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Last updated on Jul 24, 2023

15 Examples of Great Dialogue (And Why They Work So Well)

Great dialogue is hard to pin down, but you know it when you hear or see it. In the earlier parts of this guide, we showed you some well-known tips and rules for writing dialogue. In this section, we'll show you those rules in action with 15 examples of great dialogue, breaking down exactly why they work so well.

1. Barbara Kingsolver, Unsheltered 

In the opening of Barbara Kingsolver’s Unsheltered, we meet Willa Knox, a middle-aged and newly unemployed writer who has just inherited a ramshackle house. 

     “The simplest thing would be to tear it down,” the man said. “The house is a shambles.”      She took this news as a blood-rush to the ears: a roar of peasant ancestors with rocks in their fists, facing the evictor. But this man was a contractor. Willa had called him here and she could send him away. She waited out her panic while he stood looking at her shambles, appearing to nurse some satisfaction from his diagnosis. She picked out words.      “It’s not a living thing. You can’t just pronounce it dead. Anything that goes wrong with a structure can be replaced with another structure. Am I right?”      “Correct. What I am saying is that the structure needing to be replaced is all of it. I’m sorry. Your foundation is nonexistent.”

Alfred Hitchcock once described drama as "life with the boring bits cut out." In this passage, Kingsolver cuts out the boring parts of Willa's conversation with her contractor and brings us right to the tensest, most interesting part of the conversation.

By entering their conversation late , the reader is spared every tedious detail of their interaction.

Instead of a blow-by-blow account of their negotiations (what she needs done, when he’s free, how she’ll be paying), we’re dropped right into the emotional heart of the discussion. The novel opens with the narrator learning that the home she cherishes can’t be salvaged. 

By starting off in the middle of (relatively obscure) dialogue, it takes a moment for the reader to orient themselves in the story and figure out who is speaking, and what they’re speaking about. This disorientation almost mirrors Willa’s own reaction to the bad news, as her expectations for a new life in her new home are swiftly undermined.

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2. Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice  

In the first piece of dialogue in Pride and Prejudice , we meet Mr and Mrs Bennet, as Mrs Bennet attempts to draw her husband into a conversation about neighborhood gossip.

     “My dear Mr. Bennet,” said his lady to him one day, “have you heard that Netherfield Park is let at last?”      Mr. Bennet replied that he had not.      “But it is,” returned she; “for Mrs. Long has just been here, and she told me all about it.”      Mr. Bennet made no answer.      “Do you not want to know who has taken it?” cried his wife impatiently.      “You want to tell me, and I have no objection to hearing it.”      This was invitation enough.      “Why, my dear, you must know, Mrs. Long says that Netherfield is taken by a young man of large fortune from the north of England; that he came down on Monday in a chaise and four to see the place, and was so much delighted with it, that he agreed with Mr. Morris immediately; that he is to take possession before Michaelmas, and some of his servants are to be in the house by the end of next week.”

Austen’s dialogue is always witty, subtle, and packed with character. This extract from Pride and Prejudice is a great example of dialogue being used to develop character relationships . 

We instantly learn everything we need to know about the dynamic between Mr and Mrs Bennet’s from their first interaction: she’s chatty, and he’s the beleaguered listener who has learned to entertain her idle gossip, if only for his own sake (hence “you want to tell me, and I have no objection to hearing it”).

There is even a clear difference between the two characters visually on the page: Mr Bennet responds in short sentences, in simple indirect speech, or not at all, but this is “invitation enough” for Mrs Bennet to launch into a rambling and extended response, dominating the conversation in text just as she does audibly.

The fact that Austen manages to imbue her dialogue with so much character-building realism means we hardly notice the amount of crucial plot exposition she has packed in here. This heavily expository dialogue could be a drag to get through, but Austen’s colorful characterization means she slips it under the radar with ease, forwarding both our understanding of these people and the world they live in simultaneously.

3. Naomi Alderman, The Power

In The Power , young women around the world suddenly find themselves capable of generating and controlling electricity. In this passage, between two boys and a girl who just used those powers to light her cigarette.

     Kyle gestures with his chin and says, “Heard a bunch of guys killed a girl in Nebraska last week for doing that.”      “For smoking? Harsh.”      Hunter says, “Half the kids in school know you can do it.”      “So what?”      Hunter says, “Your dad could use you in his factory. Save money on electricity.”      “He’s not my dad.”      She makes the silver flicker at the ends of her fingers again. The boys watch.

Alderman here uses a show, don’t tell approach to expositional dialogue. Within this short exchange, we discover a lot about Allie, her personal circumstances, and the developing situation elsewhere. We learn that women are being punished harshly for their powers; that Allie is expected to be ashamed of those powers and keep them a secret, but doesn’t seem to care to do so; that her father is successful in industry; and that she has a difficult relationship with him. Using dialogue in this way prevents info-dumping backstory all at once, and instead helps us learn about the novel’s world in a natural way.

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4. Kazuo Ishiguro, Never Let Me Go

Here, friends Tommy and Kathy have a conversation after Tommy has had a meltdown. After being bullied by a group of boys, he has been stomping around in the mud, the precise reaction they were hoping to evoke from him.

     “Tommy,” I said, quite sternly. “There’s mud all over your shirt.”      “So what?” he mumbled. But even as he said this, he looked down and noticed the brown specks, and only just stopped himself crying out in alarm. Then I saw the surprise register on his face that I should know about his feelings for the polo shirt.      “It’s nothing to worry about.” I said, before the silence got humiliating for him. “It’ll come off. If you can’t get it off yourself, just take it to Miss Jody.”      He went on examining his shirt, then said grumpily, “It’s nothing to do with you anyway.”

This episode from Never Let Me Go highlights the power of interspersing action beats within dialogue. These action beats work in several ways to add depth to what would otherwise be a very simple and fairly nondescript exchange.  Firstly, they draw attention to the polo shirt, and highlight its potential significance in the plot. Secondly, they help to further define Kathy’s relationship with Tommy. 

We learn through Tommy’s surprised reaction that he didn’t think Kathy knew how much he loved his seemingly generic polo shirt. This moment of recognition allows us to see that she cares for him and understands him more deeply than even he realized. Kathy breaking the silence before it can “humiliate” Tommy further emphasizes her consideration for him. While the dialogue alone might make us think Kathy is downplaying his concerns with pragmatic advice, it is the action beats that tell the true story here.

5. J R R Tolkien, The Hobbit  

The eponymous hobbit Bilbo is engaged in a game of riddles with the strange creature Gollum.

     "What have I got in my pocket?" he said aloud. He was talking to himself, but Gollum thought it was a riddle, and he was frightfully upset.       "Not fair! not fair!" he hissed. "It isn't fair, my precious, is it, to ask us what it's got in its nassty little pocketses?"      Bilbo seeing what had happened and having nothing better to ask stuck to his question. "What have I got in my pocket?" he said louder. "S-s-s-s-s," hissed Gollum. "It must give us three guesseses, my precious, three guesseses."      "Very well! Guess away!" said Bilbo.      "Handses!" said Gollum.      "Wrong," said Bilbo, who had luckily just taken his hand out again. "Guess again!"      "S-s-s-s-s," said Gollum, more upset than ever. 

Tolkein’s dialogue for Gollum is a masterclass in creating distinct character voices . By using a repeated catchphrase (“my precious”) and unconventional spelling and grammar to reflect his unusual speech pattern, Tolkien creates an idiosyncratic, unique (and iconic) speech for Gollum. This vivid approach to formatting dialogue, which is almost a transliteration of Gollum's sounds, allows readers to imagine his speech pattern and practically hear it aloud.

We wouldn’t recommend using this extreme level of idiosyncrasy too often in your writing — it can get wearing for readers after a while, and Tolkien deploys it sparingly, as Gollum’s appearances are limited to a handful of scenes. However, you can use Tolkien’s approach as inspiration to create (slightly more subtle) quirks of speech for your own characters.

6. F Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

The narrator, Nick has just done his new neighbour Gatsby a favor by inviting his beloved Daisy over to tea. Perhaps in return, Gatsby then attempts to make a shady business proposition.

     “There’s another little thing,” he said uncertainly, and hesitated.      “Would you rather put it off for a few days?” I asked.      “Oh, it isn’t about that. At least —” He fumbled with a series of beginnings. “Why, I thought — why, look here, old sport, you don’t make much money, do you?”      “Not very much.”      This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.       “I thought you didn’t, if you’ll pardon my — you see, I carry on a little business on the side, a little side line, if you understand. And I thought that if you don’t make very much — You’re selling bonds, aren’t you, old sport?”      “Trying to.” 

This dialogue from The Great Gatsby is a great example of how to make dialogue sound natural. Gatsby tripping over his own words (even interrupting himself , as marked by the em-dashes) not only makes his nerves and awkwardness palpable but also mimics real speech. Just as real people often falter and make false starts when they’re speaking off the cuff, Gatsby too flounders, giving us insight into his self-doubt; his speech isn’t polished and perfect, and neither is he despite all his efforts to appear so.

Fitzgerald also creates a distinctive voice for Gatsby by littering his speech with the character's signature term of endearment, “old sport”. We don’t even really need dialogue markers to know who’s speaking here — a sign of very strong characterization through dialogue.

7. Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet  

In this first meeting between the two heroes of Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories, Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, John is introduced to Sherlock while the latter is hard at work in the lab.

      “How are you?” he said cordially, gripping my hand with a strength for which I should hardly have given him credit. “You have been in Afghanistan, I perceive.”      “How on earth did you know that?” I asked in astonishment.      “Never mind,” said he, chuckling to himself. “The question now is about hemoglobin. No doubt you see the significance of this discovery of mine?”     “It is interesting, chemically, no doubt,” I answered, “but practically— ”      “Why, man, it is the most practical medico-legal discovery for years. Don’t you see that it gives us an infallible test for blood stains. Come over here now!” He seized me by the coat-sleeve in his eagerness, and drew me over to the table at which he had been working. “Let us have some fresh blood,” he said, digging a long bodkin into his finger, and drawing off the resulting drop of blood in a chemical pipette. “Now, I add this small quantity of blood to a litre of water. You perceive that the resulting mixture has the appearance of pure water. The proportion of blood cannot be more than one in a million. I have no doubt, however, that we shall be able to obtain the characteristic reaction.” As he spoke, he threw into the vessel a few white crystals, and then added some drops of a transparent fluid. In an instant the contents assumed a dull mahogany colour, and a brownish dust was precipitated to the bottom of the glass jar.      “Ha! ha!” he cried, clapping his hands, and looking as delighted as a child with a new toy. “What do you think of that?”

This passage uses a number of the key techniques for writing naturalistic and exciting dialogue, including characters speaking over one another and the interspersal of action beats. 

Sherlock cutting off Watson to launch into a monologue about his blood experiment shows immediately where Sherlock’s interest lies — not in small talk, or the person he is speaking to, but in his own pursuits, just like earlier in the conversation when he refuses to explain anything to John and is instead self-absorbedly “chuckling to himself”. This helps establish their initial rapport (or lack thereof) very quickly.

Breaking up that monologue with snippets of him undertaking the forensic tests allows us to experience the full force of his enthusiasm over it without having to read an uninterrupted speech about the ins and outs of a science experiment.

Starting to think you might like to read some Sherlock? Check out our guide to the Sherlock Holmes canon !

8. Brandon Taylor, Real Life

Here, our protagonist Wallace is questioned by Ramon, a friend-of-a-friend, over the fact that he is considering leaving his PhD program.

     Wallace hums. “I mean, I wouldn’t say that I want to leave, but I’ve thought about it, sure.”     “Why would you do that? I mean, the prospects for… black people, you know?”        “What are the prospects for black people?” Wallace asks, though he knows he will be considered the aggressor for this question.

Brandon Taylor’s Real Life is drawn from the author’s own experiences as a queer Black man, attempting to navigate the unwelcoming world of academia, navigating the world of academia, and so it’s no surprise that his dialogue rings so true to life — it’s one of the reasons the novel is one of our picks for must-read books by Black authors . 

This episode is part of a pattern where Wallace is casually cornered and questioned by people who never question for a moment whether they have the right to ambush him or criticize his choices. The use of indirect dialogue at the end shows us this is a well-trodden path for Wallace: he has had this same conversation several times, and can pre-empt the exact outcome.

This scene is also a great example of the dramatic significance of people choosing not to speak. The exchange happens in front of a big group, but — despite their apparent discomfort —  nobody speaks up to defend Wallace, or to criticize Ramon’s patronizing microaggressions. Their silence is deafening, and we get a glimpse of Ramon’s isolation due to the complacency of others, all due to what is not said in this dialogue example.

9. Ernest Hemingway, Hills Like White Elephants

In this short story, an unnamed man and a young woman discuss whether or not they should terminate a pregnancy while sitting on a train platform.

     “Well,” the man said, “if you don’t want to you don’t have to. I wouldn’t have you do it if you didn’t want to. But I know it’s perfectly simple.”      “And you really want to?”      “I think it’s the best thing to do. But I don’t want you to do it if you really don’t want to.”      “And if I do it you’ll be happy and things will be like they were and you’ll love me?”      “I love you now. You know I love you.”      “I know. But if I do it, then it will be nice again if I say things are like white elephants, and you’ll like it?”      “I’ll love it. I love it now but I just can’t think about it. You know how I get when I worry.”      “If I do it you won’t ever worry?”      “I won’t worry about that because it’s perfectly simple.”

This example of dialogue from Hemingway’s short story Hills Like White Elephants moves at quite a clip. The conversation quickly bounces back and forth between the speakers, and the call-and-response format of the woman asking and the man answering is effective because it establishes a clear dynamic between the two speakers: the woman is the one seeking reassurance and trying to understand the man’s feelings, while he is the one who is ultimately in control of the situation.

Note the sparing use of dialogue markers: this minimalist approach keeps the dialogue brisk, and we can still easily understand who is who due to the use of a new paragraph when the speaker changes .

Like this classic author’s style? Head over to our selection of the 11 best Ernest Hemingway books .

10. Madeline Miller, Circe

In Madeline Miller’s retelling of Greek myth, we witness a conversation between the mythical enchantress Circe and Telemachus (son of Odysseus).

     “You do not grieve for your father?”        “I do. I grieve that I never met the father everyone told me I had.”           I narrowed my eyes. “Explain.”      “I am no storyteller.”      “I am not asking for a story. You have come to my island. You owe me truth.”       A moment passed, and then he nodded. “You will have it.” 

This short and punchy exchange hits on a lot of the stylistic points we’ve covered so far. The conversation is a taut tennis match between the two speakers as they volley back and forth with short but impactful sentences, and unnecessary dialogue tags have been shaved off . It also highlights Circe’s imperious attitude, a result of her divine status. Her use of short, snappy declaratives and imperatives demonstrates that she’s used to getting her own way and feels no need to mince her words.

11. Andre Aciman, Call Me By Your Name

This is an early conversation between seventeen-year-old Elio and his family’s handsome new student lodger, Oliver.

     What did one do around here? Nothing. Wait for summer to end. What did one do in the winter, then?      I smiled at the answer I was about to give. He got the gist and said, “Don’t tell me: wait for summer to come, right?”      I liked having my mind read. He’d pick up on dinner drudgery sooner than those before him.      “Actually, in the winter the place gets very gray and dark. We come for Christmas. Otherwise it’s a ghost town.”      “And what else do you do here at Christmas besides roast chestnuts and drink eggnog?”      He was teasing. I offered the same smile as before. He understood, said nothing, we laughed.      He asked what I did. I played tennis. Swam. Went out at night. Jogged. Transcribed music. Read.      He said he jogged too. Early in the morning. Where did one jog around here? Along the promenade, mostly. I could show him if he wanted.      It hit me in the face just when I was starting to like him again: “Later, maybe.”

Dialogue is one of the most crucial aspects of writing romance — what’s a literary relationship without some flirty lines? Here, however, Aciman gives us a great example of efficient dialogue. By removing unnecessary dialogue and instead summarizing with narration, he’s able to confer the gist of the conversation without slowing down the pace unnecessarily. Instead, the emphasis is left on what’s unsaid, the developing romantic subtext. 

Furthermore, the fact that we receive this scene in half-reported snippets rather than as an uninterrupted transcript emphasizes the fact that this is Elio’s own recollection of the story, as the manipulation of the dialogue in this way serves to mimic the nostalgic haziness of memory.

Understanding Point of View

Learn to master different POVs and choose the best for your story.

12. George Eliot, Middlemarch

Two of Eliot’s characters, Mary and Rosamond, are out shopping,

     When she and Rosamond happened both to be reflected in the glass, she said laughingly —      “What a brown patch I am by the side of you, Rosy! You are the most unbecoming companion.”      “Oh no! No one thinks of your appearance, you are so sensible and useful, Mary. Beauty is of very little consequence in reality,” said Rosamond, turning her head towards Mary, but with eyes swerving towards the new view of her neck in the glass.      “You mean my beauty,” said Mary, rather sardonically.       Rosamond thought, “Poor Mary, she takes the kindest things ill.” Aloud she said, “What have you been doing lately?”      “I? Oh, minding the house — pouring out syrup — pretending to be amiable and contented — learning to have a bad opinion of everybody.”

This excerpt, a conversation between the level-headed Mary and vain Rosamond, is an example of dialogue that develops character relationships naturally. Action descriptors allow us to understand what is really happening in the conversation. 

Whilst the speech alone might lead us to believe Rosamond is honestly (if clumsily) engaging with her friend, the description of her simultaneously gazing at herself in a mirror gives us insight not only into her vanity, but also into the fact that she is not really engaged in her conversation with Mary at all.

The use of internal dialogue cut into the conversation (here formatted with quotation marks rather than the usual italics ) lets us know what Rosamond is actually thinking, and the contrast between this and what she says aloud is telling. The fact that we know she privately realizes she has offended Mary, but quickly continues the conversation rather than apologizing, is emphatic of her character. We get to know Rosamond very well within this short passage, which is a hallmark of effective character-driven dialogue.

13. John Steinbeck, The Winter of our Discontent

Here, Mary (speaking first) reacts to her husband Ethan’s attempts to discuss his previous experiences as a disciplined soldier, his struggles in subsequent life, and his feeling of impending change.

     “You’re trying to tell me something.”      “Sadly enough, I am. And it sounds in my ears like an apology. I hope it is not.”      “I’m going to set out lunch.”

Steinbeck’s Winter of our Discontent is an acute study of alienation and miscommunication, and this exchange exemplifies the ways in which characters can fail to communicate, even when they’re speaking. The pair speaking here are trapped in a dysfunctional marriage which leaves Ethan feeling isolated, and part of his loneliness comes from the accumulation of exchanges such as this one. Whenever he tries to communicate meaningfully with his wife, she shuts the conversation down with a complete non sequitur. 

We expect Mary’s “you’re trying to tell me something” to be followed by a revelation, but Ethan is not forthcoming in his response, and Mary then exits the conversation entirely. Nothing is communicated, and the jarring and frustrating effect of having our expectations subverted goes a long way in mirroring Ethan’s own frustration.

Just like Ethan and Mary, we receive no emotional pay-off, and this passage of characters talking past one another doesn’t further the plot as we hope it might, but instead gives us insight into the extent of these characters’ estrangement.

14. Bret Easton Ellis , Less Than Zero

The disillusioned main character of Bret Easton Ellis’ debut novel, Clay, here catches up with a college friend, Daniel, whom he hasn’t seen in a while. 

     He keeps rubbing his mouth and when I realize that he’s not going to answer me, I ask him what he’s been doing.      “Been doing?”      “Yeah.”      “Hanging out.”      “Hanging out where?”      “Where? Around.”

Less Than Zero is an elegy to conversation, and this dialogue is an example of the many vacuous exchanges the protagonist engages in, seemingly just to fill time. The whole book is deliberately unpoetic and flat, and depicts the lives of disaffected youths in 1980s LA. Their misguided attempts to fill the emptiness within them with drink and drugs are ultimately fruitless, and it shows in their conversations: in truth, they have nothing to say to one another at all.

This utterly meaningless exchange would elsewhere be considered dead weight to a story. Here, rather than being fat in need of trimming, the empty conversation is instead thematically resonant.

15. Daphne du Maurier, Rebecca

The young narrator of du Maurier’s classic gothic novel here has a strained conversation with Robert, one of the young staff members at her new husband’s home, the unwelcoming Manderley.

     “Has Mr. de Winter been in?” I said.      “Yes, Madam,” said Robert; “he came in just after two, and had a quick lunch, and then went out again. He asked for you and Frith said he thought you must have gone down to see the ship.”      “Did he say when he would be back again?” I asked.      “No, Madam.”      “Perhaps he went to the beach another way,” I said; “I may have missed him.”      “Yes, Madam,” said Robert.      I looked at the cold meat and the salad. I felt empty but not hungry. I did not want cold meat now. “Will you be taking lunch?” said Robert.      “No,” I said, “No, you might bring me some tea, Robert, in the library. Nothing like cakes or scones. Just tea and bread and butter.”      “Yes, Madam.”

We’re including this one in our dialogue examples list to show you the power of everything Du Maurier doesn’t do: rather than cycling through a ton of fancy synonyms for “said”, she opts for spare dialogue and tags. 

This interaction's cold, sparse tone complements the lack of warmth the protagonist feels in the moment depicted here. By keeping the dialogue tags simple , the author ratchets up the tension —  without any distracting flourishes taking the reader out of the scene. The subtext of the conversation is able to simmer under the surface, and we aren’t beaten over the head with any stage direction extras.

The inclusion of three sentences of internal dialogue in the middle of the dialogue (“I looked at the cold meat and the salad. I felt empty but not hungry. I did not want cold meat now.”) is also a masterful touch. What could have been a single sentence is stretched into three, creating a massive pregnant pause before Robert continues speaking, without having to explicitly signpost one. Manipulating the pace of dialogue in this way and manufacturing meaningful silence is a great way of adding depth to a scene.

Phew! We've been through a lot of dialogue, from first meetings to idle chit-chat to confrontations, and we hope these dialogue examples have been helpful in illustrating some of the most common techniques.

If you’re looking for more pointers on creating believable and effective dialogue, be sure to check out our course on writing dialogue. Or, if you find you learn better through examples, you can look at our list of 100 books to read before you die — it’s packed full of expert storytellers who’ve honed the art of dialogue.

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Enchanting Marketing

Writing advice for small business

How to Write Conversationally: An (Almost) COMPLETE Guide with 18 Examples

by Henneke | 221 enchanting opinions, add yours? :)

She’s reading her draft post.

And she doesn’t like the tone of her writing at all.

Why is it so hard to engage her readers?

Helena is an expert in climate change, and she’d like to write in a conversational tone …

As if she’s explaining climate change to a friend while sipping an ice tea at the town plaza. The pigeons are strutting around her, bobbing their heads and pecking at the crumbs on the pavement.

But, somehow, her writing always sounds too academic, too formal, too difficult, too stuffy, too boring.

What can she do?

How to write conversationally

Some say …

Just write like you talk.

But it doesn’t always work like that.

Yes, when you write a quick email or social media update, it’s possible to jot down your thoughts as if you’re actually chatting on the phone.

But when writing long-form content or when you’re still figuring out your ideas, writing in a conversational tone is more challenging. A draft often sounds writerly, and you have to massage it until it becomes more informal.

As Elmore Leonard suggested:

If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it.

Want to know how?

How to edit a writerly text

To turn a formal text into a friendly conversation, follow 3 steps:

Take out the writerliness

See techniques 1 – 4 below >>

Turn your writing into a conversation

See techniques 5 – 8 below >>

Add an air of casualness (optional)

See techniques 9 – 14 below >>

Shall I show you?

I. Take out the writerliness

The basis of conversational writing is a simple text so readers can follow your ideas with ease:

• Eliminate complicated sentences >>
• Avoid the passive voice >>
• Replace writerly words >>
• Use transitional words often >>

Here are some examples …

1. Eliminate complicated sentences

Complicated sentences are a sure sign of writerliness.

So, keep your sentences simple and mostly short. The occasional long sentence is fine—as long as each sentence is easy to read.

For instance, Elizabeth Strout uses a conversational tone in her book Lucy by the Sea , and she doesn’t shy away from a long sentence:

He was seventy-one years old then, but he, kind of, I think, must have been plunged into some sort of midlife crisis, or older man crisis, with the loss of his much younger wife moving out and taking their ten-year-old daughter, and then his half-sister’s not wanting to see him and his finding out that his mother had not been who he’d thought she had been.

When I read Strout’s sentence, it’s almost like I can hear her talk. Can you, too?

The sentence above is easy to read because it starts with its core ( he was seventy-one years old ) and then expands. Moreover, filler phrases ( kind of, I think ) add a casual tone.

So, the key to conversational writing is not to keep all your sentences short but to keep your sentences simple. Communicate your ideas tiny step by tiny step.

2. Avoid the passive voice

Pay attention to everyday conversations, and you’ll note that most sentences use the active voice:

I went to the shops to get the groceries. I cooked a colorful stirfry with lots of veggies and prawns. We had dinner together.

The passive voice feels more writerly, less natural:

The groceries were purchased by Henneke. A colorful stirfry was prepared, and dinner was eaten.

I wouldn’t say that. Would you?

So, if you want to sound less writerly, try to avoid the passive voice.

3. Replace writerly words

Only use jargon if you’re writing for an expert audience who use that jargon themselves, too.

Otherwise, please …

Skip the posh words and gobbledygook.

Use everyday words instead.

For instance, jeans manufacturer Hiut Denim describes what they do in short sentences, using simple words:

We make jeans. That’s it. Nothing else. No distractions. Nothing to steal our focus. No kidding ourselves that we can be good at everything. No trying to conquer the whole world. We will just do our best to conquer our bit of it. So each day we will come in and make the best jeans we know how.

Note the everyday expressions above: That’s it; no kidding ourselves; we will just do our best; our bit of it.

Not sure which words to use?

Think of a face-to-face conversation with one of your favorite readers. What words would you use then?

4. Use transitional words often

Soooo …

When we talk, we use transition words to string our thoughts together.

Those transition words tend to be simple: When, if, and, but, or, because, so .

However, when we try to impress with our writing, we use more writerly transitions such as: Therefore, in contrast, additionally, furthermore, nonetheless, thus, subsequently, in conclusion.

Copywriter Gary Halbert is known for his conversational style, and the casual phrase anyway is one of his favorite transition words. It makes his writing sound as if he’s chatting to you. This is from his book The Boron Letters :

So anyway, today I’m going to start by telling you about a little trick that will improve your copywriting.

Anyway, a couple paragraphs back I wrote: “and if you can find a way to use it, you can dramatically increase your sales volume.” Now, compare that to this: “and if you can find a way to use it, you can make yourself a bushel of money!” Isn’t that a lot more powerful? You bet! The words “dramatically increase your sales volume” do not even begin to conjure up the visual imagery of “a bushel of money.”

Transition words create flow and help readers follow your text from one sentence to the next.

Moreover, if you choose simple transition words and use them often, your text will sound more conversational.

II. Turn your writing into a conversation

The 4 techniques below are the essence of conversational writing:

• Remember who you’re writing for >>
• Address your reader with the word you >>
• Ask questions >>
• Add personal comments (optional) >>

Here’s how …

5. Remember who you’re writing for

Good writing is a conversation with your reader.

And to make your conversation meaningful, remind yourself who you’re writing for. Who are they? What do they want to know? What’s their reaction to your writing?

When they shake their head because they disagree, you can counter their objections. When they don’t understand a phrase, you can replace or explain it. When a question pops up in their mind, answer it.

It can be hard to write a first draft with your reader in mind. Just formulating your thoughts is challenging enough.

So, once you’ve written that draft, try distancing yourself a little from yourself as the writer. Try not to be too precious about your words, and read them through the eyes of your reader. How can you make your text clearer and more engaging?

The better you can imagine your reader’s reaction, the more engaging your conversation with them will be.

6. Address your reader

In a face-to-face situation, you talk a bit about yourself, right?

And you also address the person you’re talking to?

Well, it’s the same in conversational writing. You address your reader with the word you , and you talk a little about me .

For instance, Mark Manson’s blog reads like a conversation with his readers because he addresses readers directly. This is from a blog post about feelings :

Look, I know you think the fact you feel upset or angry or anxious is important. That it matters. Hell, you probably think that because you feel like your face just got shat on makes you important. But it doesn’t. Feelings are just these … things that happen.

If you want to have a conversation with your reader, don’t create a monologue. Use the words you and your more often than the words me , my , and I .

7. Ask questions

Questions are probably my favorite conversational writing technique . For instance, here’s how I open a blog post on editing a sentence :

Do you ever wonder how others edit their writing? Me, too. So, picture my delight when I came across a fabulous example of revision … By a bestselling author!

And I start the sales page for the Enchanting Copywriting course like this:

Do you ever find yourself staring at a blank sheet? Struggling to find the right words to sell without feeling sleazy? You’re not alone. Persuasive writing is probably one of the most precious skills anyone in business can possess. But at school, we’ve not learned the art of persuasion. We’ve not learned how to write compelling content. We’ve not learned how to sell without feeling pushy.

Want to engage your readers?

Ask questions. Ask them whether they’re struggling with the problem you’re helping them solve. Or ask them whether they’d like to achieve that aim you can help them with.

Of course, asking questions only works if you understand your reader and if you know what’s bothering them and what they’re dreaming off.

8. Add personal comments

I discovered this trick for conversational writing only recently …

Add a personal comment between parentheses.

This technique is not widely used but it works like a dream.

The following snippet is from the memoir It’s Okay to Laugh (Crying is Cool Too) by Nora McInerny Purmort:

This is for people who have been through some shit—or have watched someone go through it. This is for people who aren’t sure if they’re saying or doing the right thing (you’re not, but nobody is).

Above, McInerny Purmort first addresses her readers as a crowd ( This is for people who … ); it sounds less conversational.

But then she adds a comment between parentheses, addressing her reader directly ( you’re not, but nobody is ). That’s when it feels she’s talking with you.

As we’ve seen so far, to write conversationally, first edit your text so it’s simple and clear.

Next, turn your writing in a conversation with your reader: Know who you’re having a conversation with, address them with the word you , ask them questions, and if you like, add personal comments between parentheses.

