Dialogue

One of the most enjoyable elements in Driving Miss Daisy is the naturalness of the dialogue. The
playwright uses familiar patterns of speech (Anything over seven dollars is robbery. Highway robbery)
and references to real-life places (the grocery store). Reading or hearing this dialogue makes the
situation authentic and believable.

Dialogue is a conversational passage in a play used to advance the plot or develop the characters. For
the fiction writer, the challenge is to create dialogue that advances the plot and sounds realistic.
Awkward or forced dialogue will pull the reader away from the story.

Writing good dialogues takes practice and patience. Here are some tips to improve how you write your
dialogue.

1. Dialogue should sound real. You don’t need all the Hellos, Goodbyes, and boring small talk of daily
life.

2. Good dialogue should move the story forward. The best place to see great dialogue is by attending
( or reading) plays, watching movies, or even just switching on the TV.

3. Learn how to write the correct punctuation for speech. It will be useful tool for you as a writer,
making easier for you to write the dialogue you want.

4. Have people argue with people, or have people saying surprising, and contrary things.

5. Think about how each of your characters sounds. Make each voice distinct – this can be subtle or
dramatic.

6. People don’t have to answer each other directly.

Rubrics:

Criteria Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4

Knowledge/ Grammar and Grammar and Grammar and Grammar and
Understanding vocabulary show vocabulary show vocabulary show vocabulary show a
limited accuracy and some accuracy and some accuracy and high degree of
(Grammar)
effectiveness effectiveness effectiveness accuracy and
effectiveness
Communication Speaks the language Speaks the language Speaks the language Speaks the language
with many errors in with frequent errors with occasional with few or no
(accuracy of oral
pronounciation and in pronounciation errors in errors in
language;
intonation and intonation pronounciation and pronounciation and
pronounciation,
intonation intonation
intonation)

(fluency and Limited fluency and Some fluency and

expression) expression expression Considerable A high degree or
fluency and fluency and
expression expression
Application Conveys meaning Conveys meaning Conveys meaning Conveys meaning
using non-verbal using non-verbal using non-verbal using non-verbal
(conveyance of
cues with limited cues with moderate cues with cues with a high
meaning with no-
effectiveness effectiveness considerable degree of
verbal cues; voice,
effectiveness effectiveness
gestures)
Thinking and Inquiry Shows a little Shows some Shows significant Shows incredible
creativity creativity creativity creativity
(Creativity)