how to write a play essay

How to Review a Play

Preparing to write a play review.

Below are some tips to help you prepare to write a play review:

The Nature of the Assignment

Because the performance of any play is such an ephemeral experience, writing a play review can be an exciting, though difficult, task. You have to be both spectator taking in and enjoying the performance and critical analyst of the production itself. You have to be able to provide a very brief summary of the play, a close objective analysis of the performance you attend, and an interpretation and evaluation of the entire ensemble of staging, acting, directing, and so on.

The review assignment asks you to analyze in an objective manner the relative success or failure of a given production. Note that you are not asked simply to summarize the plot or give an opinion regarding the text of the play being mounted; your review must be grounded in the production itself. Your job is to describe the production accurately, and then to render a value judgment of it based upon what you have seen and what you expected. The assignment will test your skill as a reader of the play and as an observer and critic of the production.

In addition to grounding your review on the production you witness, you must be careful to limit your review to a few essential observations in support of your thesis (which will be discussed below). You must concentrate on a few important ideas and aspects of the production and focus your attention on only what you consider the most significant parts of the production itself. Unlike a newspaper review, which can be loosely structured and superficial, your assignment is quite definite. You are not asked to cover a wide variety of production elements (i.e. performance of every actor, every costume change, every set change, every directorial decision, and so on); instead, the assignment demands that you develop a few key ideas in thoughtful detail.

Remember, too, that your stance is to be objective and critical, not impressionistic and merely nasty. A critic is not someone who simply “criticizes,” but a person who studies, analyzes, and then renders a rational judgment of what he/she has seen. Your tone will be very important in making your review reliable and intelligent.

Before You Attend the Production

Read the play before going to the production. (It is important to be prepared for the production you plan to attend; otherwise, you run the risk of having to see it several times.)

In your mind, have a good sense of how a “standard” production might look, complete with a sense of what the characters might look like, the type of costuming that might be used, a suitable set design, and an appropriate rendering of the theme and tone of the work.
Pick out, as you read, several critical or problematic points within the play that may be of particular interest to watch for in the production you are about to attend. If your instructor has asked you to pay particular attention to certain elements, make sure that you are prepared to recognize them in performance.

Attending the Production

Attend the play with an open mind, a willingness to accept the play as the director has presented it in production.

Note any deviations from your concept of a “standard” production and try to find a good explanation for that deviation. (Is the director trying to “say” something new or different? Was your sense of the play somehow inaccurate, or were you shown new insights by the director’s production?)
Why the choice of costumes, and why the set design?
How did the actors deliver their lines (seriously, comically, realistically, formally)? Were there any significant actions or gestures that contributed to the play’s meaning?
Were any “special effects” utilized (consider lighting, sound, audience participation, machinery)?
Were any significant cuts made in the script?

After the performance, jot down the details you recall and talk about the performance with friends. You’ll need these details for your paper in order to substantiate your argument.

Evaluate the performance.

Did the director miss any important opportunities to convey something you were able to see in your reading of the play?
Would you have liked to have seen more attention paid to what you perceived as critical passages, passages the director seemed less interested in?
Why would you have preferred this attention, and why do you think the director avoided giving the passage such attention?

Consider the following practical aspects:

What kind of stage does the director have at his disposal? What kinds of restrictions does the stage impose on the director concerning movement and set design?
Are the actors professionals, amateurs, or students? What restrictions does this impose on the director? Are the actors capable of dealing with the script’s requirements? (Be fair to the actors in your assessment of their talents and the level of their “craftsmanship.”)

Writing the Review

Below are some tips for writing play reviews:

Writing the Introduction

The introduction should include the following:

The title of the play, the name of the playwright, and any pertinent historical information regarding them (other similar works from this period? by this writer?).
The name of the director, the place and date of the production you attended, and the name of the production company (again, do you know of any previous work by this company? this director?).
(Note that even if the production did not exactly coincide with your own conception of the play, you should not feel obliged to condemn the performance outright. Be open-minded and willing to weigh pros and cons.)
(Note that this thesis asserts that Papp captured the essence of what is in the text itself — the expectations set up by the thesis are that the reviewer will then analyze the methods by which the director achieved this effect.)
(This thesis suggests that “sympathy” was the director’s intention. Note also that the reviewer gives a strong indication of what he/she expected to find in the production.)
Example: In You Can’t Take It With You, the acting by the family members on the open, exposed stage displayed an innocent and vigorous freedom, as well as a proud independence in their confrontation with accepted norms of behavior.