Lastly, there’s one more optional step …

III. Add an air of casualness

Not all conversational writing needs a casual tone.

So, think about your readers. What’s the right tone for a conversation with them?

Then, try the following techniques:

(this is a safe technique that almost anyone can use)

(uhm … maybe not for everyone)

< waves hello >

(in mucho moderation)

(if you muuuuust)

Let me show you some examples …

9. Use contractions

Contractions merge two words together. It’s what we do when we speak all the time.

For example:

Using contractions is probably the most common and easiest technique for informal writing.

10. Try interjections

For more casualness, try interjections such as Phew. Duh. Whoah! Yay! Yikes. Ugh.

I occasionally use interjections in my writing:

What’s the most boring punctuation mark? I used to think that award should go to parentheses. They seem to smell like math exams in sweaty classrooms. Ugh.

Has it happened to you, too? In your mind, you’ve composed your next article. Perhaps while walking your dog or on your commute. You feel excited, because you know exactly what you want to write, and you think your readers will love it. Yay!

Even Apple uses interjections sometimes. For instance, when they write about the iPhone 14 :

Water resistance. (Phew.)

Interjections are shortcuts to expressing emotions.

Use them in moderation.

11. Use filler words

When we talk, we use filler phrases to give us time to think or to add emphasis.

Filler phrases include: I mean, you know, actually, so, yeah, well, sure enough, here’s the thing, why bother, hang on, like.

Here’s how Sara Gibbs ends her book Drama Queen: One Autistic Woman and a Life of Unhelpful Labels :

Right . . . Well, it’s getting late and I’ve got to get dinner on. Ah, crap, you’re never going to believe that. You know I’m not the one who cooks dinner. OK, uh . . . I think my cat is asking for me. No? I have to go; my husband’s on fire. God. Fine, you’ve got me. I have no idea how to end this book. I’m as good as getting out of conversations as I am at instigating them. I will leave you with these words – which I recently blurted out before hanging up on a confused GP’s receptionist: ’K, love you, bye!

As Tony Hoagland points out in his book The Art of Voice , filler words can be key to creating a voice that connects. They can create a sense of warmth, of companionship. A voice sounds more real.

But, of course, filler words make your writing less concise. And, as you can sense in the snippet by Gibbs above, a lot of filler words make writing exhausting to read.

So, think about what works for you and your audience. And, also, read your writing aloud. Does it flow naturally or does it become exhausting?

It’s up to you to find the balance between being concise and being more chatty.

12. Add gestures

Your keyboard doesn’t allow you to put hand gestures into a text.

Or does it?

< shrugs shoulders >

So, this is the trick:

You can put hand gestures or facial expressions between angled brackets.

< raises eyebrows >

It’s like putting emoticons into words.

Angled brackets can also be used to < checks notes > create a pause in your writing. Here’s Ann Handley in a recent newsletter :

You think you have a handle on a problem or a situation or a topic. You sit down to write: hands hover over laptop, claws ready to clack the keys, itching to go! Let’s GO! < seconds pass > < is it a minute already? > Your mind wanders.

Putting gestures or other comments between angled brackets can add personality to your writing. But always consider: Is this the right tone for the conversation you’re having? Or do you prefer a more concise conversational style?

Oh, and if you don’t like angled brackets, you can use *asterisks* instead.

Or, if you want to create a pause, just adding an ellipsis (…) is a neat trick, too.

13. ALL CAPS

I’m a little hesitant to mention this technique.

Because it should be used sparingly. Very sparingly.

ALL CAPS is a bit like shouting.

But the thing is this: When we talk, we can whisper, or shout, or sing.

And we can’t do that in our writing.

So, how can we emphasize our words instead?

My preferred method is to choose stronger words: Emotional words (such as despair, joyful, enchanting ) or sensory words (such as dazzling, gloomy, prickly, sweet ).

But sometimes, you may want to use ALL CAPS for extra emphasis.

For instance, Ramit Sethi occasionally uses ALL CAPS on his sales pages, like here :

There are tons of books, courses, and articles about confidence. “How to be confident at work!” “How to stop being shy on dates!”, “How to make everybody at a party love you!” The list goes on and on. The #1 piece of advice in all these materials is: “Just be yourself!” VOMIT.

And Joe Tracini also uses ALL CAPS occasionally in his memoir Ten Things I Hate About Me :

I’m scared. Terrified, really. I’m scared of what you’ll think of me, because even though I don’t know you, I don’t want to disappoint you, and I am desperate to be liked by EVERYBODY AT ALL TIMES. (Seriously. If I’m in a shop and I think the person on the till doesn’t like me, I will spend the rest of that day thinking I’ve ruined their afternoon, then worrying and wondering about how I could’ve been a better customer.)

Used sparingly, ALL CAPS can mimic the emphasis you’d add to a couple of words when talking. It’s like raising your voice.

Moreover, research indicates that putting one or two words in ALL CAPS makes it easier to understand something at a glance.

BUT …

Using ALL CAPS for longer texts reduces readability.

So, be careful: ALL CAPS can quickly be too much, and your writing tone becomes shouty.

14. Elongate your vowels

Pleeeaaaase, explain to me …

Why do we drag out our vowels?

Elongating vowels creates a more casual tone by mimicking our intonation when we talk. You may think this technique is only for teenagers on social media but even Apple uses it on their website :

The looongest battery life of any iPhone. Ever.

And Wil Reynolds writes in a blog post about SEO and AI disruption :

SEO has been “dead” or “dying” since before I got started in 1999. Mayyyyybe it’s just an industry that changes a lot.

I sometimes elongate vowels on Twitter , too:

Pleeease … Don’t tell me to write like I talk. In writing, you can’t use hand gestures & facial expressions. So, writing has to be stronger than spoken language.

You can also lengthen certain consonants. Dammmmmnnn. What a messss.

So, this is an interesting technique, most commonly used on social media. Elsewhere, use in moderation or not at all. There is a risk your tone becomes unprofessional.

Always consider who your reader is and what tone is appropriate for your conversation with them.

How casual should your writing be?

Your objective is not to make your writing as conversational and casual as possible.

Think about the topic you’re discussing with your reader.

Consider your reader’s reaction and what feelings crop up when they’re reading your text.

Also, think about the context. Social media tends to be most casual, email comes next. And blogs tend to be more conversational than books but that’s also a matter of personal preference.

Sometimes, simple and clear writing is your aim.

Sometimes, you want to go a step further and turn your text into a conversation or make the tone more informal.

How casual is your conversation with your reader?

Cup of tea? Slice of cake?

PS This is a completely refreshed and expanded version of an article originally posted on January 14th, 2014. The new version was published on August 29th, 2023.

Recommended reading on conversational writing:

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Reader Interactions

Leave a comment and join the conversation cancel reply.

December 15, 2023 at 4:00 am

Thanks, for this very insightful post. I think that people, looking for guidance in their writing, will definitely not leave empty. I have personally gained useful tips and suggestions, that will help me in my writing. This post will add value to the newbie’s writing, like me, and even some of the more mature writers.

December 15, 2023 at 10:29 am

I’m glad you found it useful, Rupert.

October 31, 2023 at 9:46 pm

Faaaaantastic! Learnt LOADS. Thanks.

November 1, 2023 at 9:00 am

Yay! I’m glad it was helpful. 🙂

October 21, 2023 at 9:13 am

This made me laugh and all the tips are helpful. Happy Belated Birthday. It’s never too late to celebrate your beauty Henneke and to be grateful for all you are and all you share! You give me hope and inspiration and skill.

October 23, 2023 at 10:37 am

Thanks so much, Andrea. This was a fun post to write.

October 18, 2023 at 4:09 pm

For someone who has stalled on writing for a while due to so many things, bereavement being one. Reading this has truly inspired me, I’ve taken notes and I can’t wait to practice all that you shared. Very informative and useful tips. I believe you’ve just eased the burden I felt at the thoughts of going back to writing. Thank you Henneke!

October 18, 2023 at 4:56 pm

I’m sorry about your bereavement, Bukky. I hope you’ll get back to writing soon and will find joy in writing again.

September 11, 2023 at 3:33 pm

I haven’t even finished reading, and just have to say how truly helpful this is! Our company just rebranded our voice/tone, and “conversational” is our latest descriptor of how we should be writing (I’m a copywriter). I thought I knew how, but am quickly realizing how hard it is when writing about tech products. Thank you for making this so approachable and easy to understand. I have a post-it note handy with notes from your blog to keep on my desk! 🙂

September 13, 2023 at 6:58 am

Thank you, Marissa. That’s lovely feedback. Happy writing!

September 8, 2023 at 6:29 pm

Thank you so much Henneke. You’re a whole institution, trust me. 💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼❤️🤗 Thank you

September 13, 2023 at 6:57 am

Thank you, Nnenna. I just enjoy writing, sharing and connecting with lovely people like you.

September 4, 2023 at 9:53 pm

Happy belated birthday, Henneke. I hope you’re feeling well. As usual, you never disappoint me with how you display your knowledge — much appreciated.

September 5, 2023 at 4:21 pm

Thank you, Dom. That’s lovely feedback. And I appreciate your birthday wishes.

September 4, 2023 at 10:07 am

Thank you very much Henneke for this long topic! I’ve already read the first version before and now I see new stuff you added. There is such information that I can’t remember all!! I feel I need to read that again from time to time to assimilate that. And Happy Birthday in late! 🤗

September 5, 2023 at 4:19 pm

Thanks so much, Alexandra. No need to remember it all. Just pick a new technique or two that appeal to you, and start practicing. When you feel you want to try something different, you can always come back. But you know that already 🙂

September 2, 2023 at 12:53 pm

Great read. In order to make the writing *even more* conversational, we might also use:

– emojis, to underline the message or suggest the opposite (yeah, right… 🙄), but used sparingly. – animated GIFs. Again, to make the point in a funny, relatable way. Maybe instead of writing gestures, we might show ’em 🙂 – larger or colored characters, to emphasize a short sequence of words. However, I’d use this technique sparingly, depending on context (I woulnd’t use it in B2B communication, but it’s ok when writing to young moms).

Apart from those, I think your list is all-inclusive 🙂

September 3, 2023 at 10:34 am

Thanks so much for adding these suggestions, Radu. Fab.

August 30, 2023 at 10:14 pm

Thank you Henneke for your precious article. Vero useeeeeeful! And… Happy Birthday from Italy. Maurizio

August 31, 2023 at 9:43 am

Sooooo glad you find this useful, Maurizio.

And thank you for your birthday wishes 🙂

August 30, 2023 at 8:37 pm

Thank you! Happy Birthday!🎉🎊🎈🎂

August 31, 2023 at 9:42 am

Thank you so much, Shauna. 🎉

August 30, 2023 at 4:31 pm

Hi Henneke, Very handy article. I love all the different ways you have picked up on to make writing sound like a real conversation – all the umms and errs. And you’ve made me realise that although I say ‘anyway’ all the time, I would never dream of writing it. So now I need to think about that, along with so and however. Thanks.

August 30, 2023 at 5:11 pm

It’ll probably be interesting to experiment and see whether you like it when you add “anyway” to your writing, and what frequency feels right.

Writing will never quite be the same as speaking. It’ll always be more concise, more structured, and a little stronger. But when we allow ourselves to be a bit more conversational, we can let our personality shine through a little more.

happy writing!

August 30, 2023 at 8:29 am

Happy birthday!

Brilliant piece; saved for future reference. Thank you.

August 30, 2023 at 11:08 am

Thank you so much, Beverley. Happy writing!

August 29, 2023 at 9:25 pm

I just finished a youth book on the 23rd Psalm that’s woven in a young girl’s life while studying it. She narrowly survived bullets randomly fired at the March 6, 2023 shooting in Allen Texas, at the Outlet Mall.

I’m mostly pleased with the book, but wished I had read—no studied, this article before starting. I tried to make the book conversational. I doubt that I succeeded. Do I rewrite with this article in mind? Probably not, since the parents of the girl have approved it. BUT, this will be a go-to on my next book.

Thanks for this article. It truly is helpful

August 30, 2023 at 11:10 am

I think that’s a wise decision. It’s easy to be tempted to keep improving a book but as it’s approved already, it’s probably better to start your next project.

Best wishes to the girl who survived the shooting.

August 29, 2023 at 8:04 pm

This is not a blog post.

But a Bible on conversational writing.

What else can I say?

Best wishes,

August 29, 2023 at 8:41 pm

As I was working on it, I was wondering whether it was bit too much!

August 29, 2023 at 5:49 pm

This landed in my inbox at the perfect time. Have a first draft of my next newsletter and it reads kind of stiff. Ugh. Your tips totally inspire me to bring it to life. Thanks, Henneke.

August 29, 2023 at 6:16 pm

Yay! That makes me happy, Fiona. Thank you. Happy editing!

August 29, 2023 at 12:54 pm

I started and couldn’t stop reading your article. And, I missed my train. Not to worry, I gained more from your item than my meeting with the bank manager. Thanks. Is it OK to use conversational writing on my website pages?

August 29, 2023 at 1:01 pm

Oops. I’m sorry you missed your train!

And yes, you can use conversational writing on your website. Just consider who is reading your website and what the right tone is to engage them.

April 18, 2023 at 12:09 pm

Hi, Can you share if a conversational tone can be used in a coffee table book?

April 18, 2023 at 4:01 pm

Sure. Why not? It depends how you want to position your coffee table book.

October 21, 2022 at 5:47 pm

You got me in awe! I just can not stop myself from reading it till the end + I want to read more !

October 22, 2022 at 4:23 pm

Thank you, Shafeeq. That’s a lovely compliment 🙂

August 12, 2022 at 1:03 pm

Great tips for chatting through writing.

Way too many bloggers and online marketers forget that human beings sit on the other side of the computer or phone. There are other humans out there reading our content and engaging us from their laptops and phones. Keeping this idea in mind urges me to be chatty, to write how I speak and to converse with fellow human beings by a Blogging From Paradise, my emails and through social media too.

We want to chat with people online not speak to them.

August 12, 2022 at 4:26 pm

Yes, so true. Conversational writing is not just for blog writing, but also emails and social media. It even works for books!

April 27, 2021 at 3:05 pm

Beautiful flow. Your message arrives home with perfect clarity and conciseness. Thumbs up Henneke.

April 27, 2021 at 6:56 pm

Thank you, Deniz. Happy writing!

September 18, 2020 at 5:18 pm

Do you have any YA novel suggestions which are written using conventional tone. I would be very interested in this. Thanks

September 18, 2020 at 5:40 pm

I don’t read a lot of YA novels. The only one I can remember reading “recently” is The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. I read that almost two years ago but if I remember correctly, that used a conversational tone. I’m sure there are many many more.

August 29, 2020 at 6:55 pm

This is great. I just wrote a conversational piece today. I wanted to double check if I was on the right track. This post was insightful.

I have jotted down points like checking if it looks like writing. I am going to revisit the piece tomorrow with fresh mindset and your overall tips.

Thank you so much. This was a great read and helpful in a practical way. 🙂

August 29, 2020 at 8:08 pm

I’m glad this has been helpful to you, Kavya, and I like your idea of revisiting your writing tomorrow (rather than today) to check whether it sounds like writing. Happy editing!

August 27, 2020 at 6:43 am

Wow! The post itself is written in a conversational tone. Flows well and easy to connect with. Thanks for this.

August 27, 2020 at 12:13 pm

Thank you, Martin. I’m glad you enjoyed this.

August 5, 2020 at 3:58 am

I love this! It guided me to a nice, relaxed way of blogging. This approach will allow readers to get comfortable on my blog.

August 5, 2020 at 9:39 am

Thank you, Tayler. Happy blogging!

June 29, 2020 at 4:17 pm

That was a real good post about writing good stuff.Writing is an art and you are an artist in true sense.Your writing style kept me hooked till end of the article.And I was compelled to write a comment to you. Way to go ??

June 29, 2020 at 6:20 pm

Thanks so much for your comment (and your compliment!), Preeti 🙂

June 1, 2020 at 6:24 pm

That’s great!! I think you are a fantastic writer , I like this. Good writing has a strong voice, where you can hear the writer as if they were talking to you.

June 2, 2020 at 12:55 pm

Thank you, Amit. Happy writing!

April 23, 2020 at 11:40 am

I never knew before that writing something, that too conversationally also exists. I meet new people everyday as a part of my job. I love talking to new people. And yes, asking questions definitely gets the other person involved. Thank you for such an awesome topic. I hope these tips will help me better in effective communication with my clients. Thanks and keep on giving us more.

April 23, 2020 at 12:26 pm

Asking questions is a much underrated skill. I’m glad you’ve discovered the power of questions already. Thank you for stopping by, Mihir.

March 9, 2020 at 10:19 am

I accidentally clicked on the link to your site, I liked it very much . Signed up for your free course.

March 9, 2020 at 7:35 pm

I hope you’ll enjoy the snacks, Sergey! Thank you for joining 🙂

January 24, 2020 at 5:44 pm

I loved the way you presented the ideas. I am a fan of your writing thank you. I bookmarked this post so, I can read it daily and improve my writing skills.

January 26, 2020 at 10:04 am

Thanks so much, Vijay. Happy writing!

November 28, 2019 at 11:35 am

This is amazing….!! I just got a reply from a company to write casual content, I was so confused… How am I going to do… but now I feel a little bit confident… I hope I can write well… Wish me luck….:)

November 28, 2019 at 4:56 pm

I’m glad this post is useful to you, Sandhya. Happy writing!

PS Consider asking your client for examples of conversational writing they like because the interpretation of what kind of writing is conversational may differ from company to company.

November 14, 2019 at 5:46 am

Hi Henneke,

Thank you for providing us with these useful writing tips. I often struggle with making my technical content look more informal and interesting but haven’t succeeded. With your tips, I am sure I can improve gradually.

Thanks and keep on giving us more

November 14, 2019 at 7:41 pm

I’m glad you found this useful, Amos.

Especially with technical texts, it can be useful to edit with your reader in mind. If the reader is an expert, it’s fine to use technical terms because they’d use those terms in a conversation, too. But if the reader isn’t, then it can be hard work to simplify your text to make it understandable.

Thank you for stopping by. I appreciate it.

September 11, 2019 at 7:30 am

Beautiful tips. I spend half of my day reading your tips… You are seriously to the point and have informative tips. I love it. I write small blogs but with long sentences and I learn a great deal of munching wisdom about how to clean up my writing. I think I will make a few changes in my website. I love your recipes….

September 11, 2019 at 8:25 am

Thank you so much, Jim. I’m delighted you’re enjoying my blog. Happy writing! 🙂

May 13, 2019 at 11:50 am

Cut the “writerliness” — now I have a name for this!

It feels like you live in my head (in a non-creepy way, of course) because when I revert to using passive voice or pompous-sounding words, I can almost hear you saying, “You might want to change that ?”

Thanks for your example from Ann Handley’s newsletter, I really enjoyed reading her conversational tone.

May 13, 2019 at 6:28 pm

I’m glad I don’t sound creepy when you hear me suggesting a change 😀

The word “writerliness” isn’t in the dictionary, but I think we should get it added 😉

Happy writing!

March 7, 2019 at 3:39 pm

Thank you Henneke. I love it.

March 7, 2019 at 7:03 pm

Thank you, Firdaos.

March 7, 2019 at 1:50 pm

I think a conversational tone works really well for blogs and other types of writing.

I think voice is the key to a good writer, and it is not exactly the same thing as tone. Good writing has a strong voice, where you can hear the writer as if they were talking to you.

Yes, voice is not the same as tone, even though many people use them as synonyms.

If you’d read a transcript from an interview with me, you’d notice that I talk quite differently from the way I write. It’s not like I’m a different person when I write and when I talk, and you can recognize the same personality—no matter whether I talk or write, but there’s still a big difference in the way I write and talk. Unfortunately, it’s hard to edit your talking. 🙂

March 7, 2019 at 12:12 pm

I’m hooked. Each of your articles is helpful. I love your work. Thanks.

March 7, 2019 at 12:19 pm

Thank you, Olusegun. Happy writing!

March 4, 2019 at 3:47 pm

I had read this earlier. I came back to read it again 🙂 This gold!

The first place I ever heard of ‘writerliness’ but it makes a lot of sense.

March 4, 2019 at 5:45 pm

Writerliness isn’t in the dictionary. I made it up. But writerly exists and simply means “of, relating to, or typical of a writer” (according to Merriam-Webster). So, the meaning I use is a little more specific, but it seemed the best way to express this idea that writing has specific characteristics that make it sound like writing.

Thank you for coming back to reread and comment 🙂

February 26, 2019 at 11:39 am

Love this!!

I especially like the advice about counting how many times i mention; me, I & us.

You are spot on, i’m going to keep the reader in mind as much as possible, i wanted to be the best conversationalist possible!

February 26, 2019 at 2:53 pm

Thank you, Nick. And nice to see your picture now! 🙂

February 24, 2019 at 5:52 pm

Excellent advice, Henneke. Your conversational tone kept me reading. Many blog posts lose me after the first couple of paragraphs.

February 25, 2019 at 4:56 pm

I’m glad I kept you reading. Thank you for stopping by, Kathy 🙂

February 23, 2019 at 7:31 pm

I love this post! I enjoyed how you made your points come across. Thank you, Henneke!

February 23, 2019 at 7:34 pm

Thank you, Hank!

February 22, 2019 at 5:41 pm

Great post! I adore your writing style and generous tips for those of us wishing to improve our communications. I recommend your blog to my clients. Thank you for all that you do and share. Breathe joy!

February 22, 2019 at 7:26 pm

Thank you so much, KC, for your lovely comment and for recommending my blog to your clients. I appreciate it. Happy writing!

February 21, 2019 at 4:04 pm

Came here from LinkedIn. Now I know what you meant by the tea remark. An amazing article Henneke. You’ve broken down such a complex problem into the simplest form possible. And like always, your artworks are amazing.

February 22, 2019 at 10:39 am

Yes, we’re all having tea together here. I’m glad you were able to join, too. Thank you for stopping by 🙂

February 21, 2019 at 9:06 am

Hi Henneke Great post. I am writing a conversational piece at the moment and found this very helpful. Thank you. Sue Kingham

February 22, 2019 at 10:29 am

I’m glad this was helpful, Sue. Thank you for stopping by 🙂

February 21, 2019 at 4:41 am

Wow it does not seem that long since I read a similar advice, from you, crazy how four years can seem like four months. or was it fife month? I do love your posts about quitting the fancy writing, I’m certainly not that fancy type. Thank you Henneke

It was actually five years ago when I posted the original version. I can hardly believe I’ve been writing here for so many years. Crazy, eh?

February 20, 2019 at 3:18 pm

I, too, have read this one before, felt inspired and benefited, and commented already. But. This time you really got through to my “straight A+ in English” brain. How did you do that? 😀 So, thanks very much for the re-do, and … … I noticed Henrietta is sitting on the “h”. So I’d be one seat beyond, on the “k” when I read, here. It really felt that personal. <3

February 20, 2019 at 7:41 pm

Yes, the K is there waiting for you—I drew it in the last picture. And you can put your feet on the M if you like. Shall I make you a tea or a coffee? 🙂

February 20, 2019 at 4:39 am

Good reminder Henneke – conversational writing also very apt for how-to books. Paul, wet and steamy Sydney

February 20, 2019 at 9:30 am

Yep, conversational writing works for books, too. It seems that blogs (and email) have spearheaded to drive to conversational writing but it’s used more and more in books, too. Stay cool!

February 20, 2019 at 3:21 am

What a fantastic article, brilliantly summing up the topic. A perfect snapshot of the copywriter’s job. Love the infographic!

February 20, 2019 at 9:29 am

Thank you so much, Kate. I enjoyed drawing the pictures of Henrietta and her ideal reader on the typewriter 🙂

February 19, 2019 at 11:45 pm

Yes, this is what conversational feels like. I find myself learning to write shorter posts these days. This was certainly a great read. I have shared with my team, I shouldn’t take in the awesomeness alone.

February 20, 2019 at 9:28 am

Thank you so much for sharing this with your team, Mary. I appreciate it. Happy writing!

February 19, 2019 at 10:49 pm

I’ve read this post before, but I love it and totally concur. I picked up something new this time. Your distinction about writing as you write rather than as you speak got my attention this time. I hadn’t picked up on that before, but it really makes a lot of sense. Going forward, I think that will be very helpful in my writing. Thanks for yet another great idea.

That point about conversational writing not being the same as writing as you speak wasn’t worked out in the old version. I expanded it quite a lot. (And I also edited it so it sounds more like the way I write now rather than five years ago.)

Thank you for stopping by again, Gordon!

February 19, 2019 at 10:29 pm

Your email arrived in my Inbox at precisely the right time . . . when I am beginning to overhaul my Web site. Good reminders of how you can win over business not by being formal and intellectual, but by being more concise and casual. Thank you appearing in my life.

February 20, 2019 at 9:26 am

I’m glad this email arrived at the right time. Good luck with overhauling your website! Such projects can feel a bit intimidating.

February 19, 2019 at 10:09 pm

Hi Henneke I loved this, however, when I went to say thank you in the comments I felt like I missed a really good part FIVE YEARS AGO. I have so many writing hang-ups at the moment, this helps at least one.

love alwaz mike

February 20, 2019 at 9:25 am

I’m sorry you missed out five years ago, but I can reassure you this new version is a lot better! 🙂

Do you have any specific writing hang-ups I can help with?

February 19, 2019 at 8:29 pm

Brilliant, Henneke! I read many copywriting and business books but few write as well as you do. The list of these writers such as Dan Kennedy, Ted Nicholas, Seth Godin, Drayton Bird and many others simply don’t write as clearly and succinctly as you do. Robert Ringer and Andy Maslen aren’t among those – they write well and are always interesting. It seems to me that ‘if it isn’t interesting it won’t be informative’ (don’t know where I read that!). Thanks again.

February 19, 2019 at 8:38 pm

Wow. That’s a big compliment. Thank you, Paul ?

February 19, 2019 at 6:35 pm

You always hit the nail on the head–wham! Also want you to know your Enchanting Marketing “class” is proving so helpful. I write fiction stories not content marketing but believe me, I appreciate the help you give. Besides, your book recommendations are terrific. Don’t know how you’re able to do so much and give so generously to so many hungry birds! (I’m allowed one exclamation point–right?)

February 19, 2019 at 8:37 pm

I’m so happy to know that you’re finding the Write It, Don’t Fight It course helpful! Thank you so much for stopping by, Patrica. I appreciate it.

February 19, 2019 at 4:01 pm

I so agree, Henneke! Writing that feels conversational is still writing. It still takes work! I used to think, to warm and friendly, just transcribe a real conversation. That did not work! My transcribed interviews just seemed to lay there like a sack of potatoes. Your editing steps are essential! They’re like the chopping and cooking that turns a heap of words into something wonderful (like french fries). Your article says it best. A conversational tone is deliberate. It’s your choice of a few deft cuts, some heat and some sharp sensory spices that delight eaters – er – readers like me.

February 19, 2019 at 5:35 pm

I read a book a couple of years ago. It was a business book but the author also writes poetry which surprised me because the book didn’t feel like it was written by a poet who appreciates words. There was something lazy about the writing. Later I discovered that he’d dictated the book. Dictating helped him overcome writer’s block. The editing was pretty good so it wasn’t noticeable at first but still it something was slightly “off.” So, yes, as you say, the conversational tone is deliberate and takes some work.

Thank you for stopping by, Joanne!

February 19, 2019 at 3:18 pm

What can I say? Written so nice and concise. Pour me another cuppa!

February 19, 2019 at 5:32 pm

Coffee or tea? 🙂

February 19, 2019 at 1:33 pm

As always, Henneke, a wonderful post. I love the freshness of your post structure. So different to the Google formula of H1 to H10 or whatever.No table of contents or video as is deemed so vital by big bloggers. Thank you for an entertaining post.

February 19, 2019 at 2:19 pm

Thank you for your lovely compliment, Poovanesh. I prefer to put my readers first (and I’ve found that works quite well for Google, too).

February 19, 2019 at 1:30 pm

Nailed it! Your drawings drive the point home perfectly. (And, of course, I ❤️the ?!) ?

February 19, 2019 at 2:18 pm

The dog loves you, too 🙂

February 19, 2019 at 1:22 pm

Very inspiring. Thank you.

February 19, 2019 at 1:26 pm

My pleasure 🙂

February 19, 2019 at 12:51 pm

Brilliant as usual Henneke. Thanks for the salient reminder. I guess you could say: “Don’t be boring!”.

February 19, 2019 at 12:56 pm

Yes, that helps, too. 🙂

Good to “see” you again, Ray!

February 19, 2019 at 12:23 pm

Henneke, you’ve come up with another Classic. It’s on my wall. In front of my desk.

And it’s the first thing I read every day.

And while you at it, thank Kerstin for me.

February 19, 2019 at 12:26 pm

Conversational writing is one of my favorite topics. I was nervous about revisiting the old post but I’m glad I did (and it changed more than I had envisioned). 🙂

Thank you for your comment, Lee, and happy writing!

February 19, 2019 at 11:56 am

I felt like your favourite reader, so you nailed it. And I’m looking forward to drink tea with you one day .. ha ha (but not kidding). Your imagery is so funny e.g. “Send difficult words to the naughty corner and throw a party for simple words.” Ha ha. All the best, Tine

February 19, 2019 at 12:14 pm

One day we’ll drink tea together! 🙂

February 19, 2019 at 11:49 am

Henneke you know your stuff

Thank you, Jacqueline. 🙂

March 21, 2018 at 5:30 pm

I thank you very much and love everything you send me, I love illustration and I will not forget it.

March 23, 2018 at 11:51 am

Thank you, Samar. Happy writing!

February 12, 2018 at 3:28 am

Good Article and explained nicely, what needs to be taken care to make the writing as conversational writing

February 12, 2018 at 9:51 am

I’m glad you enjoyed it, Harish. Happy writing!

September 9, 2017 at 11:38 am

This post is great. The point about short paragraphs is the one that resonates most with me.

I hire a professional writer to write our blog, and at times, I have to go in and break up 6-10 sentence paragraphs. I hate seeing it!

The web and content format is changing so dramatically, nobody wants to read a wall of text these days!

