HOW TO WRITE A DIALOGUE - METHOD + AN EXAMPLE

HOW TO WRITE A DIALOGUE

1. Déterminez le niveau de langue demandé.

2. Vous pouvez, si vous le souhaitez, présenter brièvement le lieu, le moment de la scène, ainsi que les principaux personnages.

3. Dans ce cas, sautez une ligne entre l’introduction et le dialogue.

4. Respectez la ponctuation (guillemets, points d’exclamation, d’interrogation) et allez à la ligne pour chaque changement de locuteur. Pas de TIRETS !

5. Variez les verbes introducteurs (toujours au prétérit) et étoffez vos phrases avec des adverbes:

Les verbes :

SPEAK	SPEAK IN A LOUD VOICE	SPEAK TO EXPRESS FEELINGS
He said – he added – he replied – he exclaimed – he retorted – he wondered – he declared – he asked – he answered – he repeated – he explained – he whispered (chuchoter)	He yelled – he screamed – he shouted	He laughed – he complained – he sighed (soupirer) – he sobbed (sangloter) – he insisted – he threatened (menacer)

body language

he frowned  (froncer les sourcils), he  nodded (faire un signe de tête, acquiescer), he smiled,  he stared at her(fixer qqn/qqch), he shrugged (hausser les épaules), he shook his head (secouer la tête)

Les adverbes

angrily, anxiously, bitterly (amèrement), cheerfully (joyeusement) curiously (avec curiosité), desperately, furiously, gratefully (avec gratitude), impatiently, kindly , calmly, (gentiment), loudly (d’une voix forte), proudly, quietly (calmement), sadly, scornfully (avec mépris), shyly (timidement), sincerely…

DIALOGUE

« Elliot ! Elliot ! You wouldn’t believe what just happened !” Dana said excitedly.

“What is it? Are you ok, Dana? You poor thing, you look terribly pale” her neighbour exclaimed, looking at her anxiously. 

“Yes, I’m ok. Well at least, I am now. The strangest thing just happened. I came back from the supermarket with two huge bags of groceries and also all my money for the rent. I had just managed get into the building when I heard this guy behind me say: “Give me all your money!”. Dana was still shaking as she told the story.

“Oh my gosh!” Elliot replied. He was almost speechless. 

“But then I started saying to myself, I can’t give this bloke all my money or I’ll have none left for the rent. So I said: “no, go away”, Dana added, more calmly now.

 “You didn’t. Oh dear, what happened next?”, Elliot couldn’t wait to hear the rest of the story.” 

I just kept saying “no, go away! I haven’t got any money. And then you know what happened?” Dana was now enjoying herself. She went on, “he just left, without another word”. 

Elliot stared at her. “Just like that?” He just couldn’t believe his ears.

 “Yes, just like that! Don’t you think that’s crazy? All I did was stay calm and controlled. I just couldn’t stop thinking: “I can’t give him my money, I need it.” And it worked.” Dana couldn’t help feeling rather proud of herself. 

“Wow, that’s really funny! Good for you for sticking up for yourself. He must’ve had a real shock. A vulnerable woman, faced with a knife, keeping it together,” Elliot looked at her admiringly. 

Dana blushed. “Now I’m going to pay my rent before someone else tries to steal it off me,” she said briskly.

 Her neighbour nodded. “Good thinking. And I’ll remember to call you anytime someone tries to rob me”! 

Dana burst out laughing. “ Any time! See you later Elliot”.

Fiche pour l'Expression Orale

Méthodologie : expression orale type bac

L’épreuve d’expression orale sera organisée au cours du 3^ème trimestre de l’année de terminale.

Il s’agit de présenter une des quatre notions du programme du cycle terminal que vous aurez tirée au sort.

La durée de l’épreuve est de 20 minutes :

- préparation : 10 minutes

- évaluation : 10 minutes

            . 5 minutes pour présenter la notion (évaluation de l’expression orale en continu)

            . 5 minutes d’entretien avec l’examinateur (évaluation de l’expression orale en interaction)

1. La présentation de la notion

1)      Introduction

·         Donnez une définition de la notion.  

Ä I’m going to talk about the notion of … / First I’d like to define the notion.

