
The writing does not confuse your audience.
(This sounds so obvious, but you’d be surprised
at the number of writers who think they have
to be clever or coy or literary which simply
leaves the reader in the dark.)

2. Form:
It has a beginning, a middle and an ending.
The beginning draws readers in and the ending is
satisfying.
This holds true for fiction, memoir, personal essays,
autobiographies, and stories for children.
Occasionally a genius writer ignores this, however
most do not.
Characteristic of Imaginative writing

Form:
* Short stories
* Poems
* Letters to self (future/past)
* Letters to others
* Scripts
* Diary entries
* Interior monologues
* Prologues/Epilogues
* Speeches
* Autobiography, etc.
Characteristic of Imaginative writing

3. Emotion:
The text is emotionally charged and the reader
cares what happens to the protagonist.
We either cry or laugh or are scared or feel
something.
Characteristic of Imaginative writing

4. Meaning and connection:
Recognize that it is all about people or situations that the
reader can connect to.
Do we entre into a story with the author for :
entertainment,
a subject/topic ,
or emotion that we too are dealing with or want to learn
about,
or are we looking for humour.
In some way the writing connects to the rest of the world.
Characteristic of Imaginative writing

5. Language:
The author cares deeply about words and their
power.
No overblown adjectives or adverbs (and only those
absolutely necessary for information.)No flabby
clichés.
Does the author love language ?
Is there evidence of how the words and sentences
are honed and rewritten?
Characteristic of Imaginative writing

Narrative Essay

Narrative Essay
• A narrative essay tells a story. In most cases, this is a
story about a personal experience you had. This type of
essay, along with the descriptive essay, allows you to
get personal and creative, unlike most academic
writing.
• Narrative essays test your ability to express your
experiences in a creative and compelling way, and to
follow an appropriate narrative structure. They are
often assigned in high school or in composition classes
at university. You can also use these techniques when
writing a personal statement for an application.

Narrative Essay Samples
• Meeting Famous People. Meeting a famous
person is almost always a shock and/or surprise.
...
• Playground Memory. ...
• Travelling to India for the First Time. ...
• Memorable Experience. ...
• My First Job. ...
• Studying Abroad in India. ...
• Best Summer Memory of My Childhood. ...
• The Ultimate Chess Game.

Conventions of Narrative Writing
• Narrative Writing should have a concrete
theme, settings and characters, a climax
and a good ending.
• In narrative writing, the writer has to
create a unified and dominant
impression on the reader.

Examples
• Fiction
• Non Fiction
• Biography
• Autobiography
• Fairy tales
• Short Stories
• Novel Writing

Expository Writing
• Exposition is a type of oral or written
discourse that is used to explain, describe,
give information or inform.
• The creator of an expository text can not
assume that the reader or listener has prior
knowledge or prior understanding of the topic
that is being discussed.

Expository Writing
• This is the type of writing that explains,
elucidates or simplifies. Newspaper
articles, journals, even essays can
demonstrate this type of writing, and it is
a very common form of writing.

Expository Writing Contin..
• Writing an expository article is like answering
the questions of a preschooler, who is
inquisitive about everything and wants to
know how and why things happen. In this type
of writing too, you have to assume that you
are teaching them from scratch. So, they are
detailed and as the name suggests,
explanatory.

Expository Writing Contin..
• Most of us have written some form of
expository writing in school or college, or
have read it somewhere. This type of
writing includes but is not limited to
essays like: Paragliding, Global Village,
The Value Triad, etc.

Types of Expository Writing
• Problem and Solution.
• Cause and Effect.
• Compare and Contrast.
• Definitions and Classification.
• How-to/Process.

Types of Expository Writing
• Problem and Solution: These writings are exactly
what one might expect: identifying an issue,
giving details about it and suggesting solutions or
one solution that is best from many. For example,
someone may choose to write about a problem
such as population explosion. After explaining the
problem in detail, he or she would explore the
solutions. Needless to say, the writer also has to
justify the solutions proposed and how they can
be implemented, if they are actually feasible or
not.