February 16, 2017 at 7:28 pm

This is an excellent article. I’ve just noticed that I use exclamation rather than questions far too much in my writing. Maybe that’s where I’ve been going wrong?

February 16, 2017 at 9:29 pm

Thank you for stopping by, Derek.

April 25, 2016 at 5:08 pm

Just a suggestion: maybe you can add some definite heuristics as well.. such as some effective techniques that have been proven to work.. say for reducing content length, I’d say change from “in order to” to just “to”.. something like that

March 11, 2016 at 3:58 am

Great tips! I’ve just one question: how do you handle clients who insist that conversational writing is not ‘professional’? Had a recent client who insisted, in a snooty curl-in-the-lip manner, that they are a premium brand dealing with professional readers, and so things like contractions, short sentences, using 1st/2nd pov etc. are improper.

Problem is, the style they want would bore even the most stone-hearted tax accountant to tears :-/

I suppose my real question is: Can premium B2B branding still be portrayed through a more humane, conversational writing?

March 14, 2016 at 10:11 pm

Yes, that’s tricky. You still have to respect the brand voice, even if you don’t agree with it. With some clients you can adjust the guidelines for tone of voice, but others are pretty set in their ways.

To me, B2B is also writing for people, and yes, it can be portrayed in a more conversational way of writing, but not all brand managers like that. Of course, depending on who you’re talking to, your language may be more technical as you write using the same terms your audience uses.

January 19, 2016 at 4:51 pm

Hi there! I have always been hesitant to use “you” as it may sound preachy. Everyone I talk to says it’s best to write in 1st person. What do you think?

Also, agree on white space and editing. So much easier to read.

Learning forward!

January 19, 2016 at 5:02 pm

I use “you” a lot in my blog posts, and it doesn’t feel preachy to me 🙂

September 18, 2015 at 1:21 pm

Going through the comments section I realized that I went through a lot of conversational writing. Most of the writers were perhaps not aware of it. Awesome post 🙂

September 18, 2015 at 2:27 pm

September 3, 2015 at 2:44 pm

Thank you Henneke, this post is going to help me begin my blogging journey!

September 6, 2015 at 2:29 pm

Great! Happy blogging!

August 19, 2015 at 5:49 pm

Thank you Henneke, this is a sweet post. I already hankered for more.

August 19, 2015 at 6:56 pm

Thank you, Felix. Nice to meet 🙂

Happy reading!

April 17, 2015 at 1:13 pm

Beautiful tips. I spend half of my day reading your tips… You are seriously to the point and have informative tips. I love it. I write small blogs but with long sentences and I learn a great deal of munching wisdom about how to clean up my writing. I think I will make a few changes in my website. I love your recipes…. 🙂

April 17, 2015 at 1:24 pm

I love your phrase “munching” 🙂

Happy reading and happy writing!

July 14, 2014 at 7:41 am

Yes, thank you for your answer and for the examples!

July 13, 2014 at 7:31 am

Hi Henneke, I totally agree with you on this. But I’ve got a question: I’m working for a Dutch university. One of my tasks is to write texts for the university website. My target audience are prospective students. I would love to change the way we, as a university, talk to our readers. Because, frankly, I think all our copy is totally boring, generic and abstract (“Are you innovative and interested in current issues? Then you should enroll in programme X.”). I can’t seem to persuade my bosses of the need to switch to personalized writing though, because – as they put it – it’s important that as many secondary education pupils as possible should recognize themselves in our texts. And ofcourse its true that people have many different reasons to choose a particular education. So, my question is: is it even possible for organizations with so many different target audiences with such divergent interests to find a personal tone of voice in their writing? And if so, how would you tackle this problem? Thanks in advance for your advice, I really appreciate it!

July 13, 2014 at 2:23 pm

Hi Evelyne – that’s an excellent question and can be a tricky problem when people are stuck in old-fashioned writing.

I’d say the first thing to make sure is that your bosses understand the differences between how people read on the web vs how they read an academic paper or a book. This will help them understand the importance of using white space, short sentences, short paragraphs, and simple words.

When you need to appeal to a wider audience, you want to keep your word choice fairly neutral – you can’t add personality by using slang as not everyone will understand it (unless you do for instance specific case studies to appeal to specific groups of students).

Dropbox and Evernote are good examples of companies who appeal to a wide audience, but sound human in their writing. They do this by simplifying their writing, keeping content concise, and focusing strongly on benefits rather than features.

Does this help?

April 16, 2014 at 2:41 am

Henneke, Just now got here, for some unknown reason, and as I read your post, I realized who I would write to, immediately. When I first began blogging, I followed a lovely young woman who inspired me, totally, with her great posts. I wondered how she did everything she did, and why she bothered to visit my site. Then she was attacked on fb, and decided to take a break. My heart was broken, because I saw her as a sort of bloggy mom. although I was old enough to be HER mom. After reading this post, I realize she is who I should write my posts for, sort of in her memory, although she is very much alive and has another new baby to show for her time off. I can constantly visualize her, as I always have, but never did write for/to her. Also, I have noticed on my other site, that when I write advice letters to people whose names I have changed, but whose situations are real, my posts REALLY resonate with people. That’s just what you are talking about, I think…

April 16, 2014 at 11:29 am

Yep, when you write for one person rather than for a crowd of readers, your writing becomes more “real”. Readers will notice it in your writing voice. And they all feel like you’re writing for them personally.

February 5, 2014 at 8:11 pm

This was a nice post, Henneke. I love this quote.

If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it. ~ Elmore Leonard

I think that in all aspects of our digital communications, we need to be more conversational. If there is no personal feel or touch, then what is the point? On that note, I included your post in my roundup of the month’s best SEO, social media, and content marketing. http://www.northcutt.com/blog/2014/02/january-resource-round-up-the-best-of-seo-social-media-and-content-marketing/

February 5, 2014 at 11:38 pm

Yep, conversational writing works in all digital communication. Thank you for stopping by, Ben, and for including my article in your roundup. Much appreciated 🙂

February 4, 2014 at 3:03 pm

In preparation for launching my own blog I’ve start reading posts like these, and I can’t tell you how much it’s helping. Before doing any research into it all I would be writing in a style that might sit somewhere in between this and sleazy sales person, unintentionally of course.

Maybe I should re-consider the copy on my website as well? (see what I did there? :D)

So, thank you again 🙂

February 4, 2014 at 4:18 pm

You’re a quick learner, Sean 🙂

Good luck with launching your blog!

February 1, 2014 at 1:53 pm

Hello Henneke,

I am a first-time reader, and found your guest post from one of my Facebook groups. I really enjoy your writing style, and I can see where some of my blog posts have fallen flat. Thank you for sharing the “how” of storytelling in such an enchanting manner.

February 1, 2014 at 9:06 pm

Hi Holly, Welcome & thank you for taking the time to comment on your first visit. I appreciate it 🙂 Glad to hear you find my blog posts useful!

January 29, 2014 at 3:30 pm

You are a writer–and a darn good one. And I can picture a Kindle children’s book with those super cute pictures. Now you just need a story and title to go with it! 😉

January 29, 2014 at 4:34 pm

Thank you, Penelope. 🙂

Maybe one day I can write and illustrate a children’s book for grown-ups. 😉

February 20, 2019 at 2:52 pm

Oh, yes. Do! Don’t you think a children’s book on how to become a writer would be great? I can imagine if there’d been such a book when I was enjoying writing assignments the MOST in grade school. Wouldn’t you love to cause a child to have courage and begin far earlier than I did? A MUST!!! 😀

January 29, 2014 at 12:34 am

Ok, Henneke. You are going to have to take on the title of “artist” along with writer. Are you up for that? 😉

Now you’ve got me wondering how many questions I have in my posts. I’m gonna go count ’em now. Thanks for germinating and sprouting all these new ideas in my head!

January 29, 2014 at 9:59 am

An artist?!? Not sure I’m quite ready for that yet. I’ve barely got used to the idea of calling myself a writer. 😉

January 23, 2014 at 6:15 am

Dear Henneke,

It is this time I am grateful. Thank you for your generous contributions over time. You have truly enriched my life with a well-toned understanding of writing a Blog.

January 23, 2014 at 11:47 am

You’re welcome, Joel. Thank you for stopping by 🙂

January 21, 2014 at 10:58 am

Thank you Henneke 🙂

January 17, 2014 at 3:49 am

Once again, awesome post, and so completely relevant!

I really like the idea of writing to one reader. As soon as I’m writing to a crowd, I can’t write at all. But I have this ongoing fear that if I write to one reader…my favorite reader…my ideal reader…I’ll connect with such an infinitesimal group of people.

I want to write about writing and marketing. Marketing with soul, you know. Because I feel like anything done with love, with real authenticity, with the soul, is infinitely better. But I’m finding it difficult to take the leap to even do that myself.

Thanks so much, Melissa

January 17, 2014 at 10:43 am

Yes, I so agree with you about writing with the soul. You’ll find that if you write for one reader it becomes much easier to write with soul and personality.

In a way having an ideal reader is just a “trick” to make your writing more engaging. Don’t worry about connecting just with one reader or a few. When you write for one person, it doesn’t mean that only one person will feel you’re talking with them. Many people will feel you’ve written the post especially for them, because many people are struggling with the same problems and challenges as your ideal reader.

Does that help?

January 18, 2014 at 3:42 am

It’s still a little scary, but your words help a lot! Thanks a bunch.

January 16, 2014 at 1:01 am

Hi again, love your drawings. Please note my website is not operating at the moment. I had to remove the files. So at the moment I am reworking everything. Give me a couple of days and I will get back to normal. You see this is the case with novices, mistakes, mistakes and more mistakes. I hope when I have restored the site it will be better in many ways. Also I hope eventually to start a blog that is why I read as much as I can. Your site I enjoy very much. That drawing has again just ‘pinged’ in my mind, so clean cut very striking. I shall have some of my own art, rather conventional, on my site when it is re-published, you might take some time to view. Thanks again for more interesting material, Tom

January 16, 2014 at 4:54 pm

We all make mistakes, Tom. It’s human 🙂

Good luck with reworking your site!

January 15, 2014 at 9:22 pm

Wow, I feel truly honoured to have inspired this post. It’s fantastic and really great advice as always. I just read all the comments you got for this post – looks like I’m not the only one struggling with this particular point. Happy new year, Henneke, and thank you so much for your great blog. xx

January 15, 2014 at 9:55 pm

Thank you so much for all your great comments last year, Kerstin. You inspire me to keep writing. 🙂

Happy new year to you, too!

January 15, 2014 at 6:39 pm

Thanks for the tips. I use “You” a bit more than I should in my posts, as in “You are loved” opposed to “I love you.” Will work on it:)

January 15, 2014 at 9:54 pm

Great! I hope you enjoyed the cake 😉

Thank you for stopping by, Clara.

January 15, 2014 at 5:18 pm

Great post, Henneke! Love how you flipped the idea of writing like you talk and rather to edit your text so it doesn’t sound like writing. Great way to think of it.

January 15, 2014 at 6:17 pm

Thank you, Jonas. This is really how it works for me. I have to edit out the gobbledygook and undulating sentences to make a text more conversational.

Good to see you here! 🙂

January 15, 2014 at 9:47 am

H. firstly, what a great drawing! You should definitely keep going. Thank you also for giving me permission to use but, because, and at the start of sentences. Whilst I’ve let go of other writing formalities, these have been particularly hard to let go. And sometimes it just feels right to start a sentence this way. Really enjoying reading your posts.

January 15, 2014 at 10:15 am

Thank you so much, Caroline. And good to see you’ve given yourself permission to start a sentence with And . You deserve a big slice of cake. 🙂

Just tell that high school teacher to shut up with his old-fashioned advice 🙂

January 15, 2014 at 12:41 pm

Nomnomnom 🙂

January 15, 2014 at 4:13 am

Hi! I just stumbled upon your work and I’m totally hooked!

I’m a marketer in the Philippines. Like you, English is not my native language, but it’s the language I use to reach customers. (Here English is unofficially the language of business.)

You make me want to go back and improve everything I’ve done in the past. Now I know how to do it. Thank you!

January 15, 2014 at 10:12 am

Welcome, Rhea. It’s so nice to have people from across the world joining the conversation here. I hope you took a big slice of the cake 😉

January 14, 2014 at 9:59 pm

Henneke, I love your illustration . Congratulations! I’m proud of you

January 14, 2014 at 10:16 pm

Thank you, Louie. As one of my most loyal readers you deserve a real slice of cake some time!

January 14, 2014 at 9:58 pm

As part of my New Year’s plan to get a handle on my e-mail in-box I have unsubscribed from most of the e-mail lists I have been on. But, I love receiving your e-mails because I feel exactly the way you describe in your post when I see yours come in. Thanks for your clear, helpful, engaging, and very personalized writing!

January 14, 2014 at 10:14 pm

I feel honored that you’re still allowing my emails in your inbox. Thank you. I’ll do my best to keep rewarding you with a slice of cake each week 🙂

January 14, 2014 at 8:57 pm

Another great post. I’m definitely guilty of not asking enough questions and not focusing enough on the reader.

– Steve

P.S. The cartoon was cute as well

It’s easy to forget the reader – you can’t see him yawning, glancing at his cellphone, or fidgeting in his seat as a sign that you’re rambling on too much. A face-to-face conversation is much easier.

Thank you for stopping by! 🙂

January 14, 2014 at 7:18 pm

Hi Henneke, Excellent article. You do write very conversationally, so you are walking the walk.

I cringe everytime I see an exclamation mark because I feel as if I’m being “screamed at.” And besides, it takes away from prudent use of it!!!! So many !!!! in our lives, it feels like so much noise!

I love the picture of Henrietta & Arthur!!!! (Those are sincere) Mary

January 14, 2014 at 7:41 pm

I once wrote that using more than one exclamation mark – in an email or blog post – is a crime against enchantment. I still believe this is true.

And yes, I do my best to walk the walk. Thank you so much, Mary 🙂

January 14, 2014 at 4:14 pm

Really helpful. Thank you! Learned a lot this week. And I’m particularly motivated as I did a survey of respondents last week and when asked what I could improve, a few of them said my grammar! I couldn’t agree more.

Interesting to read your comment about your native Dutch coming out – my New Zealand comes out too. I try and catch it, because people don’t understand me when I use words like “niggle” (irritate), “puke” (throw up) or “pash (kiss),” but they still occasionally slip through.

This language business is awfully fun. And I love reading your emails each week. Thanks again, Lisa (PS: Have you read “On Writing” by Stephen King? Am reading at the moment, again. Very inspiring.)

January 14, 2014 at 5:21 pm

Yes, language is fun. I sometimes use British words without realizing they’re specific to British-English and others might not get them.

I like the word “niggle” – it’s also used over here. I’m surprised people don’t know the word “puke” – I see it used quite a lot in blog posts. “Pash” sounds nice, but is new to me 🙂

Yes, “On Writing” is one of my faves, too. Have you read “Bird by Bird” by Anne Lamott? That’s inspirational, too.

Good to see you again!

January 14, 2014 at 5:58 pm

Ooh, thanks, I haven’t read that one. Will check it out.

And, yeah I was surprised about those words too. (“Pash” is what a NZ young person might call kissing, more than just a peck. A fun word to use!) Have a great week:)

January 14, 2014 at 3:40 pm

Henneke, I see that asking questions is so important, and I enjoy “talking” to you, answering the questions in your text. I will do it in our next post, thanks for pointing out.

January 14, 2014 at 4:08 pm

Always good to have you around for tea and cake 😉

January 14, 2014 at 3:35 pm

Love this article Henneke! Your drawing is amazing as well. I look forward to seeing more of them 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing your tools and knowledge. I especially found the use of question marks very helpful. Conversational copy is something that *seems* like it should be so easy…but it can be hard to retrain ourselves and unlearn what we’ve learned in school. But, we must adapt, right? 🙂

January 14, 2014 at 3:42 pm

Yes, I think that’s the mistake many people make – conversational copy *seems* easy because it’s so easy to read. But the truth is that it’s damn hard work to eradicate gobbledygook and to make each sentence flow naturally.

Thank you for stopping by, Kristy. I appreciate it! 🙂

January 14, 2014 at 3:32 pm

Hi, Henneke, You write the best emails with great headlines that always make me want to read your posts.

Why don’t you teach a headline class?? Blog post writing class??

I would take it and I’m sure some of your other readers would also! Sue

Hi Sue, thank you so much. Stay tuned – I’m developing a blog writing e-course.

I’m hoping to have an early bird list live before the end of February. 🙂

PS Isn’t it wonderful how two question marks (“??”) indicate a pleasant amount of impatience?

January 14, 2014 at 3:16 pm

I love the idea of adding questions in a blog post to engage the reader even more. Do you think this would apply to product descriptions as well?

January 14, 2014 at 3:17 pm

P.S. Love the illustration!

January 14, 2014 at 3:24 pm

Thank you 🙂

Good to see your (new?) avatar!

January 14, 2014 at 3:23 pm

That’s a good question! You made me think … Most product descriptions might be too short to include questions. Questions might sound unnatural as you don’t have enough time to really start a conversation. But if you write longer product descriptions it can work.

January 14, 2014 at 3:00 pm

A great post. Thank you so much. Loved the *3* essential tools you gave me. I could even ‘hear’ some dialect in your post, eh? Congratulations Henneke!

January 14, 2014 at 3:05 pm

You might be hearing my Dutch accent 😉

I used to be dead-nervous about using “Dutchisms” (phrases inspired by Dutch – my native language) in my blog posts, but I’ve now decided that’s part of my charm.

Thank you, John.

January 14, 2014 at 2:22 pm

H. Passive sentences are some of my challenges. How do you feel about checking your writing via http://www.read-able.com ? Keeps me on my finger tips. sQs Your advocate in Delray Beach FL

January 14, 2014 at 2:36 pm

I haven’t used this particular tool, but I have used the readability stats that Microsoft Word shows (if you tick the right box and do a spelling check). I’ve been a bit sloppier with this recently, but a year ago I would religiously check:

(a) the average number of words per sentence – I would go back to chop up long sentences and tighten my text when my average was over 14 words per sentence

(b) passive sentences – even if I had only 1% of passive sentences, I would try rephrasing the passive sentence. Occasionally I’d be happy to leave a passive sentence.

February 1, 2014 at 1:48 pm

Looks for the word “are” – it is not active. It is sitting on the couch. So are all verbs of “being.” If you catch one, try to change it. Example: “Passive sentences are some of my challenges” is more powerful as, “Passive sentences challenge me.” Whenever you can find the verb form of a noun, use it and remove “is” or “are.” Happy writing!

January 14, 2014 at 12:41 pm

‘Sleazy salesmen use exclamation marks. Good conversationalists use question marks.’ >> That is a world famous quote by Henneke D, did you know that?

January 14, 2014 at 1:20 pm

Somehow it feels like it has taken me a year to write these two sentences. They just clicked into place yesterday. To me they express the essence of good writing.

January 14, 2014 at 1:34 pm

Of effective writing, for sure!

January 14, 2014 at 12:31 pm

Henrietta looks very happy today! :))) Just a question: when you talk about “your favourite reader” why is it a “she”? Is it like boats, planes… and always feminine? Bit confused.

January 14, 2014 at 1:14 pm

I’m not sure who’s happier – Henrietta herself or her dog Arthur? 😉

Your reader can be a “she” or a “he”. It depends on who you like working with most.

January 14, 2014 at 12:12 pm

Truth is… I’m thinking about unsunbscribing from a blog for feeling that they care not for their readers.

The writing is good, so are the ideas — but their emails are nothing but links to the day’s post (ok, not much harm in that), while I see no answers on their blog comments, nor any real interaction on their FB page.

It’s only talk, talk, talk, or rather write-and-post-it, and I even think that even their blog commenters have tailed away lately.

January 14, 2014 at 1:10 pm

Yes, you make an excellent point. Readers can sense it immediately when writers don’t care and when they’re insincere.

January 14, 2014 at 11:59 am

You did it. I’m really waiting for the next slice of your home-made cake. 🙂

January 14, 2014 at 1:03 pm

Thank you, Paul 🙂

Don’t tell anyone, but the truth is that in real life I’m not so good at baking cakes – I prefer cooking a delicious meal!

January 14, 2014 at 11:56 am

Thanks Henneke, another keeper of a blog post. makes a lot of sense. Time for me to head off to the local cafe and write up the first draft of my next newsletter I think… Oh, and really like your illustrations, VERY cute doggie!

January 14, 2014 at 1:00 pm

Yes, that’s a good idea. I’m sure writing in a local cafe can make your content livelier, too!

Thank you for stopping by, Lynne 🙂

January 14, 2014 at 11:31 am

Can’t agree more! This is really good advice. And I love your illustration, Henneke!

January 14, 2014 at 12:56 pm

Thank you, Lucy. The book Leonardo’s Swans sounds interesting!

January 14, 2014 at 10:21 pm

Thank you for the link to the photos, Henneke. I’m feeling super inspired now! Have to do something like this with my paintings.

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Describing and Explaining a Scholarly Conversation

Introduction

Entering into a conversation of any kind can be tricky if you are new to a group of people, topic, or even the tone of the conversation. If you don’t pause and listen to what people are saying for a moment before speaking, you can repeat something someone else has said, come across as speaking in bad faith, or strike up the wrong tone entirely. The same is true for engaging with a conversation within an academic discipline or topic of scholarship. To become a member of their scholarly community and enter the conversation, you may need to spend some time catching up on what people have said before you. While deciding when you have listened or read enough is going vary from topic to topic and assignment to assignment, the research process utilizes many concrete techniques and practices that can help you reach those goals. In this section of readings, you will read about some of those techniques and how they can serve you as a researcher and writer.

Questions and Arguments

Research is often described as a linear process, but it is often anything but. While there are recognizable phases and strategies, in extended research projects you can often find yourself doing certain tasks repeatedly, adjusting the scope of your research, changing your terms, or even discovering a related but functionally new topic that interests you more. In many ways, this makes sense because what we know can teach us what to ask. If you learn a lot about particle physics, for example, you begin to see what we don’t know and what would merit further study. “Listening” to the conversation doesn’t just teach you more about what to say, but also about how to listen even better.

Often our understanding of a topic starts broad and digs down into a particular group of ideas or applications, which is how some broad disciplines like engineering have vastly different subfields that deal with aerodynamics, construction, efficiency, computer software and hardware, chemicals, and many other areas. Our understanding of how manipulate and craft the world around us may have begun with general concerns, but the more we learned about the world, the more specific our questions have become. A computer engineer may spend the majority of their time examining how sound signals are processed and transmitted and may never even examine the particular chemical makeup of a pesticide that targets certain species but is virtually harmless to others, and yet both of those concerns fall under the umbrella of engineering. Similarly a historian who studies ancient Persia may never spend meaningful time considering the cultural impact of TikTok and other social media apps, but both topic could be considered to be part of the humanities or even the social sciences. In a similar way, your understanding of a concept may start off very broad, and so your initial questions about that topic may start equally broad, but as you learn more and gain a deeper understanding of a topic, your questions will change and become far more specific. Your questions will evolve from learning the definitions of terms and concepts to applying those terms to situations to test them out. So while early on in your research, you may have broad questions, if you allow these questions to evolve and change as you learn more and more about a topic, you will find your ability to research the topic improve as you go.

Similarly, when you are looking for a stance or argument to make on a topic for an assignment, you may find this stance evolve as you learn more about a topic. A topic that had initially seemed extremely simple to you at first may grow more and more complex as you delve into the research, which will likely make your argument more specific and granular. Or, alternatively, a topic which seemed hopelessly complicated may become much simpler to you as the true point of controversy becomes clear in the midst of a large and messy conversation. Or your argument may change in a dozen other ways. Regardless, allowing your stance to change along with your questions will not only help you better understand your topic, it will also help you better explain your perspective.

While research can be a tedious process, the goal is not simply to prove you deserve to speak about a topic, but to understand your topic as clearly as you can. By cultivating a deep understanding of a topic, you are better equipped to describe and demonstrate your stance on that topic. If someone is explaining why a business regulation should be stronger but they can’t clearly explain the details of the regulation, it is more difficult to follow the point they are making even if it is a good one. They may be completely right, but having as deep a knowledge about the regulations surrounding this business will help them select the best information to share and focus on the most important points of the conversation. While research can build your credibility as a writer, its greatest power is in how it builds your ability to write in the first place.

Engaging with research can do a lot of things for us as writers, learners, and people. Not only does it allow us to better understand the world around us, it also helps us to better position ourselves within that world and decide what we want to do about it. Not every research project may change your mind in a deep way, but every research project is an opportunity to better understand the world and yourself as a part of that world, and the readings that follow should help provide you with tools to do just that.

Writing Spaces at Oklahoma State University Copyright © 2023 by Dr. Joshua Daniel; Dr. Kathy Essmiller; Mark DiFrusio; Natasha Tinsley; Dr. Josiah Meints; Dr. Courtney Lund O'Neil; Dane Howard; and Roseanna Recchia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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How to Write Dialogue in an Essay: Perfect Writing Guide

Writing essays is a part of every student’s life. The tool that can be useful for all composition genres with no limitations is dialogue. Typically, article writing at school and college is related to informative or argumentative intentions.

Dialogues can be included in reflective or narrative texts and creative assignments, such as screenplays. Likewise, if your paper is more on the argumentative side, you may include a dialogue when transcribing an extract from an interview to reinforce your thesis.

To get the highest mark for your paper, it is crucial to know how to write a dialogue in an essay. Keep reading this article to find out how to add it to your paper, whether for academic, informative, or creative purposes.

Usage of Dialogues in Essays

Over our educational years at school and university, we are taught to compose argumentative, narrative, informative, creative, and expository essays. Writing becomes a skill we need to develop to be successful when composing a report.

Quote, text line, or dialogue represents two or more characters talking, and can turn a dull paper into an easy-going and fun learning experience.

And just like when watching a movie, dialogues will have us more engaged in discovering the ending of the tale. Moreover, you will have a strong thesis for persuasive essay texts by including dialogues in them. How is this accomplished?

Dialogue serves more than just fiction, as we stated earlier. They transform information into a fluid and rhythmic piece of writing, providing data on an actual scenario portrayed as a conversation. This results in a direct and captivating piece that will teach and entertain the reader. That sounds like a win-win situation, right?

How to Format Dialogue in an Essay?

Here you will encounter some of the essential rules in terms of punctuation and formatting that should be followed when writing effective dialogue in your article so that it is read naturally. If you are unsure of your profile essay writing skills, keep reading this page to get accurate and precise information for composing your best paper.

• How to add dialogue in an essay: you can either use double quotation marks to indicate what someone said, or start in a new line using a Dash followed by the actually spoken phrase every time a new character speaks. This demonstrates that dialogue conversations have started.

“Elisa gave me this purse for my birthday.”

—Elisa gave me this purse for my birthday.

—It looks good on you.

—Thank you, I like it a lot.

• If you are quoting already, use single quotation marks to add another quotation within. This is useful when you depict someone describing a certain circumstance that happened to them.

“He was eating lunch next to me when Tom came by and yelled, ‘let’s go outside,’ so we went.”

• Make sure to use closing quotation marks when the character finishes talking. If dashes are used instead, end that person’s speech with a complete stop, showing that a dialogue has ended.

“I took my cat to the Vet last night to get a shot. He is alright now.”

• When a character is quoted, exclamation and question marks should be placed inside the quotation marks. If the exclamation or quotation marks refer to the greater sentence, not the quotation itself, place them outside the quotation marks.

My niece screamed, “let’s play hide and seek!”. What was your reaction when your niece screamed, “let’s play hide and seek”?.

• Do not add a period if the character pauses in the speech; in this case, write the speech, then use a comma to include a remark and add another comma before the last part of said speech.

“I couldn’t finish the presentation tonight,” he said with a tired voice, “I will tomorrow.”

• If a quote is too long, for example, longer than a paragraph in the essay, you can break it into two sections to make it easier to read. Such a situation is frequent when you write a narrative text. This type of assignment is often given to college and high school students. And it’s one of the most difficult tasks. If you need more confidence in your composition writing skills but still want to get a great mark and impress your teacher, we recommend you to buy narrative essays from professional writers. They will definitely know how to deal with complicated quotes. Here you can see an example of how a big direct quote was shortened to create a new paragraph for the text:

“Christmastime at work is very intense, and we work long shifts. Last year, we launched fifteen new products so that they were sold out during Christmastime. Luckily, it was a success. Our most popular items were: a Christmas cookie-scented candle, a new edition of the traditional elf-pet costume, and a unique knife that cuts the turkey easily and evenly.

I tried the candle immediately and loved the scent; my sister dressed her dog and three cats as elves, poor things, but she looked amused, and my mom tried the turkey knife; she genuinely said it was the best she could use to cut the turkey.”

How to Write Dialogue in an Essay?

Knowing how to put dialogue in your essay will allow you to bring out your creative side while mastering the skill of showing rather than telling. If you want to know particular features of  writing a good process essay , read to master how to write a dialogue and search for relevant sentences. Also, you’ll need to craft coherent paragraphs, use speech tags and be aware of the format and punctuation rules when writing dialogue in your paper.

Common Dialogue Mistakes to Avoid

Mistakes are easy to make when we need to learn the rules of correct essay writing, so pay attention to the most common mistakes to avoid delivering an enjoyable and compelling text.

One of the most frequent mistakes students make when they need to learn how to put dialogue in an essay is confusing dialogue with citations. The latter is adequate when directly referencing, word-by-word, other authors to support statements previously made regarding a particular topic. At the same time, dialogues are supposed to deliver information by being creative and motivating the reader to relate to a life situation described in the dialogue.

Citation: also known as direct quotes, is information written by an author and referenced to support a claim.

Dialogue: a speech between two or more characters, often portrayed to captivate the reader, and what is used is only a part of a greater conversation.

Other mistakes to avoid in your text:

• Providing too many details and unnecessary talk can be counterproductive. Keep it simple.
• Repeating information from one word to another. Describe it in your own words or show it through dialogue formatting. This will make the topic more interesting as the teacher will use their imagination. If you need help with how to do it properly, we recommend asking for help from a specialized platform, such as Edusson.com . Here you will find professional writers who will write your article quickly, plagiarism-free papers with high quality, and at a reasonable price.
• Using more dialogue tags than required can distort the readability of the conversation.
• Mentioning the characters’ names often, which only happens in real talk, decreases credibility.
• Incorrect use of opening quotation marks.