Writing the Statement and Summary

Include a brief thematic summary (but not a plot summary) of the play, and support that summary with concrete evidence from the text.

You can include this summary in the introduction; or, if you wish to expand the summary, include it in a separate paragraph following the introduction.

Writing the Body of the Paper: The Review

Remember that in the body of the paper you are obliged to deal specifically with each element of the production that you mentioned in the introduction and thesis.

In order to give your review a tight internal logic and cohesiveness, you should also discuss these elements in the order that you outlined in the introduction. Such points of discussion might include the non-technical (acting, directing) and/or the technical (lighting, scenery, costumes) aspects of the production.

For each element that you discuss:

(Note the vivid description of what was seen, and the use of detail to convey that vividness. The passage will work nicely as evidence for an overall, positive evaluation of the production.)
Interpret, Analyze, Evaluate : This part of the paper requires the most thought and organization and consequently receives the most attention from your reader. After you have finished describing important elements of the production, proceed to evaluate them.

For example, you would need to answer the following questions regarding the last description of Lear :

Why were the lights dimmed at the beginning of the scene? (shock effect? slow unfolding of horror?)
Why was the backdrop painted black? (contrast? mood?)
Why was there no order to the skulls? Why seven? (emblem of disorder or chaos? significance in number?)

In other words, assume that everything used in production has significance, but don’t panic if you cannot find “answers” for all the questions raised by what you see in the production.

In the evaluation, you are given the opportunity to attack as well as commend the performance; if the production fails to answer questions that you feel need answers, then say so. If the question or problems are relatively minor, ignore them. Don’t quibble at the expense of missing the more important concerns.

Writing the Summary and Conclusion

Your conclusion should not merely recapitulate your thesis in a mechanical way.

Rather, you should try to show why your response to the play is valid and significant, based on what you have described in the body of the paper.

Do not add any significant new material, but don’t be afraid to leave your reader with something to think about.

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How to Write Play Titles in a Paper

1. determine the length of the play, 2. use quotation marks, 3. italicize the title.

It is common in literature classes to write papers about plays, such as the works of famous playwrights like Shakespeare, Ibsen and Sophocles, to name just a few. When writing about plays, as well as all works of literature, it is important to know the guidelines of how to properly write the titles when referring to them in your paper and listing them in the works cited page. Knowing how to write a play is one thing, but knowing how to mention plays in a paper is another. Since papers about literature are typically written in MLA format, you should know the MLA rules for writing play titles.

Determine the length of the play. The rules for titles of literature depend on the length of the work, and a plays can vary greatly in length. A play that consists of only one act is considered a short play, while a play that has more than one act is considered a long play.

Place the titles of one-act plays in quotation marks. MLA calls for titles of short works, such as articles and short poems, to be put in quotation marks. One-act plays fall in this category.

Italicize the title of longer plays. MLA calls for the title of longer works, such as books and films, to be italicized. Plays longer than one act are considered long works and should be italicized.

Don't underline the title of longer plays. Underlining used to be an acceptable form of writing titles for longer works, but MLA recently changed this and now allows on italicizing.

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David Boyles is a graduate student, teacher and professional writer. He has been teaching writing since 2005, while his own work has been featured in various publications and websites, including "Vegas Seven," "ArtsVegas," "AZ on the Scene Magazine" and the "Las Vegas Review of Books." Boyles holds a master's degree in English literature.

The Writing Center • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

What this handout is about

This handout identifies common questions about drama, describes the elements of drama that are most often discussed in theater classes, provides a few strategies for planning and writing an effective drama paper, and identifies various resources for research in theater history and dramatic criticism. We’ll give special attention to writing about productions and performances of plays.

What is drama? And how do you write about it?

When we describe a situation or a person’s behavior as “dramatic,” we usually mean that it is intense, exciting (or excited), striking, or vivid. The works of drama that we study in a classroom share those elements. For example, if you are watching a play in a theatre, feelings of tension and anticipation often arise because you are wondering what will happen between the characters on stage. Will they shoot each other? Will they finally confess their undying love for one another? When you are reading a play, you may have similar questions. Will Oedipus figure out that he was the one who caused the plague by killing his father and sleeping with his mother? Will Hamlet successfully avenge his father’s murder?

