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Drafting Descriptive Recounts

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Drafting Descriptive Recounts

The class newspaper needs a vivid recount of a real event. Read the sample, then plan, draft and improve your own recount. Keep events in order and use past tense.

Read like a reporter

A Windy Wait at the Wharf On Saturday morning, Hana and I arrived at the wharf to watch the boats come in. The sky was a flat sheet of grey, and salty wind tugged at our jackets. We had barely reached the railing when a gust snatched Hana’s paper bag. It skittered across the wooden boards like a runaway crab. Hana dashed after it, laughing, while I held our hats down. At last, the bag caught against a post. We rescued it just as a small fishing boat bumped gently against the wharf. Its bright red ropes shone against the dark water. Although my ears felt icy, I loved the lively scene. On the way home, we agreed that even a blustery morning could be an adventure.

1.Which sentence best tells what a recount does?

It explains how to make something.
It retells events that happened, usually in time order.
It describes an imaginary world without events.

2.Find two details in the sample that help you imagine the weather or setting. Copy them.

3.The paper bag “skittered across the wooden boards like a runaway crab.” What does this simile help you picture?

4.Copy one verb from the sample that shows an action happening in the past. Then write its present-tense form.

5.Put these events in the order they happened by numbering them 1–3: Hana’s bag caught against a post; the pair arrived at the wharf; a boat bumped against the wharf.

Plan your recount

Choose a real event you remember: a sports game, trip, performance, celebration or surprising moment. Jot notes before drafting.

6.Plan your event: What happened, where and when? Who was there? Note three important events in the order they happened.

7.Add sensory details to your plan: write one thing you saw, one thing you heard or smelled, and one feeling you had.

8.Write an opening sentence that tells who was involved, where you were and when the event happened.

9.Draft the middle of your recount in 3–4 sentences. Retell events in order, use past tense, and include at least two precise descriptive details.

10.Add a closing sentence that tells how you felt or what you thought about the event. Then reread your draft: name one change you would make to improve it.