Some types of articles would benefit from dialogues to bring more dynamics into them. Check to avoid the mistakes we presented to you, compose creatively, and most importantly, just as dialogue tells a story. It describes a scenery that will make the reader learn through real-life association, so use dialogue when you think it will add value to the text.

Example of Dialogue in an Essay

Here we will give you examples of how to add dialogue to an essay:

Do thorough research on the topic by looking up reliable sources Use an online plagiarism checker to ensure that your paper is unique Explain the purpose of your study, providing supporting arguments, examples, and close by validating the thesis mentioned at the beginning. If the topic you are writing about is rather technical, define the meaning of its relevant vocabulary Teach the reader, do not assume they know everything. Otherwise, they wouldn’t come to read Verify that your composition is cohesive and informative Finally, read both your text and dialogue out loud to check they are coherent and eloquent.

Knowing these dialogue rules, you are ready to write with confidence! Whether you are writing for college, creating a dialogue for fun, or just eager to learn about this topic, you already know the essentials of how to write a dialogue in your essay with the correct format and punctuation rules. Additionally, if you are ever in need of professional help for your writing, you can always opt to pay to write an essay to ensure that you are submitting a well-written, high-quality paper.

Related posts:

• 6 Step Process for Essay Writing
• How to Write a Diagnostic Essay (Without Fail)
• How to Write a Rhetorical Analysis Essay
• Footnotes 101: A Guide to Proper Formatting

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How to Write Dialogue in an Essay

Knowing how to insert source materials into an essay is a central theme of academic writing. Sources can be cited to support your argument, expand it or even to be used to dissect a counter-argument and examine its validity.

This skill is so essential the rules of using quotation marks of when quoting texts are pounded into the student’s head. So much so you know when to quote a textual source and the reason to do so.

One of the areas many students struggle with is when or how they should use dialogue in an essay. A high number of essay writers don’t even know the difference between dialogue and quotes, let alone the correct punctuation surrounding it. The main reason it happens is because a large number of academic subjects focus solely on claim-based essays where dialogue is not used. This article will look at why dialogue can be so effective within a narrative essay and why. The topics discussed will be:

What is dialogue?

When do you use dialogue?

Why use dialogue?

How to write dialogue?

And Where you can find more information on this subject.

Dialogue: A definition

Dialogue is defined as a literary technique that writers use to depict a conversation between two or more people. Dialogue is a device that is employed in all kinds of fiction – movie, plays, books and can even be used in essays. It's important not to confuse dialogue with quotations from an outside source. Dialogue is largely made up to create a more visual, dramatic effect. Whereas direct quotes can be verified through citations.

Quotation marks are used with quoting from source as well as to mark dialogue in an essay but the conventions around the two change. As such, it is important to know the difference between the two.

Here is a small table that documents the main differences.

One of the biggest mistakes an essay writer makes is when they use dialogue as a direct quote. This mistake occurs as we are trained to use speech as direct quotes in claim-based essays. As we are trained to do this in the majority of our subjects, we don't know that we can use crafted narration and create dialogue in narrative essays to give them more weight. Due to this, we do not understand the conventions around its use or why to use it.

Dialogue: When to Use it.

Dialogue is a big part of the movies, television, novels, and plays. It is important to keep in mind that when it comes to essay writing, a dialogue only really appears in one type of essay – the narrative essay.

A narrative essay differs from most kinds of essay writing. Other types of essays often aim to make a claim about something. If we look at an argumentative essay , for example, it makes a claim that one point of view is right. And an expository essay will make claims about how a model or idea works. A narrative essay doesn't make claims like this. It is an essay that is used to relate stories and experience to the reader, and as such, it is much more story like in nature. These experiences include conversations the writer has had with other people.

Presenting conversations you had with friends as dialogue in an argumentative essay or expository piece wouldn’t do much to strengthen your argument and would undermine your creditability. It is better to use direct quotes from the source – even if it is spoken material. Direct quotes will be seen as the conventional norm as these types of essay expect the writer to be objective and scientific in their discussion.

Dialogue: Why do you use dialogue

Narrative essays use dialogue as a device – much like written fiction. They add depth, tension and character development to nonfiction writing. It also helps move the story along. As it is reported speech, you would be unlikely to remember all the details; so, you will have to recreate them from memory – remember to use the words, tones, and emotions that report it in the correct flavor. Readers will trust realistic dialogue that captures the situation.

Dialogue: How to format

This section will demonstrate the correct formatting conventions to use when inserting your dialogue into a narrative essay. This section will look at the correct usage of the quotation marks, and where to put other punctuation marks. This will be looking at the U.S rules of grammar – the formations and convention in other variants of English might differ.

Quotations Marks

There are three main rules that surround the usage of quotation marks:

Double quotation marks are used to signify that a person is using speech.

Example: - When I was young, my father warned me, “Look in both direction before you cross the road.”

Single quotation marks are used to mark quotes in quotes.

Example: - “I remember read Oscar Wilde’s quote ‘I can resist everything except temptation’ and feeling so inspired,” the creative writer coach said.

When dialogue extends across several paragraphs, use quotation marks at the start of each paragraph, but only use the closing quotation make when the speech ends.

Example: - Rupert nodded and said, "Yeah I think you're correct. If we lay the carpet before painting the ceiling, we'll need dust sheets.

But if we do the ceiling before laying the new carpet it should be fine.”

If the quote is at the end of a sentence, always put the full stop inside the quotation marks.

Incorrect: - The bus driver said, “This is your stop”.

Correct: - The bus driver said, “This is your stop.”

Question marks and exclamation should be placed inside the quotation mark if they apply to the person's speech.

Incorrect: - The boy screamed, “Watched out the ceiling is falling”!

Correct: - The boy screamed, “Watched out the ceiling is falling!”

When the quote is simply embedded in a larger sentence that is a question or exclamation the punctuation should be placed outside the speech marks.

Incorrect : -How did you feel when the newscaster said, “JFK had been shot?”

Correct: - How did you feel when the newscaster said, “JFK had been shot”?

If a speech tags fall before the quote use a comma before the quotation marks to separate them.

Incorrect: - My brother said “I’m telling mom that you stole the cookies from the jar.”

Correct: - My brother said, “I’m telling mom that you stole the cookies from the jar.”

If the speech tag comes after the quotation marks, then the coma should be placed in the speech marks

Incorrect: - “Just be back in time for tea” My mum warned me before I went to play.

Correct: - “Just be back in time for tea,” My mum warned me before I went to play.

When a sentence is interrupted with a speech tag, a comma should be placed after the first segment of speech and at the end of the speech tag.

Incorrect: - “No” Karen said wrinkling her nose in disgust “That’s just all kinds of wrong.”

Correct: - “No,” Karen said wrinkling her nose in disgust, “That’s just all kinds of wrong.”

It is important to learn how to use quotation marks and punctuation correctly. These rules act as a convention between reader and writer, and as such, using them will make your work easier to read and understand. Without following these rules, your dialogue might be confusing and messy to the reader, which means it will not convey the message you want it to.

Dialogue: Where to find more resources

Here is a collection of some great links that will aid you in crafting the perfect narrative essay , and making sure you get your dialogue quotation spot on. You’ll be writing an amazing narrative essay in no time at all.

• How to Write a Sociology Essay
• 35 Rogerian Essay Topics
• Descriptive Essay Topics
• How to Write an ApplyTexas Essay
• How to Properly Write a Definition Essay Outline

• Features for Creative Writers
• Features for Work
• Features for Higher Education
• Features for Teachers
• Features for Non-Native Speakers
• Learn Blog Grammar Guide Community Events FAQ
• Grammar Guide

How to Write Dialogue in a Narrative Paragraph

Hayley Milliman

What is Dialogue?

How to write dialogue, how to punctuate your dialogue, periods and commas, question marks and exclamation points, final thoughts.

Dialogue is the written conversational exchange between two or more characters.

Conventional English grammar rules tell us that you should always start a new paragraph when someone speaks in your writing.

“Let’s get the heck out of here right now,” Mary said, turning away from the mayhem.

John looked around the pub. “Maybe you’re right,” he said and followed her towards the door.

Sometimes, though, in the middle of a narrative paragraph, your main character needs to speak.

Mary ducked away from flying fists. The fight at the pub was getting out of control. One man was grabbing bar stools and throwing them at others, and while she watched, another one who you could tell worked out regularly grabbed men by their shirt collars and tossed them out of the way. Almost hit by one flying person, she turned to John and said, “Let’s get the heck out of here right now.”

In my research, I couldn’t find any hard and fast rules that govern how to use dialogue in the middle of a narrative paragraph. It all depends on what style manual your publisher or editorial staff follow.

For example, in the Chicago Manual of Style , putting dialogue in the middle of paragraphs depends on the context. As in the above example, if the dialogue is a natural continuation of the sentences that come before, it can be included in your paragraph. The major caveat is if someone new speaks after that, you start a new paragraph and indent it.

On the other hand, if the dialogue you’re writing departs from the sentences that come before it, you should start a new paragraph and indent the dialogue.

The fight at the pub was getting out of control. One man was grabbing bar stools and throwing them at others, and another one who you could tell worked out regularly grabbed men by their shirt collars and tossed them out of the way.

Punctuation for dialogue stays consistent whether it’s included in your paragraph or set apart as a separate paragraph. We have a great article on how to punctuate your dialogue here: Where Does Punctuation Go in Dialogue?

It’s often a stylistic choice whether to include your dialogue as part of the paragraph. If you want your dialogue to be part of the scene described in preceding sentences, you can include it.

But if you want your dialogue to stand out from the action, start it in the next paragraph.

Dialogue is a fantastic way to bring your readers into the midst of the action. They can picture the main character talking to someone in their mind’s eye, and it gives them a glimpse into how your character interacts with others.

That said, dialogue is hard to punctuate, especially since there are different rules for different punctuation marks—because nothing in English grammar is ever easy, right?

We’re going to try to make this as easy as possible. So we’ll start with the hardest punctuation marks to understand.

For American English, periods and commas always go inside your quotation marks, and commas are used to separate your dialogue tag from the actual dialogue when it comes at the beginning of a sentence or in the middle. Here are a few examples:

Nancy said, “Let’s go to the park today since the weather is so beautiful.”

“Let’s go to the park today since the weather is so beautiful,” she said.

“Let’s go to the park today,” she said, “since the weather is so beautiful.”

British English puts the periods and commas inside the quotation marks if they’re actually part of the quoted words or sentence. Consider the following example:

• She sang “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”, the theme song from The Wizard of Oz.

In the above example, the comma after “Rainbow” is not part of the quoted material and thus belongs outside the quotation marks.

But for most cases when you’re punctuating dialogue, the commas and periods belong inside the quotation marks.

Where these punctuation marks go depends on the meaning of your sentence. If your main character is asking someone a question or exclaiming about something, the punctuation marks belongs inside the quotation marks.

Nancy asked, “Does anyone want to go to the park today?”

Marija said, “That’s fantastic news!”

“Please say you’re still my friend!” Anna said.

“Can we just leave now?” asked Henry.

But if the question mark or exclamation point is for the sentence as a whole instead of just the words inside the quotation marks, they belong outside of the quotes.

Does your physical therapist always say to his patients, “You just need to try harder”?

Do you agree with the saying, “All’s fair in love and war”?

Single Quotation Marks

Only use single quotation marks for quotes within quotes, such as when a character is repeating something someone else has said. Single quotes are never used for any other purpose.

Avery said, “I saw a sign that read ‘Welcome to America’s Greatest City in the Midwest’ when I entered town this morning.”

“I heard Mona say to her mom, ‘You know nothing whatsoever about me,’ ” said Jennifer.

Some experts put a space after the single quote and before the main quotation mark like in the above example to make it easier for the reader to understand.

Here’s a trickier example of single quotation marks, question marks, and ending punctuation, just to mix things up a little.

• Mark said, “I heard her ask her lawyer, ‘Am I free to go?’ after the verdict was read this morning.”

Perfectly clear, right? Let us know some of your trickiest dialogue punctuation situations in the comments below.

Are you prepared to write your novel? Download this free book now:

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So you are ready to write your novel. excellent. but are you prepared the last thing you want when you sit down to write your first draft is to lose momentum., this guide helps you work out your narrative arc, plan out your key plot points, flesh out your characters, and begin to build your world. .

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Hayley is the Head of Education and Community at ProWritingAid. Prior to joining this team, Hayley spent several years as an elementary school teacher and curriculum developer in Memphis, TN. When Hayley isn't hunched over her keyboard, you can find her figure skating at the ice rink or hiking with her dog.

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How to Write a Dialogue in an Essay with Example

This article will reveal all you need to know about how to write a dialogue, types of dialogues in an essay, and formatting . In addition, in this article, you will find several examples of English essay dialogue and dialogue between two characters.

What Is a Dialogue?

The definition of a dialogue is as simple as it gets. Dialogue is a conversation or discussion between two or more people in a book, play, or film. If you are wondering where the surprise part is coming in, here it is: it is not just any conversation. If you include a dialogue in an essay, it has to convey some kind of conflict, emotional tension, a surprising fact, or an interesting turn of events.

Dialogues in essays are not focused on mundane things because mundane things are just not interesting to read about.

There is a range of things NOT to include in your dialogue, such as:

• Throat-clearing sentences – parts of dialogue that do not add to the plot, but simply take space
• Rambling – this is the least relevant and interesting type of dialogue, which your readers are most likely to skip
• Words like “um”, “hm”, “like”, “sorta”, “kinda” – while it is important to speak the language of your readers to engage with them, avoid making them feel like they listen to a discussion between two people on the street.
• Profanities and slang – keep it classy instead of crassy.

  It is surely rare to hear people in real life speaking like characters in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s books, but this doesn’t mean dialogues shouldn’t be refined to sound realistic.

Types of Dialogues

While choosing how to convey the words of characters in an essay for the readers, you have two options: active and passive dialogue . Active dialogue includes quotes and quotation marks, while passive dialogue implies paraphrasing of the quotes and telling them from the narrator.

Examples of these types of dialogue are below:

1 Active dialogue example

Peter asked, “Joanna, can you take kids to your mother tonight?”

“Sure, I will drive them there as soon as they get back home from school,” she replied.

2 Passive dialogue example

Peter asked Joanna whether she would be able to take kids to her mother tonight. Joanna was exhausted by a long ride, however, agreed anyway, taking the chance to avoid the serious talk she needed to have with her husband.

From these short dialogues, we can see that active dialogue allows readers to imagine the situation much better, while passive dialogue can provide more details just by adding extra facts to the narration.

How to Put a Dialogue in an Essay?

The purpose of a dialogue in an essay is to create a more vivid picture for the audience. The functions of a dialogue in an essay include:

• Providing extra information about characters
• Unravel interesting or surprising plot twists and details about the story
• Attract readers’ attention

If your dialogue meets at least one of these criteria, it is a good dialogue to put in an essay. In fact, dialogues can help you tell a lot of information about the story and characters in a relatively short abstract. Adding descriptions of how people say something or why they say it is the key to describing their own behavior.

How to Format a Dialogue

Now let’s move on to the most intriguing part of writing a dialogue – punctuation and formatting . When you stumble upon a dialogue in any narrative essay or text, punctuation might seem to have a lot of different styles, which is confusing.

Of course, common errors in English are still relevant here, but dialogues have evolved their own punctuation rules.

There are three simple steps you need to follow in order to format your dialogue correctly in an essay:

1 In a dialogue, commas, exclamation marks, and question marks are inside the quotation marks:

“How could you do this? Moving a couch across the room isn’t a job for a fourteen-year-old girl!” Diane’s mom yelled in despair. “These macaroons are just exquisite! I would love it if you would give me a recipe,” my aunt asked me. “This movie was so scary that I could barely look at the screen!” her son complained after watching Jaws.

2 Use commas to set off dialogue tags, such as “he said” or “she exclaimed”:

“Enough of this,” he said, “I am absolutely tired of repairing this car! I will rather save up and buy a new one.” “Pepsi has too much sugar in it, this is diabetes in a can,” the grandmother said in a sad voice. “I have been reading The New York Times for years now,”the teacher said. “This newspaper has never disappointed me.”

3 If your quotation is at the end of the sentence, put a period inside the quotation marks as well:

Uncle Joe frowned, scratched his forehead, and finally replied, “I have no idea why my car keys are in the fridge.” He then told her the biggest lie he could ever tell, “I never left the wet towel on the bathroom floor.” Sarah pointed at zebra and asked her father, “Daddy, I have never seen a black and white horse.”

Pay attention to the following: if one person’s speech takes more than one paragraph, use opening quotation marks at the beginning of each paragraph, however, do not use closing marks till the end of the speech .

My new neighbor always seems to be the most enthusiastic to tell me about her perfumes. One day, I asked her, “How did you come to like and wear perfumes?” She replied, “I have always wondered about where perfumes came from. This huge industry has grown from our scent preferences, experience with different smells, and scent associations. Probably, this is connected to our evolution as species, where detecting specific smell would mean choosing safe food. “Until recently, I have never been wearing perfumes myself, but admired them from a distance. Now I have a small collection of fragrances. I have learned a lot about fragrance industry and notes used in perfumery.”

How to Write a Dialogue Between Two Characters

Now that you know all about the purpose of a dialogue in an essay as well as how to write it and use punctuation, learning how to write a dialogue between two characters will be a piece of cake.

The rules you should follow are:

• Give your characters a setting . Just like in movies, mise-en-scene is often as important as the dialogue itself. Set the scene for the dialogue by briefly describing where and when the dialogue takes place. This will help your readers imagine the picture more vividly.
• Keep it realistic . Unless it suits your essay style, there is no need to be smarty pants and write dialogues with words and scientific facts that are hard to understand for an average reader. While writing a dialogue, reread it several times and make sure it doesn’t make you think “nobody talks like that!”
• Let the dialogue flow naturally . Put yourself into your characters’ shoes and imagine how you would react to something being said to you. This is how you will find the way for the dialogue to seem natural and flow seamlessly.
• Don’t overuse it . While dialogue is a great tool for an essay, turning an essay into a play script with only quotes is another mistake you want to avoid.
• Make your characters human . Add details about feelings and emotions into the dialogue, both from the narrator and from the dialogue itself. Let your audience understand the tone and mood of the dialogue.
• Give the dialogue a purpose . By all means, discussion about whether a cake is tasty or not can be passionate, emotional, and tense altogether. However, this is not something to include in a dialogue. Your dialogue should have a purpose in the plot and affect the characters involved in it.
• Make sure to indicate who is who . This might seem like a rookie mistake in writing a dialogue in an essay, however, it happens. Have you ever read a long dialogue where you couldn’t understand anymore who talks? If your dialogue in an essay is longer than 5-6 quotes, make sure to add narrator’s text that will clarify who says those lines.

In a dialogue between two characters, it is easy to do because the readers do not need to remember many names or attributes. To avoid repetitions, use “he” or “she”, or specific features and roles, such as family member name (aunt, uncle, grandmother, nephew, etc.), significant appearance characteristic (blonde girl, tall man, lady in red, etc.), and specific roles people have (student, cashier, sale associate, doctor, nurse, etc.). In case you use any of those, make sure that you mention these attributes earlier in the text to avoid confusion.

Following these tips will help you write a truly meaningful dialogue between two characters and help readers understand additional information about them, their mood, features, preferences, role in the story, and relationships between them.

English Essay Dialogue Example

John finally returned home after a long day at work. It was raining cats and dogs and his raincoat was soaked. He opened the door, entered his apartment, and put his bag on the floor. suddenly , his phone started ringing. John took it out of his pocket and picked up. “Dad, itl burned down… I am so sorry,” he heard his daughter’s sad voice. She was crying. “What are you talking about?! Jen, are you alright?” “Dad, your summer cottage, it burned down to the ground” she was clearly devastated. John asked, “How did this happen?” “Just an accident, dad. You must have left the fire in the fireplace,” Jen replied. At this moment, John sighed with relief, even though his daughter might have thought he was very upset by the loss. She had no clue that her father insured their summer cottage and now the word “accident” meant lining his pocket from insurance money for sure.

So, now you know everything you need to write a dialogue in your essay successfully! Still, I strongly recommend to consider whether you need it at all — even when tutors assign such a creative writing, they are very meticulous in its evaluation. Moreover, pay attention to editing — due to sophisticated punctuation, dialogues are a never-ending source of students’ errors.

Did you know that Homework Lab is a student task sharing platform? You can work on tasks on your own or ask professional Geeks for help. Join anytime, anywhere for free.

If you have any questions about dialogues unanswered, please share your comment — I will get back and resolve any issues you have 😎.

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Introduction to College Writing

Essays as conversation.

Think of an essay as participating in a conversation, in which you offer your ideas and provide details to explain those ideas to others. Writers do not make their claims in an enormous blank room where no one else is and nothing else has ever happened. Writers make their claims in the real world where people with other opinions, values, beliefs, and experiences live. To make a claim is to enter into a conversation with these people. The rhetorician Kenneth Burke once famously described this as a parlor or a party to which you have come late to find out that people are already in heated discussions about a topic. Everyone has been in these kinds of arguments.

For example, you arrive somewhere to meet two friends and discover that they are discussing where to go to dinner or what movie to see. Each friend presents his or her argument, setting out evidence for why this restaurant or movie is a good choice, and each friend pokes holes in the other person’s argument, pointing out why you would not enjoy that restaurant or movie. You are expected to take a role in this discussion. Maybe you take a stand with one friend over the other or maybe you try to reach a compromise and propose a third restaurant or movie that everyone could accept. This can lead to even further discussion.

This discussion between three friends is somewhat like Burke’s idea of the parlor but there are differences. Eventually the conversation between the three friends will reach an end: they will go to dinner or a movie, perhaps, or they will all go home. Everyone entered into the conversation, made his or her claims, responded to other people, and went on with his or her life. their lives. Burke, however, was talking about the conversations and arguments that take place in the larger culture and the world as a whole. Those are the larger conversations you’ll participate in as you deal with issues in psychology, business management, literature, history…whatever your specific academic focus is in whatever college course you are taking at the moment. Essay writing is one way of participating in that conversation.

Remember that college essay assignments often expect you to delve deeply into an issue, analyzing its various sides in order to come to your own conclusions, based on your observations, insights, and appropriate research.  As you develop your own conclusions, you’ll have interesting ideas to offer in conversation.

Although the following video references graduate-level students, the same concepts hold true for undergraduate college writing, in which you’ll start learning how to join a conversation.

• Essays as Conversation. Revision and adaptation of the page Writing Commons: Michael Charlton's Understanding How Conversations Change Over Time at https://learn.saylor.org/mod/page/view.php?id=6695. Authored by : Susan Oaks. Provided by : Empire State College, SUNY OER Services. Project : College Writing. License : CC BY-NC: Attribution-NonCommercial
• Writing Commons: Michael Charlton's Understanding How Conversations Change Over Time. Authored by : Michael Charlton. Provided by : Saylor Academy. Located at : https://learn.saylor.org/mod/page/view.php?id=6695 . Project : ENGL001: English Composition I. License : Other . License Terms : Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license
• image of three friends in conversation. Authored by : rawpixel. Provided by : Pixabay. Located at : https://pixabay.com/en/adult-group-meeting-man-table-3365364/ . License : CC0: No Rights Reserved
• video An introduction to academic writing and research. Provided by : University of Roehampton. Located at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kItASt4DjXA . License : Other . License Terms : Standard YouTube License

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Extracurriculars.

10 Stellar Princeton University Essay Examples

What’s covered:.

• Essays 1-2: Why This Major
• Essay 3: Extracurricular
• Essay 4: Difficult Topic
• Essays 5-7: Civic Engagement
• Essays 8-10: Quotation and Values
• Where to Get Your Essay Edited for Free

Princeton University is consistently ranked within the top three colleges in the nation, and is world-renowned for its quality of education. Admissions is extremely selective, with an acceptance rate dropping lower every year. Since most applicants will have a strong academic profile, writing interesting and engaging essays is essential to standing out. 

In this post, we’ll share Princeton essay examples that real students have submitted to give you a better idea of what makes a strong essay. We will also explain what each essay did well and where they could improve.

Please note: Looking at examples of real essays students have submitted to colleges can be very beneficial to get inspiration for your essays. You should never copy or plagiarize from these examples when writing your own essays. Colleges can tell when an essay isn’t genuine and will not view students favorably if they plagiarized. 

Read our Princeton essay breakdown to get a comprehensive overview of this year’s supplemental prompts. 

Essay Example #1: Why This Major

Prompt: If you are interested in pursuing a B.S.E. (Bachelor of Science in Engineering) degree, please write a 300-500 word essay describing why you are interested in studying engineering, any experiences in or exposure to engineering you have had, and how you think the programs in engineering offered at Princeton suit your particular interests. (300-500 words)

In 7th grade, I was assigned a research project. Although I didn’t know it at the time, this project would end up sparking an interest which would guide me throughout the rest of my public school career. The project was simple: using Google and other resources, I had to find a potential career I’d be interested in pursuing later in life. Being a naive 7th grader, I had virtually no idea where to start. I knew I had a strong preference for STEM, but as to which area of STEM to pursue, I was clueless. After looking at a myriad of other careers, I finally came across aerospace engineering. 

At first, I was intrigued by the name. I remember thinking that it sounded awesome, and I was compelled to learn more. Fast forward a few days and many hours of research, and aerospace engineering stole my heart. When I got to high school, I took all of the classes my school offered that would be beneficial for an aerospace engineer. AP Physics, Multivariable Calculus, PLTW engineering courses, and countless others made the list, and all the while my desire to become an aerospace engineer intensified. I joined numerous STEM clubs to nurture this interest, and in doing so I not only became a better engineer, but also a better person. I also began looking into outstanding aerospace colleges, and Princeton made the very top of my list.

When I look back on it now, I’m not surprised that aerospace engineering is what called to me in that project. In fact, I’ve been fascinated with planes and rockets since a very young age! I would often build models out of LEGOs, and there are numerous times I spent way too many hours playing Kerbal Space Program. When I discovered there was a career dedicated to those parts of my personality, it makes sense that I’d be drawn to it. I find it fascinating that just by using the arsenals of math and science, we can fabricate every tool needed to explore and catalog the cosmos. If that isn’t powerful, I don’t know what is.

Although aerospace engineering has been my main interest throughout high school, I’ve also felt a pull towards mechanical engineering and robotics. Princeton is unique in that it offers a joint major in mechanical AND aerospace engineering, which is something I haven’t seen at any other school. In addition, Princeton’s certificate program in Robotics and Intelligent Systems will allow me to pursue robotics in the context of aerospace engineering. In particular, if I am admitted to Princeton University, I would love to have the opportunity to conduct research in the Intelligent Robot Motion Lab. The IRoM-Lab’s focus on how robots function in complex environments safely and efficiently has me especially excited, and I’ve come up with a few ideas of my own to be pursued. 

Engineering is the driving force behind progress in society, and I am willing to do everything I can to contribute to that progress.

What the Essay Did Well

This essay does a nice job of covering each aspect of the prompt. We learn why this student wants to study aerospace engineering, what steps they have taken to explore their interest in the subject, and how they will expand on their passion at Princeton. It’s important to make sure you touch on every part of the prompt, so going through each paragraph and finding where you address each question is a nice way to check when you are editing.

Another positive aspect of this essay is the open and conversational tone. It feels like the reader is having a casual discussion with this student about where their love for engineering came from and where they hope to go with it. Using phrases like “ f ast forward a few days, ” “ in fact, ” and “ awesome ” grounds the essay by being more informal. Although you’ve been told in school informality is a bad thing, in college essays it allows you to be more open and comfortable with the admissions officers reading your work and makes you seem more like a person, and less like an application.

Finally, this student did a good job of picking something about Princeton’s engineering program that is unique . Many students reference opportunities at a school that are widely available at other colleges as well, for example an aerospace engineering club. However, this student was very clear about why they are so attracted to Princeton’s program: “ Princeton is unique in that it offers a joint major in mechanical AND aerospace engineering, which is something I haven’t seen at any other school. ” This tells us that finding a joint program is something very important to this student and that they are applying to Princeton for more than the name and recognition—they genuinely value the unique offerings this school has!

What Could Be Improved

One thing this essay could work on is showing, not telling. They tell the reader “ aerospace engineering stole my heart ,” that joining STEM clubs made them a “ better engineer, but also a better person, ” and that they have “ felt a pull towards mechanical engineering and robotics, ” just to name a few.

What we don’t know is what about aerospace engineering stole their heart; was there a particular topic, a movie they watched, or some new revelation they had from studying it? What we don’t know is how they became a better person by joining STEM clubs; did they engineer a useful tool that became implemented in their school or community? What we don’t know is what about mechanical engineering and robotics excites them; was there a specific experience that influenced them or do certain emotions overtake them when they construct a robot.

If the essay used more active language and relied more heavily on placing the reader in stories, rather than recounting their takeaways from 17 years of experience, we would have answers to those questions posed above. It can sometimes feel like you need to summarize your life experiences to make everything fit in a college essay, but we promise that if you take the time to focus on individual anecdotes and the impact they had on you, your reader will take away so much more than if you gave them a rushed summary.

Table of contents

Essay Example #2: Why This Major

Prompt: As a research institution that also prides itself on its liberal arts curriculum, Princeton allows students to explore areas across the humanities and the arts, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. What academic areas most pique your curiosity, and how do the programs offered at Princeton suit your interests? (Please respond in 250 words or fewer)

The twang of the strings as the delicately strung horsehair bow grazes the steel strings, the enraptured sensation of my hand cramping as I write, and the feeling of connection as my hands dig deep into the damp earth as I nurture my plants. As an academic and most importantly a teen my interests are bilateral. My need for stimulation and innate inquisitive nature are reflected in my academic interests as well.  

As I learned about the intricacies of cell biology and genetics I was enthralled. My love for understanding how the world and humans work from a scientific lens stem from my love for humanity. When I learned about CAS 9 CRISPR and the future of science I felt I had stumbled onto my passion. Furthermore, familiarizing myself with scientific ethicality, I knew this field was for me.  