For instructors in academic departments—whether their classes are about theatrical literature, theater history, performance studies, acting, or the technical aspects of a production—writing about drama often means explaining what makes the plays we watch or read so exciting. Of course, one particular production of a play may not be as exciting as it’s supposed to be. In fact, it may not be exciting at all. Writing about drama can also involve figuring out why and how a production went wrong.

What’s the difference between plays, productions, and performances?

Talking about plays, productions, and performances can be difficult, especially since there’s so much overlap in the uses of these terms. Although there are some exceptions, usually plays are what’s on the written page. A production of a play is a series of performances, each of which may have its own idiosyncratic features. For example, one production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night might set the play in 1940’s Manhattan, and another might set the play on an Alpaca farm in New Zealand. Furthermore, in a particular performance (say, Tuesday night) of that production, the actor playing Malvolio might get fed up with playing the role as an Alpaca herder, shout about the indignity of the whole thing, curse Shakespeare for ever writing the play, and stomp off the stage. See how that works?

Be aware that the above terms are sometimes used interchangeably—but the overlapping elements of each are often the most exciting things to talk about. For example, a series of particularly bad performances might distract from excellent production values: If the actor playing Falstaff repeatedly trips over a lance and falls off the stage, the audience may not notice the spectacular set design behind him. In the same way, a particularly dynamic and inventive script (play) may so bedazzle an audience that they never notice the inept lighting scheme.

A few analyzable elements of plays

Plays have many different elements or aspects, which means that you should have lots of different options for focusing your analysis. Playwrights—writers of plays—are called “wrights” because this word means “builder.” Just as shipwrights build ships, playwrights build plays. A playwright’s raw materials are words, but to create a successful play, they must also think about the performance—about what will be happening on stage with sets, sounds, actors, etc. To put it another way: the words of a play have their meanings within a larger context—the context of the production. When you watch or read a play, think about how all of the parts work (or could work) together.

For the play itself, some important contexts to consider are:

The time period in which the play was written
The playwright’s biography and their other writing
Contemporaneous works of theater (plays written or produced by other artists at roughly the same time)
The language of the play

Depending on your assignment, you may want to focus on one of these elements exclusively or compare and contrast two or more of them. Keep in mind that any one of these elements may be more than enough for a dissertation, let alone a short reaction paper. Also remember that in most cases, your assignment will ask you to provide some kind of analysis, not simply a plot summary—so don’t think that you can write a paper about A Doll’s House that simply describes the events leading up to Nora’s fateful decision.

Since a number of academic assignments ask you to pay attention to the language of the play and since it might be the most complicated thing to work with, it’s worth looking at a few of the ways you might be asked to deal with it in more detail.

There are countless ways that you can talk about how language works in a play, a production, or a particular performance. Given a choice, you should probably focus on words, phrases, lines, or scenes that really struck you, things that you still remember weeks after reading the play or seeing the performance. You’ll have a much easier time writing about a bit of language that you feel strongly about (love it or hate it).

That said, here are two common ways to talk about how language works in a play:

How characters are constructed by their language

If you have a strong impression of a character, especially if you haven’t seen that character depicted on stage, you probably remember one line or bit of dialogue that really captures who that character is. Playwrights often distinguish their characters with idiosyncratic or at least individualized manners of speaking. Take this example from Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest :

ALGERNON: Did you hear what I was playing, Lane? LANE: I didn’t think it polite to listen, sir. ALGERNON: I’m sorry for that, for your sake. I don’t play accurately—anyone can play accurately—but I play with wonderful expression. As far as the piano is concerned, sentiment is my forte. I keep science for Life. LANE: Yes, sir. ALGERNON: And, speaking of the science of Life, have you got the cucumber sandwiches cut for Lady Bracknell?

This early moment in the play contributes enormously to what the audience thinks about the aristocratic Algernon and his servant, Lane. If you were to talk about language in this scene, you could discuss Lane’s reserved replies: Are they funny? Do they indicate familiarity or sarcasm? How do you react to a servant who replies in that way? Or you could focus on Algernon’s witty responses. Does Algernon really care what Lane thinks? Is he talking more to hear himself? What does that say about how the audience is supposed to see Algernon? Algernon’s manner of speech is part of who his character is. If you are analyzing a particular performance, you might want to comment on the actor’s delivery of these lines: Was his vocal inflection appropriate? Did it show something about the character?

