Chapter 14

p.191-202
Writing a dialogue
Features of a dialogue
• It gives the actual words spoken by the
people involved.
• NO quotation marks in a regular dialogue
format. – p. 196
• When quoting dialogue in text, there is a
comma followed by quotation marks.
• The speakers take turns to talk and listen to
the ideas and statements of the other one
• In the case of an interview or interrogation,
the one answers the questions of the other.
• Before the spoken words of the characters,
there are stage directions given in brackets
and typed in Italics.
• They are not spoken aloud if performed live.
• They indicate body language, voicetone and
Practising and presenting the dialogue
• Body language conveys information on
people’s moods. (Stage Directions)
• Agreement between the two is shown by
having them sit closer together.
• Laughter indicates humour, nervous laughter
can indicate awkwardness.
• Embarrassment, sadness or grief is conveyed
by covering the face, looking down or by
using a low tone of voice with a slow speed.
• Excitement or surprise is conveyed with
louder and faster speech. – Indicate with
exclamation mark.
• Shouting indicates strong emotion such as
anger or frustration.
Dialogue Activity
Choose one of the topics below and write a
dialogue on it:
• Scenario 1: You are an Olympian and have just won a
gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Write a dialogue
where you are being interviewed about your win.
Discuss what sport you have competed in and what
country you represented.
• Scenario 2: You are an interviewer for SuperSport. Write
a dialogue where you are interviewing an Olympian who
has just won a gold medal in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
• Indicate your word count: 90-100 words.
• Your dialogue needs to follow the correct format.
• Add at least five stage directions.
• Double check your spelling and grammar.