Princeton recognizes the importance of academics, and the humanities as do I. At Princeton I will take “Scientific Integrity in the Practice of Molecular Biology” where I will explore the conflict between innovation and morality. I can see myself appreciating the wonderful art around Princeton’s campus as I walk to my classes. I look forward to the exchange of knowledge at Princeternship where I will be able to spend time with well-versed individuals to further my knowledge.  

Princeton’s acknowledgment of the arts and humanities align with mine and I am sure yearning for the arts will grow alongside my intellect; gaining enough knowledge to potentially change the world with CRISPR.  

There are three important things that all students should do in their “Why This Major?” Essay : share how their academic interest developed, describe their reasoning and goals, and explain their school choice. While this student’s presentation needs improvement, they at least attempt to meet each of these requirements.

One good thing that this student does (that many students forget) is referencing the specific resources at Princeton — the class “Scientific Integrity in the Practice of Molecular Biology” and the resource of Princeternships. 

What Could Be Improved 

While this student attempts to satisfy the three requirements of a “Why This Major?” Essay , they have room to improve.

The first requirement is sharing how your academic interest developed. This student writes:

As I learned about the intricacies of cell biology and genetics I was enthralled. My love for understanding how the world and humans work from a scientific lens stem from my love for humanity. When I learned about CAS 9 CRISPR and the future of science I felt I had stumbled onto my passion. Furthermore, familiarizing myself with scientific ethicality, I knew this field was for me.

This would be more compelling if it was anchored by a story or anecdote. For example, they could begin with:

“You know how the Sorcerer’s Stone was awesome, but became super dangerous in the wrong hands?” I looked around and everyone was on the edge of their seats. “That’s CRISPR.”

I first learned about the revolutionary genome technology in my AP Biology class, and I must admit, I didn’t get it. Mrs. Gertry said it was powerful, but she didn’t say how. To make matters worse, when I stayed after class to ask how, she said “Honestly kid, I don’t fully get it myself. I just know the experts say that we are on a precipice of DNA advancement, and that’s exciting.”

Since that day, my excitement has steadily developed. It develops as I read The Scientific American blog under the covers each night. It develops as I walk to the UCLA research lab on Friday afternoons. And it will continue to develop until one day I become the expert that Mrs. Gertry told me about. 

Relatedly, the current start to this essay — “The twang of the strings as the delicately strung horsehair bow grazes the steel strings, the enraptured sensation of my hand cramping as I write, and the feeling of connection as my hands dig deep into the damp earth as I nurture my plants” — is confusing, grammatically incorrect, and does not advance the student’s response to the question they are asked. This paragraph should be cut altogether.

The second requirement is describing your reasoning and goals. This student tells us that they want to “change the world with CRISPR.” Though this is more specific than simply changing the world, it is not specific enough. The student should outline more specific, tangible goals like:

• Advancing treatment techniques for neurodegenerative patients
• Improving early identification of viruses like COVID-19
• Creating CRISPR-modified foods that are better for the human body and the environment
• Developing an economically-viable procedure for biodiesel production

The third requirement is explaining your school choice. While this student references a few Princeton-specific resources, they also write “Princeton recognizes the importance of academics, and the humanities as do I” and “I can see myself appreciating the wonderful art around Princeton’s campus as I walk to my classes.” Every college is interested in academics and humanities and every college has art on campus. These superfluous comments take words away from topics that need more exploration.

Finally, this essay could use editing. Grammatical errors interrupt the flow and confuse the reader. For example, the first sentence we read is not actually a sentence, but rather a series of clauses, and there are multiple instances where the student is missing offsetting commas.

To avoid this issue, have friends, family, teachers, and peers read your essays before submitting them to your top schools. Spelling and grammar errors can make a student seem unmotivated, which is the last thing you want in college admissions.

Essay Example #3: Extracurricular Essay

Prompt: Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences that was particularly meaningful to you. (150 words)

Soft melodies float in the air, feathery sounds of consonance and dissonance create a cloud of harmonies I fall into each night. Born into a family of musicians, I began practicing the piano at four years old. Thirteen years later, I still look forward to sitting at the piano day after day, embarking on adventures to transform a monochrome score into a piece of art with color and dimension. 

Although I relish the thrill of piano competitions and performances, the intellectual challenge that accompanies learning a piano piece in its entirety is an unmatchable experience. In light of the multitasking that musicians must master, the piano has first taught me discipline, that creating anything meaningful requires practice, patience, and persistence. But in the end, the many hours, days, and weeks practicing the piano are rewarded when I can share an emotional experience with others not by speaking, but through the movement of hands that make a piece come alive. 

This essay starts on a euphoric high point, placing the student and reader in the midst of music all around them. The use of delicate diction like “ soft melodies ” and “ feathery sounds ” creates a sense of beauty and comfort, conveying this student’s attraction towards the piano without explicitly stating it. The student continues to use their mastery of language to make the essay come alive with phrase, “ transform a monochrome score into a piece of art with color and dimension.”

Another positive aspect of this essay is how the student includes the effect playing piano has on them. Admissions officers aren’t just asking this question to get a longer summary of your extracurriculars than the 100 characters in your activities section; they want to see your personal reflection on the meaning this activity has to you. How have you grown? How has this shaped your personality? What is your emotional response to participating in this activity?

This essay touches upon those ideas to bring more depth and color to their essay. This lends to a nice structural separation of the two ideas. In the first paragraph, we see the physical aspect of playing the piano and understand the sounds of it. The essay shifts from physical to emotional description in the second paragraph by detailing the practice and discipline they have developed through their years of playing. Having this clear contrast makes it easier to focus on each idea on its own, so when the reader finishes the essay, we can appreciate the activity for both of its components.

The second paragraph could use a more emotional backbone. The student tells us about how practicing piano taught them skills like discipline and how they enjoy sharing an “ emotional experience with others ” by playing. Other than that, the rest of the second paragraph doesn’t convey anything new about the student and their emotional relationship to the piano. A more impactful paragraph might look like this:

“ Words get lost on my tongue but my music, the melodic crescendos of those black and white keys, fills the silence. When sitting on that stool, practicing and perfecting for hours on end, I replay the warm smiles, the tear-streaked cheeks, and the shaky breaths I coax from my audience, connecting us in a way no conversation ever has. Those images have instilled more discipline in me than a drill  sergeant’s whistle. Repeating the same three bars, I see my mom’s face as she hears my rendition of Clair de la Lune. Stretching my fingers to reach an octave, I hear my friends’ clapping as I finish Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata. I can’t count the hours I’ve spent alone with my piano. All I know is it’s worth every second when I get to play for others.”

This paragraph reveals the same two central tenets but brings infinitely more emotional impact. One of the ways it is able to do this is by showing, not telling. If this student had shown what it looks like to connect with others and practice endlessly, the essay would have revealed much more about the student and been more engaging to read.

Essay Example #4: Difficult Topic

Prompt: At Princeton, we value diverse perspectives and the ability to have respectful dialogue about difficult issues. Share a time when you had a conversation with a person or a group of people about a difficult topic. What insight did you gain, and how would you incorporate that knowledge into your thinking in the future? (350 words)

Superhero cinema is an oligopoly consisting of two prominent, towering brands: Marvel and DC. I’m a religious supporter of Marvel, but last year, I discovered my friend, Tom, was a DC fan. After a 20-minute vociferous quarrel about which was better, we decided to allocate one day to assemble coherent arguments and have a professional debate.

One week later, we both brought pages of notes, evidence cards, and I had my Iron-Man bobblehead for moral support. Our moderator – a Disney fan – sat in the middle with a stopwatch – open-policy style. I began the debate by discussing how Marvel accentuated the humanity of the storyline – such as Tony Stark’s transformation from an egotistical billionaire to a compassionate father – which drew in a broader audience because more people resonated with certain aspects of the characters. Tom rebutted this by capitalizing on how Deadpool was a duplicate of Deathstroke, Vision copied Red Tornado, and DC sold more comics than Marvel. 

40 minutes later, we reached an impasse. We were out of cards, and we both made excellent points, so our moderator failed to declare a winner. Difficult conversations aren’t necessarily always the ones that make political headlines. Instead, a difficult discussion involves any topic with which we share an emotional connection. Over the years, I became so emotionally invested in Marvel that my mind erected an impenetrable shield, blocking out all other possibilities. Even today, we haven’t decided which franchise was better, but I realized that I was undermining DC for no reason apart from ignorance. 

The inevitability of diversity suggests that it is our responsibility to understand the other person and what they believe. We may not always experience a change in opinions, but we can grant ourselves the opportunity to expand our global perspective. At Princeton, I will continue this adventure to increase my awareness as a superhero aficionado, activist, and student by engaging in conversations that require me to think beyond what I believe and viewing the world from others’ perspectives. 

And yes, Tom is still my friend. 

Diversity doesn’t always have to be about culture or heritage; diversity exists all around us, even in comics. The genius of this essay lies in the way the student flipped the traditional diversity prompt on its head and instead discussed their diverse perspective on a topic they are passionate about. If you don’t have a cultural connection you are compelled to write about, this is a clever approach to a diversity prompt—if it is handled appropriately.

While this student has a non-traditional topic, they still present it in a way that pays respect to the key aspects of a diversity essay: depicting their perspective and recognizing the importance of diverse views. Just as someone who is writing about a culture that is possibly unfamiliar to the reader, the student describes what makes Marvel and DC unique and important to them and their friend. They also expand on how a lack of diversity in superhero consumption led to them feeling ignorant and now makes them appreciate the need for diversity in all aspects of their life.

This student is unapologetically themselves in this essay which is ultimately why this unorthodox topic is able to work. They committed to their passion for Marvel by sharing analytical takes on characters and demonstrating how the franchise was so important to their identity it momentarily threatened a friendship. The inclusion of humor through their personal voice—referring to the argument as a professional debate and telling us the friendship lived on—contributes to the essay feeling deeply personal.

Choosing a nonconventional topic for a diversity essay requires extra care and attention to ensure you are still addressing the core of the prompt, but if you accomplish it successfully, it makes for an incredibly memorable essay that could easily set you apart!

While this is a great essay as is, the idea of diversity could have been addressed a little bit earlier in the piece to make it absolutely clear the student is writing about their diverse perspective. They position Marvel and DC as two behemoths in the superhero movie industry, but in the event their reader is unfamiliar with these two brands, there is little elaboration on the cultural impact each has on its fans. 

To this student, Marvel is more than just a movie franchise; it’s a crucial part of their identity, just as someone’s race or religion might be. In order for the reader to fully understand the weight of their perspective, there should be further elaboration, towards the beginning, on how important Marvel is to this student. Maybe they found parallels between a struggle they were going through and a character, maybe seeing Marvel movies was a bonding activity with their father, or perhaps the escapism brings them a peace they can’t find anywhere else. Letting the reader in on whatever the reason is would bring more weight to the story.

Essay Example #5: Civic Engagement

Prompt: Princeton has a longstanding commitment to service and civic engagement. Tell us how your story intersects (or will intersect) with these ideals. (250 words)

Many students had no choice but to engage in online learning during the pandemic. However, due to the nature of digital learning, many students have faced a gap in education that may take years to remedy. I am passionate about the importance of education. Everyone should have access to quality education regardless of race, zip code, or socioeconomic status. The cold facts are that while some students have access to resources that might lessen the effects of online learning, many do not. Through no fault of their own, students are held back from achieving their full potential. To help close this learning gap, my peers and I offered free tutoring during the pandemic. I taught math and reading to elementary and middle school students, concentrating on the African American community. From this experience, I was exposed to the deficiencies of the public school system and the consequent impact on its students. Nevertheless, I genuinely enjoyed my experience instructing those children. Their warm spirit, limitless energy, and ready minds are all characteristics that I wish to emulate. Due to my experience, I never take my education for granted and am forever grateful for the future it has helped me build. I hope I can work on the public education system and make it more accessible and profitable for the children it is supposed to serve and further give back to the community. 

Essays with lower word counts require students to be focused in their answers. This student does a great job of choosing a specific issue — education access — and sticking to it. While they reference the intersections of race/education and wealth/education (which are important!) they do not get sidetracked from their overall focus. 

They also provide evidence of their interest in education by mentioning their free tutoring initiative. This is important. Admissions officers read lots of essays where students claim interest in issues but do nothing to improve them. This student puts their money where their mouth is. 

The main issue with this essay is that the writing style and structure are not engaging or personal. 

For example, while you may not have space for a “hook” or introduction in a shorter response, your first sentences must draw the reader in. This student begins with stilted sentences that tell us nothing about them — neither their life experiences nor their personality. The first personal sentence that the student writes is “I am passionate about the importance of education,” which comes too late and is not written with personality.

Structurally, for a short Political/Global Issues Essay , we recommend that students focus on their personal connection to an issue rather than the issue itself. This student primarily discusses their issue — education access —, and when they do mention their own experiences, they fall into the unfortunate trap of telling instead of showing. 

To remedy this, the student should pick an anecdote that shows their personal connection to education, then use it as an avenue for communicating their values to admissions officers.

This student’s anecdote could be:

• Their experience with online learning during the pandemic
• How they started their free tutoring program
• A specific moment with a specific student while they were tutoring
• Forecasting a moment in the future when they are continuing to prioritize education access

Essay Example #6: Civic Engagement

When I began my internship in my state’s Division of Human Rights, some family members scoffed upon hearing the nature of certain cases I dissected. To them, it was a malapportionment of time to heed race-based workplace discrimination when genocides were ongoing. To them, these government institutions reflected the weakness of modern western culture. Despite this deterrence, I stayed confident that preventing severe human rights violations begins with taking more minor instances seriously.       

Exercising my critical thinking while putting justice into action was fulfilling regardless of a complaint’s validity — I dealt with companies firing employees upon discovering their illness diagnoses. I helped interview a woman claiming language harassment as an English speaker in a majority-Hispanic workplace. I accounted for factors such as respondents having attorneys (unlike complainants) when recommending determinations in the face of contradicting claims. I wasn’t discouraged when the same man called the office for the 10th time that day, shouting his demand that we process his case immediately.       

Bureaucracy can cause waste, yet when I compare human rights protections in the Middle East and the United States, I realize that upholding ethics through the law is necessary for many sectors. The same elements that slow the processing of cases safeguard moral consistency, allowing genuine complaints to be separated from frivolous ones. When “insignificant” discrimination slips through the cracks, more severe violations ensue. At Princeton, I’d extend my work in regional human rights to a global scale, building a safer future for vulnerable populations in the Arab world.

This essay engages a simple yet effective structure. Within 12 words, the prompt has been answered. How has the student shown vivid engagement? Through their internship in their state’s Division of Human Rights.

But they don’t stop there. They humanize their experience accepting the internship by describing the backlash they received from their family. They help us understand the nature of their work by describing the people they interact with. And they forecast what their civic engagement will look like at Princeton. This structure is pulled off beautifully. 

Additionally, the student’s moments of reflection do a great job of showing admissions officers their positive qualities:

• THEY ARE THOUGHTFUL — This is seen as they recognize the importance of cumulative effects over time in the sentence “When “insignificant” discrimination slips through the cracks, more severe violations ensue.”
• THEY ARE STRONG-WILLED — They do not let their family’s opinions shake their values and beliefs. They are invested in the cause of human rights, no matter the consequences in their personal life.
• THEY ARE MATURE — They acknowledge that positives and negatives can exist at the same time, a mature concept. This is specifically seen in the sentence “The same elements that slow the processing of cases safeguard moral consistency, allowing genuine complaints to be separated from frivolous ones.” 
• THEY ARE MOTIVATED — This student has taken on an intense job at a very young age. They are a hard worker, motivated, and willing to go above and beyond.

In a short essay, it is important to cut the fat. Every word should be intentional and any phrases that do not contribute to the essay should be cut. The main issue with this essay is that the student keeps a lot of fat.

For example, the sentence “Exercising my critical thinking while putting justice into action was fulfilling regardless of a complaint’s validity” can become “Exercising my critical thinking was fulfilling, regardless of a complaint’s validity.” The tighter version does not change the meaning of the sentence and helps the essay flow better.

The student also writes “when I compare human rights protections in the Middle East and the United States, I realize that upholding ethics through the law is necessary for many sectors .” The phrase “through the law” is fluff and the lack of precision about “many sectors” detracts from what the student is trying to say. 

Read each sentence you write individually and make sure it makes perfect sense. Make sure it is clear, tight, and does not require extensive mental acrobatics to understand. 

Secondly, while this student makes the wise decision to forecast their future, their forecasting should be more specific. They write “At Princeton, I’d extend my work in regional human rights to a global scale, building a safer future for vulnerable populations in the Arab world.”

Specific examples would make this forecasting more effective. This could look like:

At Princeton, I plan to continue my human rights work through PAJ organizations. As a vocal member of the Princeton Students for Immigration Empowerment, I will use my administrative skills and legal knowledge to help students acquire visas, housing, and support as quickly and easily as possible.

Essay Example #7: Civic Engagement

Since childhood, I have observed the adults of my life giving up their ideals due to financial struggle. My lawyer mother’s dream of justice was disrupted by the corrupt legal system revolving around bribery. My father’s architectural aspiration collapsed after his company’s bankruptcy. They wanted to contribute positively in society: my mother to protect the righteousness and fairness of the laws, and my father to creatively beautify the world surrounding him. Due to the constant pressure of satisfying the basic needs and the appeal of luxuries, they failed. They were not the only ones as illustrated by politicians whose words promise the people security yet their actions submit to corporations’ contributions. Thus, growing up, I chose to pursue money. Though it sounds like a disingenuous excuse for my own greed, I believe that studying finance and economics can exert positive changes on society because these disciplines are interwoven with industries and the well-being of individuals. Interning with a local financial service firm showed me the importance of financial security, which could produce a significant difference in more community involvement, philanthropy, and personal happiness, even among a small community. Whether it is improving financial literacy locally or addressing the wealth gap nationally, an understanding of money and its effects are necessary for meaningful changes to happen. Everyone seeks to solve world hunger, gender inequality, or climate change. Yet to each of these social problems exists an economic perspective that drives its entire operation to which I am committed to target.

One of the most important parts of writing a Political/Global Issues Essay , or a Civic Engagement Essay, is picking an issue close to your life. This student structures their essay around their family history, which helps the essay feel relatable.

The student humanizes themself by approaching their family history with vulnerability. They write about painful subjects — dreams being broken and hopes being let down — honestly, admitting that their parents were motivated by a desire for luxury and by corporate incentives. 

This student’s maturity also transfers to a larger scale. They have identified that capitalism rules the world at a very young age and are committed to working within the system with the ultimate goal of advancing service and philanthropy.

Though this may be a polarizing approach to capitalism, the student addresses it in a non-polarizing way. They position their desire to work in finance as motivated by the greater good. Lots of young people don’t have complex opinions on politics and the economy so, at the very least, this student showed that they have thought about the confines of capitalism and have an opinion.

A few changes could make this essay less confusing.

One simple but important change would be adding a paragraph break to separate the student’s discussion of their family history and their discussion of their life plans. This would help the essay flow better.

The break would occur before “Though it sounds like a disingenuous…” and would turn the preceding sentence — “Thus, growing up, I chose to pursue money” — into a transitional sentence, smoothly carrying us from the student’s childhood to their present life.

Second, as the student discusses their family history, they could more clearly communicate the facts of the story. For example, after reading the sentence “My lawyer mother’s dream of justice was disrupted by the corrupt legal system revolving around bribery,” we can’t tell if the writer’s mother was implicated in a scandal, if someone attempted to bribe her, or if she was disillusioned when she saw the success of a bribe. With tighter writing, we would have fewer questions.

Additionally, if we knew the details of the parents’ stories, the summarizing sentence “Due to the constant pressure of satisfying the basic needs and the appeal of luxuries, they failed” would be more effective. 

Lastly, because the connection between this student’s essay and civic engagement is looser than we’ve seen in other examples, it would benefit them to emphasize “civic engagement” at the end of the essay.

The student writes:

Whether it is improving financial literacy locally or addressing the wealth gap nationally, an understanding of money and its effects are necessary for meaningful changes to happen. Everyone seeks to solve world hunger, gender inequality, or climate change. Yet to each of these social problems exists an economic perspective that drives its entire operation to which I am committed to target. 

Instead, they could write:

While everyone seeks to solve world hunger, gender inequality, and climate change, most people fail to recognize that understanding money must come first. For civic engagement to be effective, it has to be financially informed. 

Essay Example #8: Quotation and Values

Prompt: Using a favorite quotation from an essay or book you have read in the last three years as a starting point, tell us about an event or experience that helped you define one of your values or changed how you approach the world. Please write the quotation, title and author at the beginning of your essay. (250-650 words)

“I will be the gladdest thing under the sun! I will touch a hundred flowers and not pick one.” – Edna St. Vincent Millay, “Afternoon on a Hill” (Renascence and Other Poems, 1917) 

My teenage rebellion started at age twelve. Though not yet technically a teenager, I dedicated myself to the cause: I wore tee shirts with bands on them that made my parents cringe, shopped exclusively at stores with eyebrow- pierced employees, and met every comforting idea the world offered me with hostility. Darkness was in my soul! Happiness was a construct meant for sheep! Optimism was for fools! My cynicism was a product of a world that gave birth to the War in Afghanistan around the same time it gave birth to me , that shot and killed my peers in school, that irreversibly melted ice caps and polluted oceans and destroyed forests. 

I was angry. I fought with my parents, my peers, and strangers. It was me versus the world. 

However, there’s a fundamental flaw in perpetual antagonism: it’s exhausting. My personal relationships suffered as my cynicism turned friends and family into bad guys in my eyes. As I kept up the fight, I found myself always tired, emotionally and physically. The tipping point came one morning standing at the bathroom sink before school. I looked in the mirror and didn’t recognize the tired, sad girl that looked back with pallid skin and purple eye bags. That morning, I found my mother and cried in her arms. I decided that the fight was over. 

I took a break from fighting. I let go of my constant anger about global problems by first focusing on the local ones that I could do something about, and then learning to do things not because they fixed a problem, but for the simple joy of trying. I apologized to friends that I wronged previously, said yes when my mom asked me to go grocery shopping with her, and spent afternoons alone in the park, just reading. I baked brownies in the kitchen because it made me happy. I slept in on weekends when I could, but I also made an effort to get out of bed and move. I made an effort to be nice-optimistic, even-with the people around me, but more importantly, I made an effort to be nice to myself. 

After a period of self-care, the fight in me recharged, but this time I didn’t rush to spend it in anger. Now, it’s a tool I use wisely. I’ve channeled it into tangible causes: I don’t want the feeling of loneliness and anger to fester inside of anybody else, so I work with school administration to create community-building events for my senior class. From being the first to implement a class messaging system to starting a collaborative playlist with all 800 of my peers, I’ve turned my energy into positive change in my community. 

I’ve still got a few more years of teenage angst in me, but the meaning of my rebellion has changed. It’s not about responding to a world that’s wronged me with defiance, anger, and cynicism, but about being kind to myself and finding beauty in the world so that I can stay charged and fight for the real things that matter. 

I’ve realized that the world is my afternoon on a hill, full of sunlight and optimism if only I can see them. Now, I am the gladdest thing under the sun! I can be vulnerable and open, and I can show my passion to the world through love. I will touch a hundred flowers, seize a hundred opportunities, and love a hundred things. I will not pick just one. 

This essay does a really nice job of providing an overview of this student’s personality and how it came to be. The reader sees clear growth in the student as they progress through the essay. They weren’t afraid to be vulnerable, sharing details about feeling exhausted and lonely, which helped build empathy for the journey of self-discovery and reflection they’ve been on. Understanding their past personality allows readers to understand how confronting that personality formed their new, positive outlook on life.

There was a noticeable shift in the tone from the first paragraph to the second that brought the vulnerability with it. The beginning reads as a funny anecdote where the stereotype of a moody teenager is established. What the reader doesn’t expect is the sharp turn towards discussing the emotional impact of being a moody teenager. The tone shift subverts the reader’s expectations by surprising them with deep, personal reflection that makes them read the rest of the essay with more empathy.

This essay really captures the student’s outlook on life in different stages of their development, which provides so much insight to the admissions officers reading it. They reveal so much about themselves by continuously focusing the essay on how their internal feelings dictated their external actions.

One thing this essay could have done better was work the quote into the piece as a whole. The essay had a great story, but it was difficult to piece together how the story was connected to the quote until the student explicitly explained it in the last paragraph. It would’ve been helpful to keep the theme of the quote running through the entire essay so the reader could draw a connection. For example, using metaphors of sunshine and flowers throughout the piece would have called attention back to the quote and reminded the reader of why this quote is so important. 

Essay Example #9: Quotation and Values

“One of the great challenges of our time is that the disparities we face today have more complex causes and point less straightforwardly to solutions.” 

– Omar Wasow, assistant professor of politics, Princeton University.  This quote is taken from Professor Wasow’s January 2014 speech at the Martin Luther King Day celebration at Princeton University . 

The air is crisp and cool, nipping at my ears as I walk under a curtain of darkness that drapes over the sky, starless. It is a Friday night in downtown Corpus Christi, a rare moment of peace in my home city filled with the laughter of strangers and colorful lights of street vendors. But I cannot focus. 

My feet stride quickly down the sidewalk, my hand grasps on to the pepper spray my parents gifted me for my sixteenth birthday. My eyes ignore the surrounding city life, focusing instead on a pair of tall figures walking in my direction. I mentally ask myself if they turned with me on the last street corner. I do not remember, so I pick up the pace again. All the while, my mind runs over stories of young women being assaulted, kidnapped, and raped on the street. I remember my mother’s voice reminding me to keep my chin up, back straight, eyes and ears alert. 

At a young age, I learned that harassment is a part of daily life for women. I fell victim to period-shaming when I was thirteen, received my first catcall when I was fourteen, and was nonconsensually grabbed by a man soliciting on the street when I was fifteen. For women, assault does not just happen to us— its gory details leave an imprint in our lives, infecting the way we perceive the world. And while movements such as the Women’s March and #MeToo have given victims of sexual violence a voice, harassment still manifests itself in the lives of millions of women across the nation. Symbolic gestures are important in spreading awareness but, upon learning that a surprising number of men are oblivious to the frequent harassment that women experience, I now realize that addressing this complex issue requires a deeper level of activism within our local communities. 

Frustrated with incessant cases of harassment against women, I understood at sixteen years old that change necessitates action. During my junior year, I became an intern with a judge whose campaign for office focused on a need for domestic violence reform. This experience enabled me to engage in constructive dialogue with middle and high school students on how to prevent domestic violence. As I listened to young men uneasily admit their ignorance and young women bravely share their experiences in an effort to spread awareness, I learned that breaking down systems of inequity requires changing an entire culture. I once believed that the problem of harassment would dissipate after politicians and celebrities denounce inappropriate behavior to their global audience. But today, I see that effecting large-scale change comes from the “small” lessons we teach at home and in schools. Concerning women’s empowerment, the effects of Hollywood activism do not trickle down enough. Activism must also trickle up and it depends on our willingness to fight complacency. 

Finding the solution to the long-lasting problem of violence against women is a work-in-progress, but it is a process that is persistently moving. In my life, for every uncomfortable conversation that I bridge, I make the world a bit more sensitive to the unspoken struggle that it is to be a woman. I am no longer passively waiting for others to let me live in a world where I can stand alone under the expanse of darkness on a city street, utterly alone and at peace. I, too, deserve the night sky.

There are many positives to this essay. To begin with, launching into the essay with multi sensory imagery in the anecdote was really effective at drawing the reader in. The audiovisual context (laughter, street vendors) keeps the scene alive and fully immerses the reader, while the internal narration illustrates how this student looks at the world. The contrast between the imagery of the external scene and the internal thoughts and feelings fully immerses the reader in the essay and alludes to the overarching theme of things being more complicated than they seem on the outside.

Another good thing this essay did was provide a personal account of this student’s experiences with harassment. This established their authority to speak on the topic and underscores their essay with authenticity. They then “zoom out” to provide relevant background information that supplies additional context for readers who might not be that familiar with the extent of the issue at hand. By relating their personal stories to the large-scale issue at hand, they simultaneously develop a personal connection while demonstrating an understanding of a serious global issue.

What really could’ve made or broken this essay was the quote the student chose. Allowing you to choose any quote, this is an extremely open-ended prompt which gives students the opportunity to write about whatever they choose. This student did an excellent job of picking a quote that isn’t well-known or significant, but fit perfectly into the narrative they were trying to express in this essay. The approach the student likely took with this prompt is figuring out what experience they wanted to discuss and finding a quote that fit, rather than picking a quote first. This approach made for an essay that existed independently from the quote and didn’t rely on it as a crutch.

All together, the essay feels cohesive with every part relating back to the overarching theme of diving deeper than the surface level of things. The student’s vulnerability and personal reflection throughout the essay helps carry the theme through each paragraph. Even the conclusion does a great job of circling back to the anecdote at the beginning, bringing the societal problem the student addressed back down to the personal level to remind the reader the student’s personal stake in the issue.

One potential criticism of this essay could stem from the ratio of background to active work. The author spends a lot of time setting up their personal connection and the global context of the issue; however, their essay could stand to gain from more content centered on their actual actions towards fighting harassment against women. They could discuss another small-scale discussion or project they led or elaborate more on their current inclusion. Dedicating two paragraphs to this rather than one gives admissions officers a better idea of their leadership skills and active role in fighting harassment.

Essay Example #10: Quotation and Values

“If any man stopped and asked himself whether he’s ever held a truly personal desire, he’d find the answer. He’d see that all his wishes, his efforts, his dreams, his ambitions are motivated by other men . . . A stamp of approval, not his own. He can find no joy in the struggle and no joy when he has succeeded.”

Essay/Book: The Fountainhead Author: Ayn Rand —

The US Open.

My parents had asked me if I wanted to come along, and I agreed. We got there; we took pictures next to a giant tennis ball, bought some tennis rackets, and finally headed over to our seats. It was absolutely freezing–and as the match continued, the world around me got darker and darker. An open stadium, I could see the stars in the sky just as clearly as I could feel the cold seeping through my coat. Trying to forget about my discomfort, I gazed up at the stars and listened to the vaguely muffled sounds of grunts and balls hitting the court.

