Dialogue in Narrative Writing

What is the primary purpose of including dialogue in a narrative, as described in the instruction manual?

• To provide detailed descriptions of settings

• To reveal personality traits and emotions of characters

• To offer a list of characters involved in the story

• To describe the physical appearance of characters

According to the manual, how does dialogue contribute to the plot of a story?

• By describing the setting in detail

• By providing background history of the story

• By introducing new information or resolving conflicts

• By detailing the physical characteristics of the dialogue speakers

What is a recommended practice for writing dialogue to maintain realism?

• Use complex vocabulary to impress the reader

• Avoid using contractions such as "can't" or "won't"

• Keep the dialogue concise and use contractions

• Always use dialogue tags like "he said" or "she said"

How should dialogue tags be used according to the instruction manual?

• Frequently, to ensure clarity of the speaker

• Sparingly, only when necessary to clarify who is speaking

• To describe actions happening in the scene

• To explicitly state the feelings of the characters

What does the "Show, Don't Tell" principle suggest about writing dialogue?

• Use dialogue to directly state the characters' feelings

• Avoid using dialogue in emotional scenes

• Let the dialogue imply characters' feelings rather than stating them directly

• Make the dialogue lengthy and descriptive

How should each speaker's dialogue be formatted in a narrative text?

• Start with a new line and use a semicolon to separate the dialogue tag.

• Enclose the spoken words in parentheses and start on the same line.

• Each speaker’s dialogue starts with a new line and is enclosed in quotation marks.

• Use no punctuation and continue in the same paragraph.

Where should commas and periods be placed when using quotation marks in dialogue?

• Outside the quotation marks.

• Inside the quotation marks.

• No commas or periods are used.

• Only periods inside and commas outside.

What punctuation is used to indicate a sudden interruption in dialogue?

• Ellipsis (...)

• Comma (,)

• Dash (—)

• Exclamation mark (!)

Which of the following examples correctly shows a trailing off in dialogue?

• "I thought maybe you could... never mind."

• "I thought maybe you could, never mind."

• "I thought maybe you could - never mind."

• "I thought maybe you could; never mind."

Background

In this scene, Alex and Jamie, two high school students, find an old map in the school's history room. The map claims to show the location of a hidden key that unlocks a forgotten storeroom said to contain historical artifacts from the town's founding. Alex is naturally cautious and likes to analyze details, while Jamie is adventurous and acts quickly.

Instructions

Complete the dialogue by writing what Alex and Jamie say to each other. The goal of the dialogue is to show how they plan to find the key while highlighting their contrasting approaches to solving problems.

Scene Start

(Scene opens with Alex and Jamie examining the map spread out on a table in the dimly lit history room.)

Jamie: "This is incredible! According to the map, the key should be behind the old portrait in the main hall!"

Alex: (peering closely at the map) "It could be there, but this map is really old. We need to verify it's still accurate before tearing the school apart."

Jamie: "I say we go for it! What's the worst that could happen? We find nothing and put everything back."

Alex: "Well, we need to be careful not to damage anything. Plus, we should probably get permission to explore behind the portrait."

Assignment

Complete the dialogue by having Alex propose a method to verify the map's accuracy, and Jamie's response, focusing on their urge to take immediate action. The dialogue should achieve the goal of outlining a plan that reflects both characters' personalities and moves the story forward towards the discovery of the hidden key.