Showing vs. Telling
It is very important to express your ideas in writing by showing them rather than just telling them. Sometimes, it can be easier just to tell your readers how something looks, feels, or acts by using adjectives, but to make your writing more powerful, try showing your ideas by demonstrating them as actions.
For example, there are two different ways one can express the weather:
Telling: Sarah was outside. It was really cold out and snow was everywhere.
Showing: Sarah stepped out onto her porch in her winter coat and could hardly see past the falling snowflakes to the sidewalk.
The second sentence brings the atmosphere alive for readers! Not only does it make the readers think, but it helps them visualize exactly what the writer imagined when he or she wrote the sentence.
Some tips on how to show:
-- answer the 5 Ws and H: who? what? where? when? why? how?
-- use sensory details: smell, touch, taste, hearing, and sight
-- use memory details: mental pictures or images
-- use reflective details: wish, hope, dream, wonder, etc.
For example, there are two different ways one can express the weather:
Telling: Sarah was outside. It was really cold out and snow was everywhere.
Showing: Sarah stepped out onto her porch in her winter coat and could hardly see past the falling snowflakes to the sidewalk.
The second sentence brings the atmosphere alive for readers! Not only does it make the readers think, but it helps them visualize exactly what the writer imagined when he or she wrote the sentence.
Some tips on how to show:
-- answer the 5 Ws and H: who? what? where? when? why? how?
-- use sensory details: smell, touch, taste, hearing, and sight
-- use memory details: mental pictures or images
-- use reflective details: wish, hope, dream, wonder, etc.