A million things ran through my head.

The persistent cold that I was trying to forget. The beauty of the twinkling lights in the sky. The vast emptiness of the world around me.

And, even as I pulled closer to my mom and dad, an abject feeling of loneliness settled over me, my isolation from the excitement of the crowd making itself apparent as I felt none of the frustration, disappointment, or adrenaline-fueled excitement that the crowd and the players were feeling–a million miles away from my surroundings, insignificant in this moment.

And, it dawned on me, I am. I am insignificant–we all are. Even the tennis players whom we so eagerly watch are only really significant for the few hours of their game–and, is that insignificance necessarily a bad thing? Why should I pursue significance–and essentially, recognition–throughout my life? Why do I feel the need to be recognized? Should I not just want to aid in world progress–whether that be dancing to promote emotional expression, or engineering to promote prosperity and scientific advancement?

I began to understand the futility of ambition revolving solely around world recognition. Why should the entire world know my name? Shouldn’t success be just knowing that I created something, something that helped someone or something somewhere, something that advanced the face of knowledge or innovation, regardless of whether I gained actual ‘credit’ for it?

Having changed my definition of success, I no longer search for significance. My absolute insignificance has never been clearer, clearing the way for me to discover myself in my passions, rather than discovering passions in the hope of gaining relevance. My success is no longer defined by the approval or recognition of anyone but myself, making my successes sweeter and my hard work more gratifying.

This leaves no bar on my dreams, no curb on my goals. I’m an aspiring engineer because I love how math and physics and purpose click together as you design and invent and innovate, how the electricity of passion sparks through my fingertips as I stay up late working on my model rockets and deriving simple harmonic equations. I’m a dancer because I love how the music and movements feel in my muscles and bones, how fiery adrenaline rushes through my veins when I am in the middle of a performance. I’m a hopeful social entrepreneur because I want to give purpose to my innovations; I’m a singer because I like to feel the vibrations of songs collecting in my throat; I’m a programmer because I like to ‘logic’ my way through problems. None of its for money, or for a prize, or for world recognition–because even that significance doesn’t last long. I’m insignificant, and whether or not I remain so–as long as I fulfill my own purpose and achieve my own goals–it makes no difference to me.

This essay has a strong opening that does an excellent job of setting the scene for the perspective shift this student is about to have. There is clearly a sense of the student’s indifference to attending through explaining the match was their parents’ idea, their focus on the freezing cold weather, and explaining how their mind drifted to think about anything but the match. Establishing how removed they were in the moment is a nice segway to their feeling of insignificance. Because we know how they weren’t able to appreciate a moment everyone around them hyped up and cherished, we better understand how they came to the conclusion they are insignificant. 

Even once the student delves into philosophical questions about our purpose—a topic that it is easy to lose your readers on—we stay engaged because of their continued use of rhetorical questions. Especially when discussing more abstract topics in your essay, asking questions is a great tactic to help the reader see things from your perspective and break complex ideas down into more manageable chunks.

This essay concludes by telling us a lot about the student and their passions. The repetition of the phrase “ I’m a… ” creates a sense of continuity throughout their multiple identities and builds momentum for what’s to come. Not only do they reveal they are an engineer, a dancer, a singer, a programmer, and a social entrepreneur, but they also explain their reasoning and purpose for pursuing each of these passions. Sharing all of this student’s facets is a nice way to demonstrate to admissions officers that although they have a unique perspective on success, they are still an engaged and active member of their community.

There are a few ways this essay could be tightened up. The first would be to better incorporate the anecdote of the US Open throughout the rest of the essay. While there is nice set-up, the student basically abandons their story after they shift to talking about insignificance. Yes, the prompt asks for an experience that changed how you approached the world, but that experience should have more of an impact on you than just the location of your life-altering perspective shift. It would have been nice to see them grapple with how they differ from the US Open crowd who idolizes significance or even simply utilizing tennis metaphors to keep the theme going.

Another thing this essay needs to work on is being less vague. Take this sentence for example: “ Shouldn’t success be just knowing that I created something, something that helped someone or something somewhere, something that advanced the face of knowledge or innovation, regardless of whether I gained actual ‘credit’ for it?”  That is wordy and reveals nothing about the student. They use a word containing “some” six times in a singular sentence—lazy writing! Although this is a particularly vague sentence, much of the essay focuses on the abstract idea of embracing insignificance without relating it personally to the student. Bringing in more concrete ideas and tangible thoughts or actions this student has to demonstrate their insignificance would leave a much stronger impression on the reader.

It’s also important to make sure your quote fits in perfectly with your essay. Since it’s the first thing your reader will see, it creates an immediate impression going into the story, but if it doesn’t obviously tie into your essay it will be forgotten by the time your reader finishes. This essay unfortunately lost the quote by the end because it wasn’t clearly connected to the essay. It possibly would have been better had they picked a quote about being insignificant, or even about staring up into the night sky and feeling alone, seeing as that was the moment that their perspective changed. Your quote doesn’t need to be moving and inspirational, it just needs to effortlessly align with your essay.

Where to Get Your Princeton Essays Edited

Do you want feedback on your Princeton essays? After rereading your essays countless times, it can be difficult to evaluate your writing objectively. That’s why we created our free Peer Essay Review tool , where you can get a free review of your essay from another student. You can also improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays. 

If you want a college admissions expert to review your essay, advisors on CollegeVine have helped students refine their writing and submit successful applications to top schools. Find the right advisor for you to improve your chances of getting into your dream school!

Other Princeton Essay Resources

• Princeton Essay Guide
• How to Answer Princeton’s “More About You” Questions
• How to Write the Princeton Civic Engagement Essay
• How to Write the Princeton Diversity Essay
• 4 Example Hooks for Princeton’s Meaningful Activity Essay
• How to Write the Meaningful Activity Essay for Princeton

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Purposeful Conversation, Essay Example

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Having a purposeful and meaningful conversation is highly effective communication. This is powerful depending on the words and gestures used. Positive communication is a practice which supports the shift from just talking and having a truly meaningful conversation. There are several keys words to be avoided such as “should” or “ought.”  Changing these terms to “I want you to” transform the conversation through a perception of positivity from negativity.

Understanding the dynamics of a purposeful conversation is particularly important between a nurse and a patient. Often patients are upset and feel bad which creates a feeling of being out of control and confusion.  Some patients deal with this differently than others. Allowing the patient to talk and vent their frustrations and feelings is important to opening the pathway to a trusting encounter. Showing the patient the integrity and respect they deserve is the foundation for gaining their trust. Body language is also important to watch and monitor as the patient is speaking and receiving feedback from the nurse. The interactions between the nurse and patient must be positive and encouraging; particularly from the nurse.  Dedication to purposeful communication skills by the nurse will empower them to show the patient their confidence and courage. The patient will recognize the passion and ethical nature demonstrated by the nurse and can easily slip into the conversation feeling assured the nurse if attentive to their needs and will be noncritical or condescending.

I traveled to the University of Iowa to meet with a patient specifically to engage him in a purposeful conversation. I met with John, a 50-year-old man admitted for pancreatitis. John had encountered several upsetting and frustrating situations with the healthcare industry.  He had grown to distrust anyone associated with medicine and healthcare. Upon my initial introductions to John it was easy to tell he was also skeptical of my presence and what I might represent. He glared at me and watched every move I made. He was negative about entering into a conversation with me.

I immediately told him that all I wanted was to speak with him and learn how the healthcare system had mistreated him. I asked him to convey his story to me.  He began by telling me that he had six long years of fighting with health insurance companies before he was accepted for coverage. He has a history of alcoholism, although he has been sober for many years. As he speaks of insurance companies he nods his head a lot and flings his hands as if to dismiss something close to his face. He relates a feeling of being “warehoused” at one facility where he was given morphine and solid foods; to appease him not to cure him.

After this he went to the Mayo Clinic. Initially he drove 500 miles for testing but he was turned away.  However, he did return to the Mayo Clinic later.  At this facility the doctors referred to him as an “alcoholic” which upset him further. During this part of the conversation he was very animated with head shaking and hand flinging. During his treatment there he asked not to be given oxycodone as this would upset his pancreatitis. However, he was given this drug which did create a pancreatic attack and also upset his known stomach ulcer. He feels he was treated poorly and not listened to by the medical staff. He has a strong opinion that the healthcare system pushes drugs and does not want to help the whole patient. If doctors would treat the patient instead of pushing medicines at them, he feels he could get better.  As he talked about this belief he looked exhausted as if the fight over his healthcare and insurance battles had tired him.

He is also aware that if he had not had health insurance all of the tests, procedures, hospital visits and office visits would have left him bankrupt.  He feels that this is unfair to the community and particularly insensitivity on the part of the insurance companies who try to control everything. During two attacks of pancreatitis he was off of work for weeks. He was hassled by the insurance companies and feels the doctors were contradictory in how they filled out reports to the insurance companies regarding his diagnoses and delivery of care. During this part of the conversation John was again agitated and his body language demonstrated anguish and hatred for the healthcare industry. His primary gestures throughout the conversation were head nodding and hand flinging and sometimes using his entire arms.

I allowed him to tell me his story without interruption as I felt he needed to tell it in it’s entirely.  I then began to talk to him about how he felt.  I tried to be honest with him as possible and told him that although I had not been involved in his care throughout his ordeal that I could sympathize with him and his feelings. I spoke about how some healthcare organizations are better than others just as some healthcare personnel are better than others. But that I wanted him to not be discouraged but rather try to be proactive and positive in his healthcare. I also reminded him that his condition needed medical attention and to not give up.  When he would respond to my conversation I would listen and smile, holding my hands in my lap and trying to show a peaceful and calm stance. This encouraged John to reflect on the positive healthcare experiences he had encountered. As I continued to comment on the positive things he had experienced and we talked about ways to improve his current condition, his body language and demeanor calmed and he was less animated and his hands and arms remained quiet and motionless. As we talked I said phrases such as “I hear you” and “how did that make you feel.”  As he began to calm I also joked a bit with him and did get him to smile.  I ended the conversation on a positive and encouraging note.  He seemed to have enjoyed our time together and said he was going to take a more positive attitude towards his health and change how he spoke with the healthcare professionals; trying to be less demanding and more available to openly discuss the best treatment for him.

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Understanding the intricacies of human communication goes beyond simple grammar and vocabulary, extending to how people engage in everyday conversations. Through Conversation Analysis, you can learn to decipher meaning, power dynamics, and social structures embedded within spoken language. In this article, delve into the foundations of Conversation Analysis, explore practical examples, and draw comparisons with other related fields like Discourse Analysis. Initially, familiarise yourself with Conversation Analysis definition, linguistics and the critical role it plays in understanding human communication. Next, examine the theories, concepts, and applications that underscore this field, as well as the valuable insights that can be derived from it. Moving on, explore a range of Conversation Analysis examples and transcription techniques to illuminate practical applications. Learn the subtle, yet important differences between Conversation Analysis and Discourse Analysis, equipping yourself to choose the best method according to your needs. Finally, learn strategies to enhance your Conversation Analysis skills and deploy them effectively in academic assignments, such as writing a comprehensive Conversation Analysis essay. By following these steps, you can develop a greater understanding of spoken language and optimise your linguistic analysis abilities.

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Conversation Analysis: An Overview

Conversation Analysis is an essential aspect of understanding human communication by examining spoken interaction in depth. It is an interdisciplinary study that combines linguistics, sociology, and psychology. As a student of the English Language, learning about Conversation Analysis will help you improve your communication skills and develop a better understanding of social interaction in various contexts.

Conversation Analysis Definition and Linguistics

Conversation Analysis, also known as CA, is the study of the structure and organization of conversation, as well as the social rules that govern how people interact in a conversational setting. It involves observing and understanding the patterns of communication, the roles of participants, and the way language is used to create meaning. By analysing these elements, researchers can uncover the hidden mechanics that drive everyday talk and explore how interaction is structured and organized to achieve particular outcomes.

Conversation Analysis is a research method that examines the structure and organization of talk during social interactions, with the aim of understanding how communication works and the social rules that underpin it.

The Importance of Conversation Analysis in Linguistics

Conversation Analysis plays a vital role in linguistics as it provides insights into how language works in real-life situations. By understanding the dynamics of conversations and the linguistic techniques that speakers use to convey meaning, we can gain a deeper appreciation of the complexities of human communication. Some specific ways Conversation Analysis contributes to linguistics include:

• Examining turn-taking, repair, and other practices within conversations that shed light on the structure and function of language.
• Studying how conversation shapes and is shaped by social context, revealing the impact of culture, power dynamics, and other factors on language use.
• Analyzing the interactions between moods, emotions, and language, which can offer valuable insights into the expressive potential of words and grammar.

Conversation Analysis Theory and Application

Conversation Analysis encompasses a range of theories and methods aimed at understanding the mechanics of talk in various settings. To achieve this, CA researchers examine recordings of natural conversations, taking note of specific details such as pauses, intonation, and body language. By doing so, they can uncover patterns and structures that govern how speakers interact, which can then be applied in various fields. Applications of Conversation Analysis can be seen in:

• Education - CA can help teachers develop effective communication strategies and adjust their teaching methods according to students' needs based on their language usage patterns.
• Healthcare - CA can aid healthcare professionals in understanding how patients express their concerns, improving doctor-patient communication and outcomes.
• Business - CA can be used by companies to enhance employee communication and collaboration, as well as improve customer service and client interactions.

Insights Derived from Conversation Analysis

Conversation Analysis provides a fresh perspective on human interaction, revealing the hidden structures and patterns that underlie everyday talk. By examining conversations, we can learn about the norms, expectations, and social rules that govern communication. Some key insights derived from Conversation Analysis include:

By understanding these insights and applying them to your own communication, you can enhance your conversational skills and engage more effectively with others in various contexts.

Conversation Analysis Examples and Transcriptions

Exploring various Conversation Analysis examples and transcriptions can help you see how the concepts and insights discussed earlier are applied in practice. By examining actual dialogues and conversational transcripts, you can better grasp the use of turn-taking, repair, adjacency pairs, and non-verbal communication in real-world situations.

Practical Conversation Analysis Example

Understanding the application of Conversation Analysis concepts within practical situations is crucial for comprehending its relevance and function. A simple, real-world example involving two friends discussing their weekend plans will help illustrate how Conversation Analysis can be employed to analyze a casual conversation. To provide context and for the sake of anonymity, we will refer to the speakers as Person A and Person B.

Person A: Hey, do you have any plans for this weekend?Person B: Not really. Why, what's up?Person A: I was thinking of going for a hike. Want to join?Person B: Sure, sounds good. When and where?Person A: Let's meet at around 9 am at Highcliff Park.Person B: Great, see you then!

Analyzing a Dialogue Using Conversation Analysis

When applying Conversation Analysis to the example given above, we can observe various elements and conversational patterns:

• Turn-taking : Person A and Person B take turns speaking, ensuring an orderly conversation.
• Adjacency pairs : There are several instances of adjacency pairs, such as question-answer (Person A asks about Person B's plans, and Person B responds) and invitation-acceptance (Person A invites Person B to join them for a hike, and Person B agrees).
• Mapping actions : Each conversational turn maps out an action – Person A initiates the subject, Person B provides a brief response or elaborates when prompted, and Person A confirms the details.

Through this analysis, we see the structure of the conversation, the organization of speakers' turns, and the ways in which actions are mapped out sequentially to facilitate understanding and achieve the intended outcome (making plans for the weekend).

Conversation Analysis Transcription Techniques

Transcription is a crucial step in Conversation Analysis, as it allows researchers to represent spoken interactions in written form, capturing details essential for in-depth analysis. Creating accurate and efficient transcriptions involves understanding and using specific techniques, symbols, and notation systems designed to represent verbal and non-verbal elements in a conversation. Some key aspects to consider while transcribing a conversation include:

• Indicating changes in speakers (usually denoted with labels like 'Person A' or 'Person B').
• Marking overlaps and interruptions (using symbols such as '[', ']').
• Noting paralinguistic features, such as laughter, pauses, and changes in pitch or tone (e.g., '(laughs)', '(3.0)' for a 3-second pause).
• Transcribing non-verbal communication, like facial expressions, gestures, and body language (using brackets and descriptions, e.g., '(smiles)', '(nods)').

Effective Transcriptions for Analyzing Conversations

Adopting a consistent and clear transcription system is key to ensuring that your conversation analysis is accurate and reliable. One widely used method of transcription in Conversation Analysis is the Jefferson Transcription System. Developed by Gail Jefferson, this system incorporates a set of symbols and notations specifically designed to capture the subtleties of spoken interaction, allowing researchers to delve deeper into the mechanics of conversation.

Here are some essential elements and symbols used in the Jefferson Transcription System:

By mastering these transcription techniques and utilizing a comprehensive system like the Jefferson Transcription System, you can efficiently record and analyze spoken interactions, enabling you to dive deeper into the intricacies of conversation and enhance your understanding of human communication.

Distinguishing Conversation Analysis from Discourse Analysis

Although Conversation Analysis and Discourse Analysis both investigate communication and language usage, they differ in their underlying theories, methodology, and focus. Recognising the distinctions between these two approaches is essential when conducting research or analysing language in social interactions.

Conversation Analysis vs Discourse Analysis: Key Differences

While both Conversation Analysis and Discourse Analysis seek to understand language, they differ in several aspects, including their objectives, theoretical frameworks, and data collection methods. It is crucial to acknowledge these differences when selecting the appropriate approach for your analysis.

Focus and Approach in Conversation and Discourse Analysis

The main differences between Conversation Analysis and Discourse Analysis can be summarised as follows:

• Objective: Conversation Analysis focuses on the micro-level aspects of talk, examining the structure, organization and mechanics of social interactions during conversations. Discourse Analysis, on the other hand, investigates the macro-level aspects of language, exploring how meaning is constructed and communicated within broader social, cultural, and ideological contexts.
• Theoretical Framework: Conversation Analysis is grounded in ethnomethodology, which seeks to understand the methods people use to create and maintain a sense of order in their everyday lives. In contrast, Discourse Analysis is rooted in various theoretical frameworks such as linguistics, sociology, psychology, and anthropology. It often applies theories like critical discourse analysis, systemic-functional linguistics, or conversation analysis to analyse the language usage.
• Data Collection: Conversation Analysis typically examines data from naturally occurring spoken interactions, using techniques such as audio or video recording and transcription to capture the details of conversation. Discourse Analysis may include spoken interactions as well as written texts or visual materials, such as newspaper articles, social media posts, or advertisements.
• Units of Analysis: In Conversation Analysis, the units of analysis are turns-at-talk, sequences of speech, and other elements that make up the fine-grained structure of conversation. Discourse Analysis focuses on larger linguistic units such as clauses, sentences, and texts, investigating how meaning is created and conveyed through language choices, narrative structures, and other communicative strategies.

When to Use Conversation Analysis or Discourse Analysis

Deciding whether to utilise Conversation Analysis or Discourse Analysis depends on your research question, goals, and the context in which you are analysing language. Each approach offers unique insights, and the choice between them will be determined by your specific requirements and interests.

Choosing the Right Method for Your Analysis Needs

To determine whether Conversation Analysis or Discourse Analysis is more suitable for your needs, consider the following factors:

• Research Question: Identify the key questions you wish to answer through your analysis. For inquiries about the detailed structure and organization of spoken interactions, Conversation Analysis may be more suitable. If your research question revolves around the broader context, meaning, or ideologies expressed in a text or discourse, Discourse Analysis might be more appropriate.
• Goals: Define your objectives, such as whether you want to improve communication skills, analyse power dynamics in a conversation or understand the ideology of specific texts. Based on your goals, choose the method that best aligns with these aims.
• Data: Consider the type of data available for your analysis. If your data consists primarily of spoken interactions, Conversation Analysis might be more suitable. For written texts or a mix of verbal and non-verbal communication, Discourse Analysis may be a better choice.
• Theoretical Orientation: Evaluate your theoretical background and preferences. If your research is informed by ethnomethodology or interactional sociology, you may find Conversation Analysis more appealing. For projects influenced by socio-cultural or psychological theories, Discourse Analysis could be a better fit.

By taking these factors into account, you can make informed decisions on whether to employ Conversation Analysis or Discourse Analysis for your language examination, research, or teaching goals. Remember, sometimes a combination of both methods can offer a more comprehensive understanding of language and communication in your particular context.

Building Your Skills in Conversation Analysis

Developing expertise in Conversation Analysis can help you become more adept at understanding and interpreting verbal interactions. To master this discipline, focus on honing your analytical skills, practising transcription techniques, and familiarising yourself with relevant theories and concepts. Here are some strategies to guide you on this journey.

Tips for Conducting Conversation Analysis

When undertaking Conversation Analysis, it is essential to approach the task with a systematic and structured mindset. Following specific guidelines and employing appropriate techniques can significantly enhance the quality of your analysis. Here are some tips to help you conduct Conversation Analysis effectively:

• Study the basics: Familiarise yourselves with the core concepts, such as turn-taking, repair, adjacency pairs, and the sequential organisation of talk.
• Listen carefully: Pay close attention to the recordings of the conversations you are analysing, noting key details such as pauses, overlaps, and changes in pitch or volume.
• Use a consistent transcription system: Adopt a well-established transcription method, like the Jefferson Transcription System, to accurately represent spoken interactions in written form.
• Identify patterns: Analyse the conversations to uncover recurring structures, consistency in the exchange of information, and the unique ways speakers use language.
• Consider the context: Take into account factors like social setting, cultural norms, and power dynamics that can influence the structure and content of a conversation.

Strategies for Effective Analysis of Dialogues

To enhance your proficiency in analysing dialogues using Conversation Analysis, consider employing the following strategies:

• Compare and contrast: Examine multiple dialogues to identify similarities and differences in structure, organization, and language use.
• Annotate your transcriptions: Make notes in the margins of your transcriptions, highlighting crucial elements like turn-taking, adjacency pairs, and non-verbal communication to aid your analysis.
• Be objective: Approach the analysis without preconceived notions or biases, focusing on the actual patterns and structures observed in the conversation.
• Discuss findings with others: Collaborate with peers or colleagues to exchange insights and interpretations, fostering a deeper understanding of the dialogues under analysis.
• Reflect on your analysis: Regularly review your analytical process and findings, and make adjustments as needed to improve your skills and understanding of Conversation Analysis.

Improving Your Conversation Analysis Techniques

Continually refining your Conversation Analysis techniques will enable you to conduct more nuanced and comprehensive investigations of spoken interactions. Focus on developing a strong theoretical understanding, refining your transcription skills, and adapting your methods in light of new insights and research findings. In doing so, you can enhance your proficiency in Conversation Analysis and improve your potential to extract meaningful insights from dialogues.

Developing Your Analytical Skills in Conversation Analysis

To cultivate your analytical capabilities in Conversation Analysis, consider the following suggestions:

• Engage with the literature: Regularly read academic articles and books on Conversation Analysis, ethnomethodology, and related fields to stay informed about new developments and insights.
• Attend workshops and conferences: Participate in seminars, workshops, or conferences that focus on Conversation Analysis, as these events offer invaluable opportunities to learn from experts and gain a deeper understanding of the discipline.
• Practice transcribing different types of dialogues: Expand your transcription skills by working on a diverse range of dialogues, including casual conversations, interviews, and discussions in various contexts (e.g., education, healthcare, business).
• Collaborate with experienced researchers: Partner with more experienced Conversation Analysts or seek mentorship to learn from their expertise and enhance your analytical abilities.
• Reflect on your progress: Regularly evaluate your growth as a Conversation Analyst, identifying areas for improvement and working to refine your skills and knowledge accordingly.

With intentional effort, practice, and collaboration, you can elevate your Conversation Analysis capabilities, enabling you to delve deeper into the nuances of spoken interactions and enrich your understanding of human communication.

Writing a Conversation Analysis Essay

When crafting a Conversation Analysis essay, you're required to examine spoken interactions closely and apply your understanding of key concepts into your writing. A successful essay combines a clear structure, relevant theories, and thorough analysis. Ensure that your essay is well-researched, engaging, and informative to showcase your expertise in Conversation Analysis.

Steps to Writing a Strong Conversation Analysis Essay

There are several essential steps to follow when undertaking the process of writing a Conversation Analysis essay. These steps will help guide you through the research and writing phases, ensuring your essay is comprehensive, well-structured, and persuasive for its intended audience.

• Select a topic: Choose a relevant topic or research question that is appropriate for a Conversation Analysis essay and will showcase your understanding of the subject. Make sure it's specific, researchable, and within the scope of your course or discipline.
• Identify relevant theories and concepts: Review the literature on Conversation Analysis and related fields, such as ethnomethodology or interactional sociology, to understand the relevant theories and concepts that inform your chosen topic.
• Collect and analyse data: Obtain or record conversational data appropriate for your research question, then transcribe and analyse the data using Conversation Analysis techniques and principles. Focus on elements like turn-taking, repair, adjacency pairs, and sequential organisation.
• Develop a thesis statement and outline: Based on your analysis, formulate a clear and concise thesis statement that addresses your research question and serves as the backbone of your essay. Create an outline that organises your ideas, findings, and supporting evidence into a clear and logical structure.
• Write the essay: With your outline in place, begin writing your essay, ensuring clarity, coherence, and academic rigor. Use evidence from your data analysis and supporting literature to argue your thesis and address potential counterarguments or limitations.
• Revise and edit: Carefully review your draft, revising content for clarity, coherence, and style, as well as editing grammar, punctuation, and spelling to ensure polished, professional writing.
• Submit the essay: Ensure your final draft adheres to formatting and citation requirements and submit it in a timely manner, according to your course or assignment guidelines.

Organising and Presenting Your Analysis Findings

Presentation and organisation are key elements to consider when writing a Conversation Analysis essay. An effectively organised essay guides the reader through your analysis, showcasing your findings and reinforcing the significance of your conclusions.

• Introduction: Provide context for your chosen topic, outline your research question, and introduce your thesis statement. Your introduction should be engaging and informative, setting the tone for the rest of your essay.
• Literature review: Present an overview of the relevant theories and concepts related to your research question, drawing on authoritative sources and highlighting the ways your essay contributes to the field.
• Data collection and analysis: Describe your data collection methods, transcription process, and analytical approach, highlighting any unique aspects or challenges. Present your findings, highlighting key patterns and structures within your conversational data that support your thesis.
• Discussion and interpretation: Discuss your findings in relation to your research question, thesis, and the reviewed literature. Highlight any alternative interpretations, limitations, or implications for future research or practice.
• Conclusion: Summarise your findings and reiterate the significance of your research question and thesis. Reflect on the contributions of your essay to Conversation Analysis and suggest possible avenues for further exploration or development.

Addressing Challenges in Conversation Analysis Essays

Conversation Analysis essay writing can be challenging, particularly for those new to the field or facing specific obstacles during the research and writing process. However, being aware of these hurdles and knowing how to respond effectively can help mitigate their impact and ensure a strong essay.

Overcoming Common Conversation Analysis Essay Difficulties

Here are some strategies to tackle challenges that might arise when writing a Conversation Analysis essay:

• Difficult source material: If your conversational data prove challenging to transcribe or analyse, seek guidance from your instructor, peers, or published research within the field.
• Time management: Break the essay writing process into smaller, manageable tasks, and create a detailed timeline to help you stay on track and minimise stress.
• Complex theories and concepts: Allocate sufficient time to read and understand the literature related to your research question, especially if unfamiliar with the topic. Consider collaborating with peers or seeking advice from your instructor if you encounter difficulties.
• Writing issues: To improve your essay writing skills, read high-quality academic essays and pay attention to how they are structured and argued. Seek feedback on your draft from your instructor, peers, or a writing centre, and revise accordingly.
• Organisation and presentation: Review your outline and revise as necessary to ensure a logical essay structure. Make use of headings and subheadings, where appropriate, to guide the reader through your analysis and findings.

By proactively addressing these common difficulties, you can strengthen your Conversation Analysis essay and enhance your understanding of this essential aspect of human communication.

Conversation Analysis - Key takeaways

Conversation Analysis Definition: Study of conversation structure, organization, and social rules in spoken interaction

Importance in Linguistics: Examines turn-taking, impact of social context, and interactions between emotions and language

Conversation Analysis Example: Focus on turn-taking, adjacency pairs, and mapping actions in dialogues

Conversation Analysis Transcription: Jefferson Transcription System, capturing verbal and non-verbal elements

Conversation Analysis vs Discourse Analysis: Differences in objectives, theoretical frameworks, data collection, and units of analysis

Frequently Asked Questions about Conversation Analysis

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Conversation Analysis is a research method that examines the structure and organization of talk during social interactions, aiming to understand how communication works and the social rules that underpin it.

Conversation Analysis can be applied in education, healthcare, and business.

Key insights from Conversation Analysis include turn-taking, repair, adjacency pairs, and the importance of non-verbal communication.

What are the key elements in Conversation Analysis?

Turn-taking, adjacency pairs, mapping actions

What are some necessary considerations for transcribing a conversation?

Indicating speaker changes, marking overlaps and interruptions, noting paralinguistic features, non-verbal communication

What is the Jefferson Transcription System?

A transcription method incorporating symbols and notations designed for capturing spoken interaction subtleties in Conversation Analysis

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Other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about writing an essay, an appeal to the senses: the development of the braille system in nineteenth-century france.

The invention of Braille was a major turning point in the history of disability. The writing system of raised dots used by visually impaired people was developed by Louis Braille in nineteenth-century France. In a society that did not value disabled people in general, blindness was particularly stigmatized, and lack of access to reading and writing was a significant barrier to social participation. The idea of tactile reading was not entirely new, but existing methods based on sighted systems were difficult to learn and use. As the first writing system designed for blind people’s needs, Braille was a groundbreaking new accessibility tool. It not only provided practical benefits, but also helped change the cultural status of blindness. This essay begins by discussing the situation of blind people in nineteenth-century Europe. It then describes the invention of Braille and the gradual process of its acceptance within blind education. Subsequently, it explores the wide-ranging effects of this invention on blind people’s social and cultural lives.