Pensez à présenter les différents sens des termes de la notion.

 Ä On the one hand it means … , but on the other hand it can also be understood as…

·         Annoncez le thème que vous allez traiter dans votre exposé.

Ä To illustrate the notion, I’m going to deal with …

Street art and I will focus on a British graffiti artist called Banksy. Street art ties in well with the notion (spaces and exchanges) because this art form fosters all kinds of interactions in all kinds of different spaces.

I’m mainly going to talk about a scene from a British film we studied in class. It’s called" Made in Dagenham” and  I think it provides a good illustration of the notion (places and forms of power) because it shows that ordinary people can successfully challenge those who hold power over them, for ex the CEO of an international company, the British government, the Trade Unions…

2)      Développement argumenté

·         Organisez vos idées. Faites ressortir la manière dont les idées s’enchaînent en utilisant des mots de liaison.

Ä First of all… / To begin with … / Besides, Moreover, Furthermore … / However, Yet… / On the  hand… on the other hand… / This brings me to my next point.

·         Prenez appui sur quelques documents étudiés en classe qui illustrent la notion et le thème abordés.  

Ä This idea can be illustrated with the example of … / I have chosen to illustrate this notion with the article we studied in class. / In class we studied a report that is connected with the notion.  / The idea of … appears clearly in the document.

o   Présentez le document : nature

A newspaper article, an extract from a novel, a cartoon, a short video, a scene from a movie, an artwork/a piece/a stencil/an installation….

o   S’il s’agit d’un texte, un document audio ou un document vidéo, résumez-le brièvement ; s’il s’agit d’un document iconographique, faites-en une description.

o   Soyez précis dans votre présentation des docs car l’examinateur ne le connaîtra pas forcément mais ne le noyez pas non plus dans des détails qui n’ont rien à voir avec la notion.

o   Pendant votre présentation, faire régulièrement référence à la notion (voir lexique qui s’y rattache, relisez vos cours !) )

3)      Conclusion

·         Rappelez le lien entre la notion et le thème.

·         Faites un bilan sans tout redire de façon détaillée. Ä To conclude / To sum up / In conclusion…

·         Donnez votre opinion. Ä In my opinion / To my mind / I think , I believe that …

B.     L’entretien

·         L’examinateur vous posera des questions qui vous permettront de clarifier ou de compléter votre exposé.

·         Utilisez vos connaissances personnelles : pensez à des lectures, des films, des expériences que vous pouvez rattacher au sujet abordé.

·         Prenez votre temps pour répondre aux questions posées. Si vous n’avez pas compris une question de l’examinateur, demandez-lui simplement de répéter ou de reformuler.

Ä Sorry, could you repeat, please?  

·         N’hésitez pas à vous reprendre si nécessaire et à vous corrigez. Si l’examinateur vous fait répéter, il veut peut-être vous aider à corriger quelque chose.

HOW TO WRITE A LETTER

FORMAL LETTER                                                                    DATE : month, day,year                                                                                                                                                                                       ADDRESS – street name, city,                                                                                                                    country                         Dear Sir / Dear Madam (on ne connaît pas le nom de la personne)                         Dear Mr Smith / Dear Ms Jones,                                                 I am writing to (ask you, let you know, apply for the position of, to complain about, to suggest, present…..                        Faire au moins 2 paragraphes                                                 (formules de politesse en fin de lettre) :                      I look forward (I am looking forward) to hearing from you                                                                 or                      I thank you for taking the time to examine my request                                                                  or                      I thank you in advance for helping me                        Sincerely,                                                   Signature                                       ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- INFORMAL LETTER                                                                      DATE : month, day, year                                                                                                                                                                                                                       ADDRESS – street name, city,                                                                                                                      country                       Dear John, / Dear Mom and Dad,                                                       I am writing to tell you… / to let you know…./ to ask you….                                  Faire au moins 2 paragraphes                                           formules en fin de lettre:                  I hope to hear from you soon/ I hope to see you soon                                             or                  I look forward to hearing from you                                               or                  Say hello to ….. for me,  / Give my love to….                                                   (lots of) love,                    Hugs and kisses,                    Take care,                           Signature