HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR WRITING

TELLING A STORYA useful skill in English is to be able to tell a story or an anecdote. Anecdotes are short stories about something that happened to you or to someone you know.

How to start

Traditional stories often start with the phrase "Once upon a time". However, if you are going to tell your story after someone else has already spoken, you can say something like:

That reminds me!Funny you should say

that. Did I ever tell you

about…Hearing your story

reminds me of when…Something similar

happened to me….

How to tell your story

First of all, your story should be quite short. Try to keep it grammatically simple as well, so that it is easy to follow.

Make it easy for the listener to understand by using sequencing and linking words:

Sequencing wordsThese words show the chronological sequence of events.

First of all, I (packed my suitcase) Secondly, I …. (made sure I had all my documents) Previously (before that) ….. I changed some

money. Then… I (called a taxi for the airport) Later (on)… (when we were stuck in traffic, I

realised…) But before al that… (I had double checked my

reservation) Finally… (I arrived at the wrong check-in desk at

the wrong airport for a flight that didn't go until the next day)

How to tell your story

Linking wordsUse these words to link your ideas for the listener. Linking words can be used to show reason, result, contrasting information, additional information, and to summarise.

I booked a flight because…. As a result, I was late… Although I had a reservation, I hadn't

checked the airport name. I made sure I had an up-to-date

passport and I also took along my driving licence.

Tenses

We can use a variety of tenses to tell stories and anecdotes. Jokes are often in the present tense:

We also use the present tense to give a dramatic narrative effect:

However, we generally use past forms to talk about past events. If you tell your story in chronological order, you can use the past simple:

Use the past continuous to describe activities in progress at the time of your story, or to describe the background.

Sometimes, you might want to avoid telling your story as one chronological event after the other. You can use the past perfect (simple and continuous) to add more interest to your story by talking about events that happened before the events in your story:

A man walks into a bar and orders a beer.

The year is 1066. In medieval England people are worried that the king, Harold, is not strong enough to fight off a Norman invasion.

I double checked my reservation. I packed my suitcase, and then I called a taxi.

The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day. We were driving along the motorway quite steadily until we suddenly saw in front of us the warning lights to slow down. We were heading towards a huge tailback.

I double checked my reservation, which I had made three days previously.

I wanted to visit some friends who had been living in France for the last five years.

Vocabulary

Try to use a wide range of words to make your story more interesting. Remember that you can "exaggerate" when you tell a story, so instead of using words like "nice" or "bad", experiment with more interesting words, such as "beautiful", "fabulous", "wonderful", "horrible", "awful" or "terrible".

Finally …..

Remember that you are telling a story – not giving a lecture. Look at the people listening, and try to "involve" them in the story or anecdote. Keep eye contact, use the right intonation and try to make your face expressive. You might also want to try practising a few anecdotes in the mirror before "going live". Have fun!

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