Lack of access to reading and writing put blind people at a serious disadvantage in nineteenth-century society. Text was one of the primary methods through which people engaged with culture, communicated with others, and accessed information; without a well-developed reading system that did not rely on sight, blind people were excluded from social participation (Weygand, 2009). While disabled people in general suffered from discrimination, blindness was widely viewed as the worst disability, and it was commonly believed that blind people were incapable of pursuing a profession or improving themselves through culture (Weygand, 2009). This demonstrates the importance of reading and writing to social status at the time: without access to text, it was considered impossible to fully participate in society. Blind people were excluded from the sighted world, but also entirely dependent on sighted people for information and education.

In France, debates about how to deal with disability led to the adoption of different strategies over time. While people with temporary difficulties were able to access public welfare, the most common response to people with long-term disabilities, such as hearing or vision loss, was to group them together in institutions (Tombs, 1996). At first, a joint institute for the blind and deaf was created, and although the partnership was motivated more by financial considerations than by the well-being of the residents, the institute aimed to help people develop skills valuable to society (Weygand, 2009). Eventually blind institutions were separated from deaf institutions, and the focus shifted towards education of the blind, as was the case for the Royal Institute for Blind Youth, which Louis Braille attended (Jimenez et al, 2009). The growing acknowledgement of the uniqueness of different disabilities led to more targeted education strategies, fostering an environment in which the benefits of a specifically blind education could be more widely recognized.

Several different systems of tactile reading can be seen as forerunners to the method Louis Braille developed, but these systems were all developed based on the sighted system. The Royal Institute for Blind Youth in Paris taught the students to read embossed roman letters, a method created by the school’s founder, Valentin Hauy (Jimenez et al., 2009). Reading this way proved to be a rather arduous task, as the letters were difficult to distinguish by touch. The embossed letter method was based on the reading system of sighted people, with minimal adaptation for those with vision loss. As a result, this method did not gain significant success among blind students.

Louis Braille was bound to be influenced by his school’s founder, but the most influential pre-Braille tactile reading system was Charles Barbier’s night writing. A soldier in Napoleon’s army, Barbier developed a system in 1819 that used 12 dots with a five line musical staff (Kersten, 1997). His intention was to develop a system that would allow the military to communicate at night without the need for light (Herron, 2009). The code developed by Barbier was phonetic (Jimenez et al., 2009); in other words, the code was designed for sighted people and was based on the sounds of words, not on an actual alphabet. Barbier discovered that variants of raised dots within a square were the easiest method of reading by touch (Jimenez et al., 2009). This system proved effective for the transmission of short messages between military personnel, but the symbols were too large for the fingertip, greatly reducing the speed at which a message could be read (Herron, 2009). For this reason, it was unsuitable for daily use and was not widely adopted in the blind community.

Nevertheless, Barbier’s military dot system was more efficient than Hauy’s embossed letters, and it provided the framework within which Louis Braille developed his method. Barbier’s system, with its dashes and dots, could form over 4000 combinations (Jimenez et al., 2009). Compared to the 26 letters of the Latin alphabet, this was an absurdly high number. Braille kept the raised dot form, but developed a more manageable system that would reflect the sighted alphabet. He replaced Barbier’s dashes and dots with just six dots in a rectangular configuration (Jimenez et al., 2009). The result was that the blind population in France had a tactile reading system using dots (like Barbier’s) that was based on the structure of the sighted alphabet (like Hauy’s); crucially, this system was the first developed specifically for the purposes of the blind.

While the Braille system gained immediate popularity with the blind students at the Institute in Paris, it had to gain acceptance among the sighted before its adoption throughout France. This support was necessary because sighted teachers and leaders had ultimate control over the propagation of Braille resources. Many of the teachers at the Royal Institute for Blind Youth resisted learning Braille’s system because they found the tactile method of reading difficult to learn (Bullock & Galst, 2009). This resistance was symptomatic of the prevalent attitude that the blind population had to adapt to the sighted world rather than develop their own tools and methods. Over time, however, with the increasing impetus to make social contribution possible for all, teachers began to appreciate the usefulness of Braille’s system (Bullock & Galst, 2009), realizing that access to reading could help improve the productivity and integration of people with vision loss. It took approximately 30 years, but the French government eventually approved the Braille system, and it was established throughout the country (Bullock & Galst, 2009).

Although Blind people remained marginalized throughout the nineteenth century, the Braille system granted them growing opportunities for social participation. Most obviously, Braille allowed people with vision loss to read the same alphabet used by sighted people (Bullock & Galst, 2009), allowing them to participate in certain cultural experiences previously unavailable to them. Written works, such as books and poetry, had previously been inaccessible to the blind population without the aid of a reader, limiting their autonomy. As books began to be distributed in Braille, this barrier was reduced, enabling people with vision loss to access information autonomously. The closing of the gap between the abilities of blind and the sighted contributed to a gradual shift in blind people’s status, lessening the cultural perception of the blind as essentially different and facilitating greater social integration.

The Braille system also had important cultural effects beyond the sphere of written culture. Its invention later led to the development of a music notation system for the blind, although Louis Braille did not develop this system himself (Jimenez, et al., 2009). This development helped remove a cultural obstacle that had been introduced by the popularization of written musical notation in the early 1500s. While music had previously been an arena in which the blind could participate on equal footing, the transition from memory-based performance to notation-based performance meant that blind musicians were no longer able to compete with sighted musicians (Kersten, 1997). As a result, a tactile musical notation system became necessary for professional equality between blind and sighted musicians (Kersten, 1997).

Braille paved the way for dramatic cultural changes in the way blind people were treated and the opportunities available to them. Louis Braille’s innovation was to reimagine existing reading systems from a blind perspective, and the success of this invention required sighted teachers to adapt to their students’ reality instead of the other way around. In this sense, Braille helped drive broader social changes in the status of blindness. New accessibility tools provide practical advantages to those who need them, but they can also change the perspectives and attitudes of those who do not.

Bullock, J. D., & Galst, J. M. (2009). The Story of Louis Braille. Archives of Ophthalmology , 127(11), 1532. https://​doi.org/10.1001/​archophthalmol.2009.286.

Herron, M. (2009, May 6). Blind visionary. Retrieved from https://​eandt.theiet.org/​content/​articles/2009/05/​blind-visionary/.

Jiménez, J., Olea, J., Torres, J., Alonso, I., Harder, D., & Fischer, K. (2009). Biography of Louis Braille and Invention of the Braille Alphabet. Survey of Ophthalmology , 54(1), 142–149. https://​doi.org/10.1016/​j.survophthal.2008.10.006.

Kersten, F.G. (1997). The history and development of Braille music methodology. The Bulletin of Historical Research in Music Education , 18(2). Retrieved from https://​www.jstor.org/​stable/40214926.

Mellor, C.M. (2006). Louis Braille: A touch of genius . Boston: National Braille Press.

Tombs, R. (1996). France: 1814-1914 . London: Pearson Education Ltd.

Weygand, Z. (2009). The blind in French society from the Middle Ages to the century of Louis Braille . Stanford: Stanford University Press.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

• Ad hominem fallacy
• Post hoc fallacy
• Appeal to authority fallacy
• False cause fallacy
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An essay is a focused piece of writing that explains, argues, describes, or narrates.

In high school, you may have to write many different types of essays to develop your writing skills.

Academic essays at college level are usually argumentative : you develop a clear thesis about your topic and make a case for your position using evidence, analysis and interpretation.

The structure of an essay is divided into an introduction that presents your topic and thesis statement , a body containing your in-depth analysis and arguments, and a conclusion wrapping up your ideas.

The structure of the body is flexible, but you should always spend some time thinking about how you can organize your essay to best serve your ideas.

Your essay introduction should include three main things, in this order:

• An opening hook to catch the reader’s attention.
• Relevant background information that the reader needs to know.
• A thesis statement that presents your main point or argument.

The length of each part depends on the length and complexity of your essay .

A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . Everything else you write should relate to this key idea.

A topic sentence is a sentence that expresses the main point of a paragraph . Everything else in the paragraph should relate to the topic sentence.

At college level, you must properly cite your sources in all essays , research papers , and other academic texts (except exams and in-class exercises).

Add a citation whenever you quote , paraphrase , or summarize information or ideas from a source. You should also give full source details in a bibliography or reference list at the end of your text.

The exact format of your citations depends on which citation style you are instructed to use. The most common styles are APA , MLA , and Chicago .

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“Telephone Conversation” by Nobel Essay

Introduction, humour as a sympathetic tool, works cited.

The poem “Telephone conversation” is written by Nobel laureate winner professor Wole Soyinka. In this poem, the writer describes the conversation that ensued between him and a racist British landlady when he tried to rent her apartment. Poetry usually seeks to teach or reveal to us the beauties and ugliness of life and the world entirely. In the poem “telephone conversation”, the writer uses humour to deflate as well as to intensify the pain he endures as a result of racial prejudices. (Mahone, 152)

This poetic essay will analyze the entire poem and discuss the function or role of humour as a sympathetic tool in the poem “telephone conversation”. Furthermore, the writer’s ingenious sense of humour which enabled him to deflate the pain he experienced as an African in Britain will be constructively analyzed. Lastly, the uncivil attitude of judging people based on their color will also be discussed.

“Telephone conversation” is about the writer’s experience with a racist landlady in Britain. The writer as an African wishes to rent an apartment which he finds comfortable to him. He describes the apartment’s price as reasonable but feels indifferent about its location. (Charles, 267) Been contented with the price and location of the property, the writer decides to call the landlady to discuss amenities, price and other issues relevant to the apartment. However, the writer is aware of the racial prejudices against Africans and decides to boldly face the issue and probably get it out of the way permanently. This prompts him to confess his race instead of explaining it. Africans were usually treated as if their race or color was a crime or their fault. The landlady proved this fact beyond reasonable doubt as she immediately reacted by been silent after listening to his confession. When she eventually spoke, she bluntly asked “HOW DARK?” (Wole, 344) The use of capital letters by the writer clearly shows the writers pain to her demeaning and cold attitude when she learnt he was African. Here, the writer uses humour as a sympathetic tool to console himself as he mockingly describes the landlady in the context of a civilized, wealthy and well bred woman with good morals and values. Although in reality, she lacked every sound moral attitude to qualify her as a well bred woman. Her voice after the awkward silence is described as lipstick coated, cigarette holder pipped and long gold rolled. (Charles, 285) This description fits a lady of substance in all ramifications but the landlady was by no means a woman with sound attitude judging by the way she enquired about his race. (Mahone, 143)

Dumbfounded by the landlady’s arrogant reply, the writer is silent and she pushes on about her inquiry by rephrasing her question and asking again. “ARE YOU LIGHT OR VERY DARK?” (Wole, 312) The writer again humorously uses sarcasm to express how he feels as he says, “Shamed by ill mannered silence”. (Wole, 354) At a first glance without comprehending the poem, a reader might believe the writer is shamed by his own silence as a result of his inability to answer the landlady’s question. However, this is only a way of mocking the landlady’s attitude. The writer’s true intent is to show the reader that the landlady was shameless from the way she kept pushing about the issue of race completely ignoring every other detail. The writer had no reason to be ashamed when it was very obvious that the landlady was the ill mannered of the two. (Charles, 123)

It is very glaring that the landlady has no sense of decency and she proves this as she continually pressed the writer to describe his skin color. The theme of the entire poem is to prove that, been a better person does not count on been African or British. The landlady who is of British origin tries to treat the writer who is of African roots as a lower being yet he outwits her. (Charles, 321) When the landlady again presses about the writer’s color, the writer decides to use higher vocabulary to describe himself. He told the landlady that he was “west African Sepia” (Wole, 376) knowing that the landlady was oblivious to such grammatical expression. This gets the British landlady confused as she had expected a simple black or white answer from him. But the writer instead of been the savage the landlady had expected him to be due to his race, he sarcastically continues to describe himself in a simple and sophisticated manner which leaves the landlady completely lost and dumbfounded. The writer’s answer and ability to confuse the landlady creates a humorous irony. The British landlady addressed the African caller as a lower being by bluntly asking him how dark he was. But the highly intelligent African writer not only proved her wrong by outwitting her but he also leaves a question on the mind of the readers. The ability of an African man to outwit a British woman and make her seem foolish using English language which is her native language, questions the irony of judging people based on their race or color. The writer describes his face as been brunette, his palm and sole of his feet as peroxide blond. His bottom he says is raven black from the friction of sitting down. At this point the landlady was completely lost and she hung up before he could describe the color of his ears. Wouldn’t you rather see for yourself? He asked the into the empty telephone line. (Wole, 213)

The poem “telephone conversation” serves as a deterrent to anybody who deliberately intends to ridicule other people simply for the sake of their skin color or race. Situations like this have the potential tendency to explode the conversation into a full verbal war. But the writer is highly intelligent and well cultured so, he resorts the use of humor to ridicule the supposedly superior British landlady and deflate his own pain. The theme of the whole poem focuses on the negativity in judging people based on race. If race was a criterion for intelligence, the British landlady would have outwitted the African caller who intended to rent her apartment. (Mahone, 405) “Telephone conversation”, is a short comic poem. This can be seen right from the first verse of the poem when the African caller humorously described the British landlady as having good breeding regardless of her single mindedness and awkward silence when she learnt he was African. The most significant aspect of the poem is the writer’s ability to use humour as a sympathetic tool to console himself from the pain he experienced as a result of his skin color. Furthermore, the writer is highly intelligent and shows this in the manner which he uses wit to reply the landlady. (Mahone, 397) At the end of the poem, any reader that understands the poem will see that the discrepancy about what really is and what appears to be is constructively dealt with. The writer concludes the poem with an appeal to the reader’s conscience and a plea to the landlady’s sense of decency by asking, “wouldn’t you rather see for yourself?” (Wole, 143)

Charles, Wayne. Works and biography of Nobel laureate winners: A critical analysis. Boston: Houghton, 2002. Print.

Mahone, Bradley. Myth, Literature, and the African World: The Writer in a Modern African State. New York: Blackwell, 2005. Print.

Wole, Soyinka. “Telephone conversation”: Reading and writing from literature. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 2001. Print.

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IvyPanda. (2022, January 7). "Telephone Conversation" by Nobel. https://ivypanda.com/essays/telephone-conversation-by-nobel/

""Telephone Conversation" by Nobel." IvyPanda , 7 Jan. 2022, ivypanda.com/essays/telephone-conversation-by-nobel/.

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1. IvyPanda . ""Telephone Conversation" by Nobel." January 7, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/telephone-conversation-by-nobel/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . ""Telephone Conversation" by Nobel." January 7, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/telephone-conversation-by-nobel/.

• Atwood's "Dancing Girls" and Achebe's "The Madman"
• "Goodbye to Berlin" by Christopher Isherwood
• Mansfield's, Hardy's, Collins' Prose Analysis
• Reading More Than Words: Katherine Schreiber’s “Poison People”
• Counselling and Psychotherapy: The Role of Humour
• Humour and Jokes: What's So Funny?
• Jewish Holocaust and the Humour During the Dark Times
• Tennessee Williams' "The Glass Menagerie" and Critique
• Alfred Nobel as an Explosives Inventor
• Correlation Study of the Relationship Between Individual Resilience, Hope, Stress and Humour
• Dante’s Poem “The Divine Comedy ”
• The Poem 'Song of Myself' by Whitman
• Works on Life in America by Morales and Anzaldua
• Relationship Between Language and Content in Poetry
• “Inferno” by Dante Alighieri: Is Dante a Good Student or Not

AFS Programs

10 Observation Essay Examples: Writers’ Narrative for Student Inspiration

In this collection of observation essay examples, you will find narratives that capture the writer’s unique experiences as an observer. Each essay tells a story where the writer takes on the role of a participant, allowing readers to understand the theme and overall impression of the observed event. These essays not only help students understand the methods and techniques of observation, but also serve as a source of inspiration for their own writing.

In the front row of a clinical classroom, 51 students are taking part in a gross motor development activity. The teacher, Chloe, plays an important role as a professional observer, allowing students to participate in the activity while she takes notes. As I observe the children, I can’t help but feel a sense of excitement and anticipation. The smells of the classroom, the sounds of children playing, and the overall atmosphere grab my attention.

As a writer, it is important to have accurate references and control over the essay’s structure. Here, the writer demonstrates their ability to understand and control the narrative, allowing readers to step into the observer’s shoes and experience the event firsthand. By reading these examples, students can gain a better understanding of how to write an observation essay that follows a clear and organized structure.

Importance of Observational Skills

Observational skills are an essential tool in the development of one’s understanding of the world around us. By training yourself to observe and take note of the details that often go unnoticed, you can gain valuable insights and perspectives about various subjects and situations. Each observation you make allows you to engage with the world on a deeper level and expand your knowledge and understanding.

Observational skills are not limited to any particular academic subject or area of interest. They can be applied in any context, whether you are observing a social interaction, a natural phenomenon, or a piece of art. By honing your observational skills, you can enrich your experiences and gain a greater appreciation for the world and its diversity.

Being well-versed in observational skills enables you to pick up on details that may elude others. It allows you to notice the intricacies and subtleties that make each person, object, or situation unique. By actively participating in the act of observing, you can uncover hidden meanings, motivations, and patterns that shed light on the bigger picture.

Observation is not just about what is being observed; it also involves self-reflection and introspection. By observing others and the world around you, you can gain valuable insights into your own thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors. This self-reflection can help you identify areas for personal growth and development.

Observational skills can also be seen as a form of rehearsal for real-life situations. By observing how others behave and react in different scenarios, you can learn from their experiences and apply those lessons to your own life. This can help you navigate challenging situations with greater confidence and poise.

In an academic setting, observational skills are essential for providing well-written and reflective essays. By observing a subject or an event firsthand, you can compose a detailed and accurate account of what you have observed. This ensures that your written work is based on real-life experiences and not solely on secondhand information.

Observational skills also play a crucial role in various professions and careers. For example, doctors rely on their ability to observe patients’ symptoms and behaviors to make accurate diagnoses. Architects and designers observe spaces and environments to create functional and aesthetically pleasing structures. Teachers observe their students’ behaviors and interactions to provide tailored instruction and support.

Observational skills can be developed and enhanced through practice. By following some guidelines and incorporating specific strategies into your routine, you can improve your ability to observe and analyze the world around you. These may include being present in the moment, asking questions , taking notes, and actively engaging with your surroundings.

Benefits of Observation Essays for Students

First and foremost, observation essays provide students with a practical way to learn and understand various subjects. Whether it is observing events in a classroom or the clinical setting, students can gain valuable insights into real-life experiences that go beyond what they learn from reading textbooks or documents. By witnessing events firsthand, students can develop a deeper understanding of the subject matter.

Furthermore, observation essays encourage critical thinking and analysis. Students are required to carefully observe and analyze the events or subjects they are observing. This helps them develop their analytical skills and think critically about the information they are gathering. Instructors often look for these skills in their students, and observation essays are an ideal way to hone them.

Another benefit of observation essays is that they allow students to broaden their horizons and gain a new perspective. By being an active observer, students can explore new themes or topics and expand their knowledge beyond what is typically taught in the classroom. This alternative education provides students with a well-rounded understanding of the subject matter.

Types of Observation Methods

When it comes to conducting an observation, there are several methods that can be used. Each method has its own unique advantages and limitations, allowing researchers to choose the most suitable approach based on their specific goals. Here are some common types of observation methods:

1. Participant Observation: This method involves the observer actively taking part in the event or activity being studied. By immersing themselves in the experience, the observer can gain a deeper understanding of the subject matter and the context in which it occurs.

2. Non-participant Observation: In contrast to participant observation, this method involves the observer remaining separate from the event or activity. By maintaining a more objective perspective, the observer can focus on capturing accurate and unbiased information.

3. Structured Observation: In this method, the observer follows a predetermined set of rules and guidelines to ensure consistency and comparability across observations. This approach is often used in academic research to study specific behaviors or interactions.

4. Unstructured Observation: Unlike structured observation, this method allows for more flexibility and spontaneity. The observer is free to note whatever they find interesting or relevant, without being constrained by a predefined framework.

5. Direct Observation: This method involves the observer directly witnessing and recording the events as they unfold. By being physically present, the observer can capture details and nuances that may be missed in other forms of observation.

6. Indirect Observation: In contrast to direct observation, this method involves the observer gathering information through indirect means, such as reviewing documents or analyzing video recordings. This approach can be useful in situations where direct observation is not feasible or ethical.

7. Naturalistic Observation: This method focuses on observing subjects in their natural environment, without any interference or manipulation from the observer. By allowing events to occur naturally, researchers can gain insights into real-life behaviors and dynamics.

8. Controlled Observation: This method involves creating a controlled environment where specific events or behaviors can be observed under strict conditions. By reducing external factors, researchers can isolate and study the variables of interest more effectively.

9. Event Sampling: This method involves focusing on specific events or incidents within a larger context. By selecting key moments to observe, researchers can gather detailed information about these events and their significance.

10. Time Sampling: In this method, the observer selects specific time intervals for observation, rather than focusing on specific events. By observing at regular intervals, researchers can gain a comprehensive understanding of the target subject’s routines and patterns of behavior.

These are just some of the many observation methods available to researchers. The choice of method will depend on factors such as the research question, the subjects being observed, and the desired level of control and accuracy. By understanding the different types of observation methods, writers can devise narratives that effectively capture the essence and dynamics of the events and subjects they are analyzing.

Examples of Observation Essays: Studying Nature

Observation essays provide an exclusive opportunity for writers to explore and study various aspects of the surrounding world. Whether it’s a classroom event, a nature observation, or a rehearsal for a school play, observation essays play a central role in understanding and documenting different areas of development and experience.

When writing an observation essay, it is essential to take note of the observations, making sure to be accurate in documenting what was said, as well as the overall impression and excitement of the event. By being a participant observer, the writer can provide a narrative that allows readers to fully understand the presence of the writer and what they are observing.

In the case of studying nature, observation essays can be a useful tool for well-versed writers to share their knowledge and observations with others. It is important to have a clear statement of purpose in the essay, highlighting the main areas of focus and the specific observations made. This helps the reader to understand the overall theme and purpose of the essay.

Below is a template that can be used as a guide in writing a nature observation essay:

• Observations: Share the specific observations made during the nature study, detailing the different aspects of the environment, wildlife, or plant life.
• Reflection: Reflect on the observations and discuss the significance of what was observed. What do these observations tell you about nature and its interconnectedness?

By following this template and providing detailed and accurate observations, writers can create engaging nature observation essays that not only inform but also inspire readers to appreciate and study the natural world. So, whatever the nature observation may be – from studying the behavior of animals to exploring different plant species – observation essays are an effective way to share knowledge and make a significant impact in the field of nature study.

Examples of Observation Essays: Analyzing Human Behavior

When writing an observation essay, it is essential to follow a strict outline to ensure that your thoughts and observations are organized in a logical manner. Here is an example outline that you can consider:

2. Observation event: Describe the specific event or activity you are observing. Be as detailed as possible, including information about the location, time of day, and the individuals involved.

3. Observation process: Discuss your role as an observer and the methods and tools you used for observation. Also, explain any biases or preconceived notions you may have had before observing.

4. Detailed observations: In this section, provide a detailed account of the observations you made during the event. Include information about the participants’ behaviors, facial expressions, body language, and any other relevant details that contribute to your understanding of human behavior.

5. Analysis and interpretation: It is crucial to analyze and interpret the observations you’ve made. Try to identify any patterns or trends in behavior, and consider the underlying reasons for these behaviors.

6. Overall impression: Summarize your overall impression of the observed event or activity. Reflect on what you have learned and how it has impacted your understanding of human behavior.

Observation essays can cover a wide range of topics, from observing a classroom of students to observing the behavior of individuals in a public setting. The key is to choose a topic that interests you and allows for meaningful observations.

For example, Chloe Halloran, a student at XYZ School, wrote a powerful observation essay about her experience observing a clinical rehearsal. In her essay, she focused on the different areas of human behavior she observed, such as motor skills, communication, and teamwork. Chloe’s detailed observations helped her gain a deeper understanding of the complexities of working in a clinical setting.

Overall, observation essays are an excellent tool for students to develop their analytical and writing skills. By closely observing and analyzing human behavior, students can gain valuable insights into the world around them and enhance their ability to communicate their observations effectively.

What is the purpose of an observation essay?

The purpose of an observation essay is to provide a detailed and descriptive account of a particular event, person, or place based on the writer’s personal observations.

Can you give me an example of an observation essay?

Sure! One example of an observation essay could be a writer’s narrative about their experience visiting a local farmer’s market, describing the sights, sounds, and smells of the market, as well as the interactions between vendors and customers.

What is a clinical observation reflection essay?

A clinical observation reflection essay is an essay where a student reflects on their experience observing a medical or clinical setting, such as a hospital or clinic. It allows the student to analyze and reflect on what they have observed and learned during their time in the clinical setting.

By Alex Koliada, PhD

Alex Koliada, PhD, is a well-known doctor. He is famous for studying aging, genetics, and other medical conditions. He works at the Institute of Food Biotechnology and Genomics. His scientific research has been published in the most reputable international magazines. Alex holds a BA in English and Comparative Literature from the University of Southern California , and a TEFL certification from The Boston Language Institute.

How to Write the AP Lit Prose Essay with Examples

March 30, 2024

AP Lit Prose Essay Examples – The College Board’s Advanced Placement Literature and Composition Course is one of the most enriching experiences that high school students can have. It exposes you to literature that most people don’t encounter until college , and it helps you develop analytical and critical thinking skills that will enhance the quality of your life, both inside and outside of school. The AP Lit Exam reflects the rigor of the course. The exam uses consistent question types, weighting, and scoring parameters each year . This means that, as you prepare for the exam, you can look at previous questions, responses, score criteria, and scorer commentary to help you practice until your essays are perfect.

What is the AP Lit Free Response testing? 

In AP Literature, you read books, short stories, and poetry, and you learn how to commit the complex act of literary analysis . But what does that mean? Well, “to analyze” literally means breaking a larger idea into smaller and smaller pieces until the pieces are small enough that they can help us to understand the larger idea. When we’re performing literary analysis, we’re breaking down a piece of literature into smaller and smaller pieces until we can use those pieces to better understand the piece of literature itself.

So, for example, let’s say you’re presented with a passage from a short story to analyze. The AP Lit Exam will ask you to write an essay with an essay with a clear, defensible thesis statement that makes an argument about the story, based on some literary elements in the short story. After reading the passage, you might talk about how foreshadowing, allusion, and dialogue work together to demonstrate something essential in the text. Then, you’ll use examples of each of those three literary elements (that you pull directly from the passage) to build your argument. You’ll finish the essay with a conclusion that uses clear reasoning to tell your reader why your argument makes sense.

AP Lit Prose Essay Examples (Continued)

But what’s the point of all of this? Why do they ask you to write these essays?

Well, the essay is, once again, testing your ability to conduct literary analysis. However, the thing that you’re also doing behind that literary analysis is a complex process of both inductive and deductive reasoning. Inductive reasoning takes a series of points of evidence and draws a larger conclusion. Deductive reasoning departs from the point of a broader premise and draws a singular conclusion. In an analytical essay like this one, you’re using small pieces of evidence to draw a larger conclusion (your thesis statement) and then you’re taking your thesis statement as a larger premise from which you derive your ultimate conclusion.

So, the exam scorers are looking at your ability to craft a strong thesis statement (a singular sentence that makes an argument), use evidence and reasoning to support that argument, and then to write the essay well. This is something they call “sophistication,” but they’re looking for well-organized thoughts carried through clear, complete sentences.

This entire process is something you can and will use throughout your life. Law, engineering, medicine—whatever pursuit, you name it—utilizes these forms of reasoning to run experiments, build cases, and persuade audiences. The process of this kind of clear, analytical thinking can be honed, developed, and made easier through repetition.

Practice Makes Perfect

Because the AP Literature Exam maintains continuity across the years, you can pull old exam copies, read the passages, and write responses. A good AP Lit teacher is going to have you do this time and time again in class until you have the formula down. But, it’s also something you can do on your own, if you’re interested in further developing your skills.

AP Lit Prose Essay Examples 

Let’s take a look at some examples of questions, answers and scorer responses that will help you to get a better idea of how to craft your own AP Literature exam essays.

In the exam in 2023, students were asked to read a poem by Alice Cary titled “Autumn,” which was published in 1874. In it, the speaker contemplates the start of autumn. Then, students are asked to craft a well-written essay which uses literary techniques to convey the speaker’s complex response to the changing seasons.

The following is an essay that received a perfect 6 on the exam. There are grammar and usage errors throughout the essay, which is important to note: even though the writer makes some mistakes, the structure and form of their argument was strong enough to merit a 6. This is what your scorers will be looking for when they read your essay.

Example Essay 

Romantic and hyperbolic imagery is used to illustrate the speaker’s unenthusiastic opinion of the coming of autumn, which conveys Cary’s idea that change is difficult to accept but necessary for growth.

Romantic imagery is utilized to demonstrate the speaker’s warm regard for the season of summer and emphasize her regretfulness for autumn’s coming, conveying the uncomfortable change away from idyllic familiarity. Summer, is portrayed in the image of a woman who “from her golden collar slips/and strays through stubble fields/and moans aloud.” Associated with sensuality and wealth, the speaker implies the interconnection between a season and bounty, comfort, and pleasure. Yet, this romantic view is dismantled by autumn, causing Summer to “slip” and “stray through stubble fields.” Thus, the coming of real change dethrones a constructed, romantic personification of summer,  conveying the speaker’s reluctance for her ideal season to be dethroned by something much less decorated and adored.

Summer, “she lies on pillows of the yellow leaves,/ And tries the old tunes for over an hour”, is contrasted with bright imagery of fallen leaves/ The juxtaposition between Summer’s character and the setting provides insight into the positivity of change—the yellow leaves—by its contrast with the failures of attempting to sustain old habits or practices, “old tunes”. “She lies on pillows” creates a sympathetic, passive image of summer in reaction to the coming of Autumn, contrasting her failures to sustain “old tunes.” According to this, it is understood that the speaker recognizes the foolishness of attempting to prevent what is to come, but her wishfulness to counter the natural progression of time.