Types of Expository Writing
• Cause and Effect: Why did something happen
and what impact it might have are the two
central aspects of this type of writing. They
may include environmental problem or ask for
opinions about an issue and how it will affect
the future or what impact does a historic
event have on the lives of a nation’s citizen
etc. The outcomes can be definitively true or
can be based on assumptions, but either way,
must be validated.

Types of Expository Writing
• Compare and Contrast: This type of writings
has two features: comparison which works
with the similarities of two contents and
contrast which works with the differences of
the two contents. For example, if you are told
to write an essay asking if children should be
playing inside or outside the home, you can
compare why play is important and then
create a contrast to show how one is better or
worse than the other.

Types of Expository Writing
• Definitions and Classification: This type
of writing is the one you’re reading right now.
This will explain what something is and how
many types of the thing can there be. For
example, expository writing and its types.

Types of Expository Writing
• How-to/Process: This type of essays will tell
you about a task and how to complete that
task. For example, an essay about how to
make tea. You will need to first address the
problem, then give the main steps the reader
will take, and the end result. You can also
include substitute steps in the conclusion or
beside the main steps.

Descriptive Writing
• A description is a picture in words that helps
the reader see, hear, taste, smell, or feel
something that the writer has experienced.
• Descriptive writing is a literary device in which
the author uses details to paint a picture with
their words. This process will provide readers
with descriptions of people, places, objects, and
events through the use of suitable details

Descriptive Writing
use exact, vivid words to create a picture
in the reader’s mind
include important details about what you
are describing

Persuasive Writing

Persuasive Writing
DEFINITION:
• “A written work in which a writer presents a case for
or against a particular position. A writer's purpose is to
inform, to entertain, to shape a view point ,to argue
for a particular position. A writer’s purpose is to
convince his audience.”
• 'Persuasive writing' is a form of writing in which
the writer uses words to convince the reader that
the writer's opinion is correct in regards to an issue.
EXAMPLE:
• Writing about some news paper to persuade the
readers.

Example
• I am forty years old, rather tall and I have blue
eyes and short black hair. I wear casual clothes as
I teach students in a relaxed atmosphere. I enjoy
my job because I get to meet and help so many
different people from all over the world. During
my spare time, I like playing tennis which I play at
least three times a week. I also love listening to
classical music and I must admit that I spend a lot
of money on buying new CDs! I live in a pretty
seaside town on the Italian coast. I enjoy eating
great Italian food and laughing with the likable
people who live here

PERSUASIVE TECHNIQUES
• Adjective. Describing words, often used to make
the reader feel a particular way about an issue. ...
• Alliteration. The repetition of words starting with
the same to create emphasis. ...
• Anecdotes. ...
• Cliches. ...
• Emotive words. ...
• Evidence. ...
• Inclusive language. ...
• Pun.

Objective Writing
• Being objective suggests that you are concerned
about facts and are not influenced by personal
feelings or biases. Part of being objective is being
fair in your work. Try to consider both sides of an
argument and avoid making value judgements by
using words such as wonderful or appalling
• If you want to write in the objective tone, you
must avoid words like 'I', 'me' and 'my', but you
must also avoid evaluative words - words which
express your personal feelings or emotions, like
'terrible', 'wonderful', etc.

What are the objectives of writing
skills?
• Written Communication. The overall objective is
to develop students' written expression of
thought and provide learners opportunities to
explore ideas and to build connections between
content areas. ...
• Oral Communication. ...
• Critical Thinking. ...
• Quantitative Analysis. ...
• Research. ...
• Information and Computer Literacy

Objectivity Examples: Investigations
• For example, if an employee complains of
sexual harassment from another employee,
the company would use objective methods to
verify this complaint. Recognizing your biases
and separating facts from feelings is essential
to objectivity in investigations.

Subjective Writing
• A story written in a subjective writing
technique displays facts from both sides of an
issue or subject. The writer is able to use first-
person terms such as the word “I”, but does
not choose one side support. Writers simply
list the pros and cons of subject so the readers
can develop their own informed opinions.
Newspaper articles are often written in a
subjective style.

Subjective Writing Contin…
Likewise, subjective writing or point of
view is based on the writer's own
observation and experience. ... It focuses
on the writer's personal point of view
and not built on facts that others see or
things others go through. Third person
point of view can also be subjective.

Thank You