Salem Witch Stories

Rubric & Expectations

With this story, you should:

1. Tell an engaging story that relates to the Salem Witch Trials or McCarthyism in some way (themes, plot, characters, etc.).  You should show that you understand HOW hysteria, fear, paranoia, and/or rumors played a role in Salem.  

2. Develop at least one character and tell your story through a well-chosen point-of-view.  

3. Use dialogue & interesting details to make your story engaging.  (see more on dialogue below)

a quick guide to

Writing Dialogue

You can use dialogue (characters talking) to develop a character and to move your plot forward.  Dialogue brings your story to life and makes it easy to read.  

First...here is a quick video to refresh the basics:  Kahn Academy: Commas in Dialogue

Now...below are the four most common ways to punctuate dialogue.  Pay attention to the punctuation in red, and the TAG in blue.  You’ll recognize A & B from the video.  C & D are the next level.

1.  Dally yelled, “Johnny, I love you, and I don’t want you to get hurt.”    BEFORE
2. “Johnny, I love you, and I don’t want you to get hurt,” Dally yelled.     AFTER
3. “Johnny, I love you,” Dally yelled, “and I don’t want you to get hurt.”INTERRUPTER
4. “Johnny, I love you!” Dally yelled. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”           SEPARATOR

     Notice that A, B & C are Dally yelling ONE SENTENCE, but in D, is Dally yelling  

     it in TWO SENTENCES.  

     Golden Rule of Dialogue:  New speaker, new line.   

Wanna Geek out on dialogue a bit more?

Using TAGS Effectively

9 Rules for Writing Dialogue

it goes deep!