Hyperbolic imagery displays the discrepancies between unrealistic, exaggerated perceptions of change and the reality of progress, continuing the perpetuation of Cary’s idea that change must be embraced rather than rejected. “Shorter and shorter now the twilight clips/The days, as though the sunset gates they crowd”, syntax and diction are used to literally separate different aspects of the progression of time. In an ironic parallel to the literal language, the action of twilight’s “clip” and the subject, “the days,” are cut off from each other into two different lines, emphasizing a sense of jarring and discomfort. Sunset, and Twilight are named, made into distinct entities from the day, dramatizing the shortening of night-time into fall. The dramatic, sudden implications for the change bring to mind the switch between summer and winter, rather than a transitional season like fall—emphasizing the Speaker’s perspective rather than a factual narration of the experience.

She says “the proud meadow-pink hangs down her head/Against the earth’s chilly bosom, witched with frost”. Implying pride and defeat, and the word “witched,” the speaker brings a sense of conflict, morality, and even good versus evil into the transition between seasons. Rather than a smooth, welcome change, the speaker is practically against the coming of fall. The hyperbole present in the poem serves to illustrate the Speaker’s perspective and ideas on the coming of fall, which are characterized by reluctance and hostility to change from comfort.

The topic of this poem, Fall–a season characterized by change and the deconstruction of the spring and summer landscape—is juxtaposed with the final line which evokes the season of Spring. From this, it is clear that the speaker appreciates beautiful and blossoming change. However, they resent that which destroys familiar paradigms and norms. Fall, seen as the death of summer, is characterized as a regression, though the turning of seasons is a product of the literal passage of time. Utilizing romantic imagery and hyperbole to shape the Speaker’s perspective, Cary emphasizes the need to embrace change though it is difficult, because growth is not possible without hardship or discomfort.

Scoring Criteria: Why did this essay do so well? 

When it comes to scoring well, there are some rather formulaic things that the judges are searching for. You might think that it’s important to “stand out” or “be creative” in your writing. However, aside from concerns about “sophistication,” which essentially means you know how to organize thoughts into sentences and you can use language that isn’t entirely elementary, you should really focus on sticking to a form. This will show the scorers that you know how to follow that inductive/deductive reasoning process that we mentioned earlier, and it will help to present your ideas in the most clear, coherent way possible to someone who is reading and scoring hundreds of essays.

So, how did this essay succeed? And how can you do the same thing?

First: The Thesis 

On the exam, you can either get one point or zero points for your thesis statement. The scorers said, “The essay responds to the prompt with a defensible thesis located in the introductory paragraph,” which you can read as the first sentence in the essay. This is important to note: you don’t need a flowery hook to seduce your reader; you can just start this brief essay with some strong, simple, declarative sentences—or go right into your thesis.

What makes a good thesis? A good thesis statement does the following things:

• Makes a claim that will be supported by evidence
• Is specific and precise in its use of language
• Argues for an original thought that goes beyond a simple restating of the facts

If you’re sitting here scratching your head wondering how you come up with a thesis statement off the top of your head, let me give you one piece of advice: don’t.

The AP Lit scoring criteria gives you only one point for the thesis for a reason: they’re just looking for the presence of a defensible claim that can be proven by evidence in the rest of the essay.

Second: Write your essay from the inside out 

While the thesis is given one point, the form and content of the essay can receive anywhere from zero to four points. This is where you should place the bulk of your focus.

My best advice goes like this:

• Choose your evidence first
• Develop your commentary about the evidence
• Then draft your thesis statement based on the evidence that you find and the commentary you can create.

It will seem a little counterintuitive: like you’re writing your essay from the inside out. But this is a fundamental skill that will help you in college and beyond. Don’t come up with an argument out of thin air and then try to find evidence to support your claim. Look for the evidence that exists and then ask yourself what it all means. This will also keep you from feeling stuck or blocked at the beginning of the essay. If you prepare for the exam by reviewing the literary devices that you learned in the course and practice locating them in a text, you can quickly and efficiently read a literary passage and choose two or three literary devices that you can analyze.

Third: Use scratch paper to quickly outline your evidence and commentary 

Once you’ve located two or three literary devices at work in the given passage, use scratch paper to draw up a quick outline. Give each literary device a major bullet point. Then, briefly point to the quotes/evidence you’ll use in the essay. Finally, start to think about what the literary device and evidence are doing together. Try to answer the question: what meaning does this bring to the passage?

A sample outline for one paragraph of the above essay might look like this:

Romantic imagery

Portrayal of summer

• Woman who “from her golden collar… moans aloud”
• Summer as bounty

Contrast with Autumn

• Autumn dismantles Summer
• “Stray through stubble fields”
• Autumn is change; it has the power to dethrone the romance of Summer/make summer a bit meaningless

Recognition of change in a positive light

• Summer “lies on pillows / yellow leaves / tries old tunes”
• Bright imagery/fallen leaves
• Attempt to maintain old practices fails: “old tunes”
• But! There is sympathy: “lies on pillows”

Speaker recognizes: she can’t prevent what is to come; wishes to embrace natural passage of time

By the time the writer gets to the end of the outline for their paragraph, they can easily start to draw conclusions about the paragraph based on the evidence they have pulled out. You can see how that thinking might develop over the course of the outline.

Then, the speaker would take the conclusions they’ve drawn and write a “mini claim” that will start each paragraph. The final bullet point of this outline isn’t the same as the mini claim that comes at the top of the second paragraph of the essay, however, it is the conclusion of the paragraph. You would do well to use the concluding thoughts from your outline as the mini claim to start your body paragraph. This will make your paragraphs clear, concise, and help you to construct a coherent argument.

Repeat this process for the other one or two literary devices that you’ve chosen to analyze, and then: take a step back.

Fourth: Draft your thesis 

Once you quickly sketch out your outline, take a moment to “stand back” and see what you’ve drafted. You’ll be able to see that, among your two or three literary devices, you can draw some commonality. You might be able to say, as the writer did here, that romantic and hyperbolic imagery “illustrate the speaker’s unenthusiastic opinion of the coming of autumn,” ultimately illuminating the poet’s idea “that change is difficult to accept but necessary for growth.”

This is an original argument built on the evidence accumulated by the student. It directly answers the prompt by discussing literary techniques that “convey the speaker’s complex response to the changing seasons.” Remember to go back to the prompt and see what direction they want you to head with your thesis, and craft an argument that directly speaks to that prompt.

Then, move ahead to finish your body paragraphs and conclusion.

Fifth: Give each literary device its own body paragraph 

In this essay, the writer examines the use of two literary devices that are supported by multiple pieces of evidence. The first is “romantic imagery” and the second is “hyperbolic imagery.” The writer dedicates one paragraph to each idea. You should do this, too.

This is why it’s important to choose just two or three literary devices. You really don’t have time to dig into more. Plus, more ideas will simply cloud the essay and confuse your reader.

Using your outline, start each body paragraph with a “mini claim” that makes an argument about what it is you’ll be saying in your paragraph. Lay out your pieces of evidence, then provide commentary for why your evidence proves your point about that literary device.

Move onto the next literary device, rinse, and repeat.

Sixth: Commentary and Conclusion 

Finally, you’ll want to end this brief essay with a concluding paragraph that restates your thesis, briefly touches on your most important points from each body paragraph, and includes a development of the argument that you laid out in the essay.

In this particular example essay, the writer concludes by saying, “Utilizing romantic imagery and hyperbole to shape the Speaker’s perspective, Cary emphasizes the need to embrace change though it is difficult, because growth is not possible without hardship or discomfort.” This is a direct restatement of the thesis. At this point, you’ll have reached the end of your essay. Great work!

Seventh: Sophistication 

A final note on scoring criteria: there is one point awarded to what the scoring criteria calls “sophistication.” This is evidenced by the sophistication of thought and providing a nuanced literary analysis, which we’ve already covered in the steps above.

There are some things to avoid, however:

• Sweeping generalizations, such as, “From the beginning of human history, people have always searched for love,” or “Everyone goes through periods of darkness in their lives, much like the writer of this poem.”
• Only hinting at possible interpretations instead of developing your argument
• Oversimplifying your interpretation
• Or, by contrast, using overly flowery or complex language that does not meet your level of preparation or the context of the essay.

Remember to develop your argument with nuance and complexity and to write in a style that is academic but appropriate for the task at hand.

If you want more practice or to check out other exams from the past, go to the College Board’s website .

Brittany Borghi

After earning a BA in Journalism and an MFA in Nonfiction Writing from the University of Iowa, Brittany spent five years as a full-time lecturer in the Rhetoric Department at the University of Iowa. Additionally, she’s held previous roles as a researcher, full-time daily journalist, and book editor. Brittany’s work has been featured in The Iowa Review, The Hopkins Review, and the Pittsburgh City Paper, among others, and she was also a 2021 Pushcart Prize nominee.

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Conversation Essay Example

The sample essay on Conversation Essay Example deals with a framework of research-based facts, approaches, and arguments concerning this theme. To see the essay’s introduction, body paragraphs and conclusion, read on.

On the other hand, Stefanos and Angeliki, kinesthetic learners that collaborated in the non-computer based approach, helped each other in a bigger degree during the construction of the model, since they were familiar on working with materials and they both had the chance experimenting with the materials. This reinforces Fleming’s (2008) suggestion that kinesthetic learners have experience and feel comfortable in the science lab.

Proficient in: Communication

“ This writer never make an mistake for me always deliver long before due date. Am telling you man this writer is absolutely the best. ”

Still, in some cases Stefanos handled the materials for longer and Angeliki was just helping by bringing the appropriate materials for the development of the model.

Stefanos: No Angeliki is not like that, let me do it. I have used this tool again and I can manage better. Go fetch the “globe” and the “Sun”, please. Angeliki: Ok, I am going but then I want to try too… You shouldn’t do everything by yourself! The teacher said that both together have to develop the model.

 Stefanos: Ok, I will let you do the next thing… The above conversations indicate that there were factors that influenced the teaching process and weren’t strictly related with students’ learning styles, but with students’ experiences, as Milgram (2007) suggests too. Boys in both situations tended to dominate girls, while this was more obvious in the computer-based approach. That is due to the fact that boys, as Milgram ‘s (2007) also suggests, have more experience with the hand-on lab equipment than girls, something that was observed occurring in the present study in the computer and the science lab.

Paper Conversation

As it concerns the students that had visual learning preferences and worked in the two groups different characteristics of the two learning approaches revealed to benefit them. Specifically, the fact that Stagecast Creator is a program that uses images for creating rules and doesn’t require a programming language was very supportive for Katerina and George (visual learners), since they could easily express their understandings through images.

However, students were considering their animations as exact representations of reality, something that Osborne and Henessy (2003) also supported, so they were trying to create a model that was representing the phenomenon. Still, the group of visual learners that participated in the non computer-based teaching approach found some difficulties on developing a model, since they could visualize how they wanted their model to look like by seeing all the materials available to them, but in the practice they found difficulties in actually doing what they wished.

Moreover, the two teaching approaches revealed to promote in a big degree the conversations between students with auditory strengths. In both groups, the couples that had auditory learning preference were discussing for longer time than the other two couples in order to express their ideas and find solutions for any problems they came across, something that strengthens Felder’s (1988) idea that auditory learners are good at explaining things to others and participating in conversations. However, the fact that they could add sound and write text that was explaining what their model represented and how, was an additional advantage for students with auditory learning preference who participated in the computer-based modeling approach.

Considering study’s findings, I argue that a modeling-based approach can facilitate students’ understanding about a scientific phenomenon, if educators adopt appropriate activities that correspond to students’ individual needs. Also, the use of computer-based programming environments for a modeling procedure can be quite beneficial for developing students’ modeling skills. However, in order for that to be accomplished is essential for students to become comfortable on using computers during science lessons.

CONCLUSIONS

The current study identifies fifth graders’ interactions with two different modeling- based approaches, one computer-based and one non computer-based, when they are taught a scientific phenomenon and makes a correlation with students’ learning styles. Both approaches were based on constructivism, so a link with this pedagogic approach is made. In this sense, the focus was on students’ conversation types, their activities, the program strategies they developed during their work with the computer-based modeling tool as well as on their opinions that were expressed through group interviews. Through this is recognized which of the two modeling approaches can support and facilitate students’ understandings in a more coherent way and which factors, basically related to students’ individual needs, affect that.

It was found that the two modeling-based environments that were designed and implemented in this study were valuable in promoting students’ understanding about the physical phenomenon under study (how day and night occurs). Through modeling-based teaching students were able to express their ideas about the phenomenon and refine them later on in the light of new evidence. Furthermore, the fact that the two approaches included activities that corresponded to every student’s individual learning preference appeared to be significant, since all students’ needs were fulfilled.

However, the implementation of SC, the computer-based modeling tool that was used for the purposes of this study revealed to be more promising in enhancing students’ modeling skills. This was due to the fact that the specific programming environment enabled students to test, revise and validate their models through a friendly and motivating environment of experimenting and debugging knowledge.

In addition, students’ individual characteristics seemed to be supported from different features of the two modeling approaches. Specifically, certain activities were helpful for some students with a specific learning style, while they ignored other activities. Therefore, the need for using a range of activities in a teaching approach that correspond to every learning style is highlighted. At this point it is important to be mentioned that gender differences, not strictly related with students’ learning style were observed.

Furthermore, the computer-based program that was used increased students’ motivation since they received direct and continuous feedback that helped them revise their models. SC offered the ability to every student to use it according to his or her personal needs, since audio, images, animation and hands-on activities were available. On the other hand, students working with materials were likely to create their models with a specific way, since they didn’t have many options. However, kinesthetic learners were collaborating more efficiently with the non computer-based approach since both students were able to interact with hands-on activities, while during the computer-based approach one of them was using the mouse.

Even if findings from the current study can’t be used in generalization for the student population, since it was a small-scale research, it is suggested that modeling-based approaches should be well designed in order to correspond to every students’ individual needs. Still, it is recommend that apart from learning styles, other factors like gender and age should be investigated in order to see how they affect the modeling-based teaching in a science lesson. Further researchers might also find it useful to examine which modeling approach, a computer-based modeling approach or a modeling approach based on laboratory settings, can support better students on developing modeling skills that can use in novel situations. Moreover, further research could be conducted in order to study how students’ experiences and confidence with computers or laboratory settings can affect two different modeling approaches similar with those of the present study.

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I built a tiny house in my parents' backyard and lived rent-free for 5 years. It helped me save money to see the world — and taught me how to live simply.

• Mckean Matson built a tiny home in her parents' backyard and lived there for five years.
• She says the experience taught her how to live with fewer materials and helped her save money.
• Matson says she was able to buy horses and a bigger home and see the world with the money she saved.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Mckean Matson, a 25-year-old tiny homeowner in College Station, Texas. It has been edited for length and clarity.

In 2018, right before I graduated from high school, my parents said I could build a tiny house in their backyard, and live rent-free. It was either that, or, when I left for college, I'd have to pay for housing and utilities.

I remember it being an offer I couldn't pass up. I really didn't want to pay for a pricey apartment and split utilities with roommates. Instead, I took my parents up on their offer.

I lived in the tiny house for five years. When I look back on my tiny house era, I enjoyed that phase of my life, and I'm grateful for what the experience taught me. Living in my parents' backyard was also convenient, and it allowed me to save money for the house I now have.

My dad and I built the tiny house together

In a way, a piece of the structure had already existed on the property. As far back as the fifth grade, my best friend and I decided to build a 10x10 fort with my dad.

It was made out of plywood and looked comparable to a shed. Although you couldn't live in it yet, it gave us a good foundation for my tiny house years later. (My parents own 11 acres, and you can actually see the tiny house from their kitchen window.)

Since converting the fort, which required closing it in and adding things like plumbing, my tiny house became roughly 350 square feet.

In total, the conversion cost around $70,000, and that included the framing, furnishings, plumbing, HVAC, and everything else we needed to finish it.

My tiny house has the basics but on a much smaller scale

When you step inside the tiny house, there's the kitchen, which has a love seat, lower cabinets, a countertop, and appliances. For a smaller space, the kitchen has a lot of storage areas, including drawers and floating shelves to store dishes.

There's also a bathroom that has the basics but on a much smaller scale. For example, there's a shower, but because it's in a tiny house, the shower is smaller than your typical shower would be.

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Then, there's a staircase that leads to the bedroom. I used to have my bed up there, and some shelving around the opening of my staircase, where I stored my shoes and sweat sets. At the time, I also had a clothing rack and a dresser for my belongings.

I learned to live with less and saved my money

Living tiny taught me a lot, especially regarding materialistic items. In a way, it taught me to be humble and to be grateful for the stuff I own.

Before I moved into the tiny home, I had a lot of shoes, but with limited space. My tiny house made me rethink if I needed to have as many shoes as I did. Before, I thought, sure, I haven't worn this in a year, but it's cute, I'm going to keep it . I don't do that now.

Living tiny, simply taught me to live with only what I need. It showed me that the materialistic things people focus on are such a waste , and most of the world doesn't realize it.

When I lived in the tiny home in my parents' backyard , I saved my money. I also spent it on my two horses and traveling.

Saving my money allowed me to buy a home, and see the world. It also allowed me to consider what's important to me. I don't want to be attached to materials.

It made my family and I 'closer,' but entertaining guests was hard

Living in the tiny house also allowed me to see my family every day. As I've gotten older, I've become closer to my siblings, and being in such close proximity helped with that.

Additionally, being in my parents' backyard was convenient; when living there, I got to raid their fridge, and if I ever needed help with something, they were right there to assist me, and vice versa.

Entertaining guests was harder, though. If I wanted to have friends over, there wasn't too much space to do anything indoors. I was lucky to have such a big porch for us to sit on, but I couldn't invite them over to do other things like cook inside or play indoor games.

There are social stigmas surrounding tiny houses

Through this experience, I've learned that people can be judgy about anything, especially when they're unhappy with their own lives.

Now that tiny houses are so popular and commonly seen on social media, there are stigmas surrounding them. It surprised me to hear comments like, "Oh, tiny houses are for those who can't afford regular houses," or "Those are for poor people," — especially from adults.

Despite judgments, my tiny house experience was amazing and it set me up for success.

If I were to build a tiny house again, I'd make some adjustments

Although I loved the tiny home, I was ready to have something to call my own. I also felt ready to prove that I could be successful on my own, and I wanted to settle into something bigger before starting my own family, so I moved into a larger home.

If I were to build a tiny house again, I'd build the bathroom a bit bigger. Also, if I were to add a second story, I'd opt for a ladder instead of a staircase, as the stairs took up a lot of space.

Still, I wouldn't change much. Living tiny taught me a lot and made me think of what's truly important to me. Through it, I learned how to be humble, and how to live with fewer materials.

Even though I've moved into a larger home, I still believe in living minimally.

Watch: How a 'hoarder's house' is deep cleaned

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March 29, 2024

Baltimore Bridge Collapse Will Teach Engineers to Build Safer Infrastructure

The loss of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge after a cargo ship collision will teach engineers how to design structures better able to withstand disasters

By Michael J. Chajes & The Conversation US

In this aerial image, the steel frame of the Francis Scott Key Bridge sits on top of a container ship after the bridge collapsed in Baltimore on March 26, 2024.

Michael A. McCoy for The Washington Post via Getty Images

The cargo ship collision that destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on March 26, 2024, is raising questions about just how much engineers can do to prevent such catastrophes from occurring in the future. Here, Michael J. Chajes , a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Delaware, discusses how bridge design codes have changed over the years and the challenges of building new structures, and retrofitting existing ones, so they can survive extreme events

How hard is it to design a bridge to withstand the force that took down the Francis Scott Key Bridge?

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Once engineers understand the forces that a structure will be subjected to, they can design a structure to withstand them. That said, we know that each force has a range of magnitudes that can occur. For example, not all trucks on the roadways weigh the same amount, not all earthquakes are of the same magnitude, and not all ships have the same weight. We incorporate this variability in forces into the design.

Even if built to a given set of plans, the final strength of the structure can vary. The materials used have variations in strength. For example, concrete delivered on two successive days will have a sightly different final strength. This variability in the strength of the final structure is also taken into account in the design process to ensure the bridge or building is safe. There’s no way we could build two bridges from the same set of plans and they end up with the exact same strength.

Based on the weight and speed of the ship that hit the Francis Scott Key Bridge, today’s U.S. bridge design code would call for the bridge to be designed to resist a lateral force of 11,500 tons. This means the bridge has the ability to withstand a lateral hit of that magnitude. That is equivalent to the weight of about 50 loaded Boeing 777s or the weight of the Eiffel Tower. While this is a very large lateral force, structures can be designed to resist such forces. Tall buildings are routinely designed to resist lateral loads of this magnitude that result from wind or earthquakes. However, it is a matter of how much one wants to spend on the structure, and many design goals and constraints need to be balanced against each other.

What do engineers do to ensure safety in extreme events?

Our knowledge of how extreme events affect structures is constantly evolving. One area where this is very apparent is earthquake engineering . After each earthquake, structural engineers learn what has worked and what has not worked, and then the building and bridge design codes evolve. Infrastructure owners also try to retrofit existing structures that were designed to earlier codes.

Ship collisions and their impact on bridges are a similar area of evolving understanding and improved design codes. There have been over 35 major bridge collapses globally that were caused by ship collisions from 1960 to 2015 . Engineers evaluate the failures, and they update the engineering codes so that they better account for the effects of ship collisions.

How has bridge design evolved since the Baltimore bridge was built?

The Francis Scott Key Bridge was designed in the early 1970s. Construction started in 1972, and it opened to traffic in 1977. This preceded the 1980 collapse of the Sunshine Skyway in Florida, which was caused by a ship collision, similar to what happened in Baltimore. That bridge collapse led to the initiation of research projects that culminated in the development of a U.S. guide specification in 1991 that was updated in 2009.

Based on that guide specification, bridge design codes were changed to include forces due to ship collisions. The design of the Francis Scott Key Bridge would not have been required to consider the effect of ship collisions. The current U.S. bridge design code says that:

“where vessel collision is anticipated, structures should be:

• Designed to resist vessel collision forces and/or

• Adequately protected by fenders, dolphins, berms, islands, or other sacrifice-able devices.”

Other changes since the 1970s are that cargo ships have increased in size and weight . The ship that brought down the Sunshine Skyway in 1980 weighed 35,000 tons, while the ship that collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge weighed 95,000 tons.

With the increasing weight of cargo ships, the most cost-effective design strategy to prevent collapse of bridges due to vessel collision may well be to protect the bridge piers from the impact. This is done by building a bridge collision protective system, which is often a concrete or rock structure that surrounds the pier and stops the ship from getting to the pier, as is done to protect many of our national monuments.

A pier protection system was installed when the Sunshine Skyway bridge was rebuilt, and it has been used on numerous other bridges . The same approach is currently being applied by the Delaware River and Bay Authority at a cost of US$93 million to protect the piers of the Delaware Memorial Bridge .

But what about existing bridges like the Francis Scott Key Bridge? Bridge owners have a tremendous challenge finding the financial resources needed to retrofit their bridges to satisfy the latest design codes and to account for the increased impact loads expected due to the heavier and heavier ships. Both things happened here. That is, design codes changed and improved, and loads got much larger. Engineers and infrastructure owners try their best to prioritize where their limited funds can be used to increase structural safety and minimize the chance of structural failure.

What can universities do?

The No. 1 job of structural engineers is to protect the public and minimize the risk of structural failures that pose a threat to human life. To do that, engineers must be able to calculate the forces that our structures may be subjected to. This includes cases where a large ship accidentally collides with a bridge, or a large earthquake or hurricane strikes.

In these extreme cases, the structure will almost assuredly sustain damage, but, if at all possible, it should be resilient enough to not collapse. The design codes are continually updated to account for new knowledge, new materials and new design techniques. The reliability of our structures is improving all the time.

Retrofitting structures built to prior codes is an ongoing process, and one that this disaster moves to the forefront. The U.S. has a lot of infrastructure that was designed to old codes, and we have larger trucks crossing our bridges, and larger ships passing beneath them.

Engineers can never reduce the probability of failure to zero, but they can reduce it to the point where failures happen very infrequently and only in cases where numerous unforeseen circumstances combine to make a structure vulnerable to collapse.

This article was originally published on The Conversation . Read the original article .

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How Los Angeles Is Approaching Homelessness

A conversation with the Times reporter who wrote about Mayor Karen Bass’s flagship program to solve homelessness.

By Soumya Karlamangla

About 171,000 people living in California are homeless, a total that has grown significantly over the past decade. If you live here, this has surely not gone without notice, as encampments have popped up on sidewalks and in public parks across the state in recent years.

Though California accounts for 12 percent of the nation’s population, the state is home to 30 percent of all homeless people in the United States.

My colleague Jill Cowan recently wrote about a new program spearheaded by Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles that’s aimed at eliminating the most visible encampments in the city. Bass took office in late 2022, and the program, Inside Safe, is at the core of her efforts to solve homelessness.

The program provides motel rooms for homeless residents who agree to leave encampments, a shift from sweeps in which officials clear encampments and force people to leave. But while Inside Safe has moved more than 2,100 people into shelters, only 400 of them have since moved into permanent housing. That’s drawn criticism that the program is only a short-term fix and perhaps more for optics than helping Angelenos most in need.

You can read Jill’s full article here.

I spoke to Jill about her article and her reporting, which spanned more than a year. Here’s our conversation, lightly edited:

Why did you decide to focus on Inside Safe?

Because it was the mayor’s focus — it was the program she touted the most and it was meant to address some of the people who need it most.

You reported that through Inside Safe and other programs, L.A. moved 21,000 people off the street and into temporary housing in 2023, about 4,000 more than it did in the prior year. How are Bass’s efforts seemingly more effective than her predecessors’?

There were a few things that Bass has done differently and not all of them are related to Inside Safe, but it’s a useful place to start. The level of coordination and focus on a specific encampment were new for Inside Safe: It was important to follow through on promises of shelter, and for that shelter to be individual rooms, as opposed to big congregate shelters, which make a lot of homeless people feel unsafe or like they don’t have privacy. Bass has also emphasized her relationships across government agencies, like with members of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and with leaders in the federal government, to help get everybody rowing in the same direction, which experts say is a bigger change than you might think.

You live in L.A. When you drive or walk around the city, does it feel as if the reduction in encampments is noticeable?

I think so. It certainly isn’t true to say that there are no encampments anywhere. But there are also a lot of public spaces where there were wall-to-wall tent encampments covering sidewalks or in parks, and many of those are no longer there. Venice is an example that many of the mayor’s allies point to, and the difference there is really striking. I live near Echo Park Lake, and during the pandemic there were a lot of encampments around that area, but I have seen very few tents in the last year or so.

What’s the pushback to the program been?

A longtime criticism of Los Angeles’s — and many cities’ — approach to homelessness is that it prioritizes the experience of housed residents at the expense of stably getting people experiencing homelessness into homes. To be clear, a lot of progressives and homeless advocates say they prefer Bass’s general approach to sweeps, where people are forced to leave encampments.

But they say that Inside Safe still essentially closes off large parts of public space to people who may not have homes but still have a right to be in public. Because once an encampment is gone, the city or other agencies often put up barriers or, in some cases, enforce the city’s anti-camping ordinance to ensure people don’t come back to that area.

What has Bass said in response to this criticism?

She has been open about the fact that making visible progress for the benefit of voters is a top priority and she says that Inside Safe, for all its imperfections, is getting people in need off the street quickly. Leaving them there while they’re on a waiting list for temporary or permanent housing is not an option, in her view. She sees her work now as almost like triaging the situation in the time it takes to get more housing built.

Wait, she’s been open about the fact that Inside Safe is somewhat for image? Or is she casting it in some other less cynical way?

She has been open about the fact that it’s designed in part to satisfy voters.

Fascinating. OK, anything else about the story you want to share?

Just that this is an ongoing issue. Experts on housing and homelessness told me they were optimistic about Bass’s work and approach, but she needs time.

The rest of the news

A Los Angeles Times analysis of data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that California has the lowest job growth in the United States , particularly in rural counties.

Researchers with U.C. Santa Barbara and the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory report that water consumption in the U.S. could be cut by about 93 percent if California farmers planted less thirsty crops, CalMatters reports.

Southern California

A bill introduced in the California Legislature will seek reparations for the families of people who were displaced from their homes in Los Angeles in the 1950s on land that became the site of Dodger Stadium.

The Murrieta Police Department, which has been using Lego heads and emojis to cover suspects’ faces in social posts, has been asked by the Lego company to stop , The Associated Press reports.

Nancy Valverde, an L.G.B.T.Q. activist, died on Monday at her home in Hollywood, ABC News reports. She was 92 .

Northern California

Berkeley will stop enforcing a ban on natural gas piping in new homes and buildings in response to opposition in court by the California Restaurant Association, NBC Bay Area reports.

San Francisco’s 4/20 festivities in Golden Gate Park, a celebration of cannabis and cannabis culture, will not take place this year, The San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Amid all the upheaval of the pandemic, there have been moments of hope and positive change. What have been your pandemic silver linings? Tell us at [email protected] .

And before you go, some good news

Stacey Terterian grew up in Fresno, but during a recent visit to Armenia she discovered a deep connection to the country she says feels like home.

Terterian, whose family has roots in Armenia, decided to join a service program called the Armenian Volunteer Corp in August 2023 after a challenging period in her personal life. The trip brought her to Armenia for the second time in her life.

Terterian’s volunteering involved assisting Armenians who were affected by the ongoing conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnic enclave of Armenians in Azerbaijan. Then, in September 2023, Azerbaijan attacked Nagorno-Karabakh, taking control of the region and causing more than 100,000 Armenians to flee. Suddenly, Terterian found herself on the front lines of the crisis, providing aid to the refugees and, through that experience, locating a deep connection to Armenia and its people.

Terterian describes the course-changing visit in a recent essay in The Fresno Bee . “A picturesque land, rich in both beauty and history. Armenians know despair; they know resilience as well. My journey embodies that spirit,” she wrote.

Thanks for reading. I’ll be back tomorrow. — Soumya

P.S. Here’s today’s Mini Crossword .

Maia Coleman and Briana Scalia contributed to California Today. You can reach the team at [email protected] .

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Soumya Karlamangla reports on California news and culture and is based in San Francisco. She writes the California Today newsletter. More about Soumya Karlamangla