Before you begin, let’s look at some key storytelling conventions to help you plan your ideas. These include: Audience Purpose Structure Language features

What do these things mean? The ‘Organisation Toolkit’. The ‘Language Toolkit’. There are two ‘tool kits’ we need to tell our story. Typical language features Past tense. First or third person, time connectives Purpose Tell the audience what has happened in an interesting and informative way Typical Structure Paragraphs that are organised in chronological order Audience Someone who is interested in what has happened

Remember to… Think of a title that generates interest. Create an introduction that sets the scene. You could try to answer the questions who?, what?, where?, when? and why? Organise events in paragraphs using chronological order. Choose details that are amusing, interesting, exciting or significant to interest the reader or audience. Start each paragraph with a topic sentence Close your story with a conclusion. This could comment on what had happened or say something about how the people involved felt.

Remember to… Present your story in the past tense except for present circumstances and feelings Use time connecting phases (after the flight, during the first three days etc.) Include the names of the people and places involved. Include accurate descriptions (e.g. three stone pillars; white cotton sheets) Use either the first person (personal account) or the third person (impersonal account) Use direct quotes or reported speech, if possible, where relevant

Presentation by Bev Evans, 2008, Clip art ©Philip Martin, available from