We can spend a lot of time when we teach analytic and persuasive writing in teaching paragraph structure. You’ve all heard of one of these and will probably have your own variations:
- TEE – topic sentence, evidence, explanation
- TEEL – topic sentence,evidence, explanation, link
- PEE – point, evidence, explanation
But how do we approach teaching paragraphs in creative writing? Like any writing, creative writing needs to be chunked into units to help the reader better make sense of what is happening or being described. But unlike other types of writing, we don’t want students to follow formulaic patterns – we want them to be…well…creative. And that’s the catch 22 of teaching creative writing, isn’t it? How to give students strategies for being creative without leading them to be formulaic. The key is to show students different models and to encourage them to experiment. Below is a resource you can provide to students to show them different models of creative writing. Download the handout here: Creative Paragraphs
Along with giving them handouts like the one below, you can also engage in paragraph creation activities. Here is a version of one of our favourite very short stories (only one and a bit pages) call Francis with no paragraphs: Francis No Paragraphs. After explaining some ‘rules’ about paragraphing, ask students to read through the story and divide it into paragraphs. Stress that there is no right or wrong, but they will need to have reasons for their divisions. Compare what students come up with and then compare it to the paragraphing the original author used: Francis
Creative Paragraphs
Like any paragraph, creative paragraphs should be about one idea. However, unlike other types of writing, creative paragraphs can be:
- Long or short (sometimes even just one sentence)
- Have topic sentences in different places or no clear topic sentence at all
Start with the main idea: A beginning sentence that is like a topic sentence – it explicitly states the topic of the rest of the paragraph
It was an empty and lonely place. Everywhere you looked, all you could see were grey houses, dead lawns and rubbish blown about by the wind. One building had the words ‘get out now’ scrawled all over it. Cars with open doors creaking in the wind butted up against each other in the middle of the road as if they were discarded toys. Not a single human sound could be heard.
Show the main idea: A series of sentences which clearly describe, narrate or discuss the same thing without ever clearly stating it
Everywhere you looked, all you could see were grey houses, dead lawns and rubbish blown about by the wind. One building had the words ‘get out now’ scrawled all over it. Another had a great vine that had nearly completely swallowed it up. In the middle of the main road, cars with open doors creaking in the wind butted up against each other as if they were discarded toys left by some child. Not a single human sound could be heard.
Finish with the main idea: The topic sentence is at the end rather than the beginning
Everywhere you looked, all you could see were grey houses, dead lawns and rubbish blown about by the wind. One building had the words ‘get out now’ scrawled all over it. Another had a great vine that had nearly completely swallowed it up. In the middle of the main road, cars with open doors creaking in the wind butted up against each other as if they were discarded toys left by some child. It was an empty and lonely place.
Have one short, main idea: Paragraphs only need to be one sentence long, especially if the follow and emphasise an idea in a preceding paragraph
Everywhere you looked, all you could see were grey houses, dead lawns and rubbish blown about by the wind. One building had the words ‘get out now’ scrawled all over it. Another had a great vine that had nearly completely swallowed it up. In the middle of the main road, cars with open doors creaking in the wind butted up against each other as if they were discarded toys left by some child.
It was an empty and lonely place.