How language contributes to scene and mood

Ancient, medieval, and Renaissance plays often use verbal tricks and nuances to convey the setting and time of the play because performers during these periods didn’t have elaborate special-effects technology to create theatrical illusions. For example, most scenes from Shakespeare’s Macbeth take place at night. The play was originally performed in an open-air theatre in the bright and sunny afternoon. How did Shakespeare communicate the fact that it was night-time in the play? Mainly by starting scenes like this:

BANQUO: How goes the night, boy? FLEANCE: The moon is down; I have not heard the clock. BANQUO: And she goes down at twelve. FLEANCE: I take’t, ’tis later, sir. BANQUO: Hold, take my sword. There’s husbandry in heaven; Their candles are all out. Take thee that too. A heavy summons lies like lead upon me, And yet I would not sleep: merciful powers, Restrain in me the cursed thoughts that nature Gives way to in repose!

Enter MACBETH, and a Servant with a torch

Give me my sword. Who’s there?

Characters entering with torches is a pretty big clue, as is having a character say, “It’s night.” Later in the play, the question, “Who’s there?” recurs a number of times, establishing the illusion that the characters can’t see each other. The sense of encroaching darkness and the general mysteriousness of night contributes to a number of other themes and motifs in the play.

Productions and performances

Productions.

For productions as a whole, some important elements to consider are:

Venue: How big is the theatre? Is this a professional or amateur acting company? What kind of resources do they have? How does this affect the show?
Costumes: What is everyone wearing? Is it appropriate to the historical period? Modern? Trendy? Old-fashioned? Does it fit the character? What does their costume make you think about each character? How does this affect the show?
Set design: What does the set look like? Does it try to create a sense of “realism”? Does it set the play in a particular historical period? What impressions does the set create? Does the set change, and if so, when and why? How does this affect the show?
Lighting design: Are characters ever in the dark? Are there spotlights? Does light come through windows? From above? From below? Is any tinted or colored light projected? How does this affect the show?
“Idea” or “concept”: Do the set and lighting designs seem to work together to produce a certain interpretation? Do costumes and other elements seem coordinated? How does this affect the show?

You’ve probably noticed that each of these ends with the question, “How does this affect the show?” That’s because you should be connecting every detail that you analyze back to this question. If a particularly weird costume (like King Henry in scuba gear) suggests something about the character (King Henry has gone off the deep end, literally and figuratively), then you can ask yourself, “Does this add or detract from the show?” (King Henry having an interest in aquatic mammals may not have been what Shakespeare had in mind.)

Performances

For individual performances, you can analyze all the items considered above in light of how they might have been different the night before. For example, some important elements to consider are:

Individual acting performances: What did the actor playing the part bring to the performance? Was there anything particularly moving about the performance that night that surprised you, that you didn’t imagine from reading the play beforehand (if you did so)?
Mishaps, flubs, and fire alarms: Did the actors mess up? Did the performance grind to a halt or did it continue?
Audience reactions: Was there applause? At inappropriate points? Did someone fall asleep and snore loudly in the second act? Did anyone cry? Did anyone walk out in utter outrage?

Response papers

Instructors in drama classes often want to know what you really think. Sometimes they’ll give you very open-ended assignments, allowing you to choose your own topic; this freedom can have its advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, you may find it easier to express yourself without the pressure of specific guidelines or restrictions. On the other hand, it can be challenging to decide what to write about. The elements and topics listed above may provide you with a jumping-off point for more open-ended assignments. Once you’ve identified a possible area of interest, you can ask yourself questions to further develop your ideas about it and decide whether it might make for a good paper topic. For example, if you were especially interested in the lighting, how did the lighting make you feel? Nervous? Bored? Distracted? It’s usually a good idea to be as specific as possible. You’ll have a much more difficult time if you start out writing about “imagery” or “language” in a play than if you start by writing about that ridiculous face Helena made when she found out Lysander didn’t love her anymore.

If you’re really having trouble getting started, here’s a three point plan for responding to a piece of theater—say, a performance you recently observed:

Make a list of five or six specific words, images, or moments that caught your attention while you were sitting in your seat.
Answer one of the following questions: Did any of the words, images, or moments you listed contribute to your enjoyment or loathing of the play? Did any of them seem to add to or detract from any overall theme that the play may have had? Did any of them make you think of something completely different and wholly irrelevant to the play? If so, what connection might there be?
Write a few sentences about how each of the items you picked out for the second question affected you and/or the play.

This list of ideas can help you begin to develop an analysis of the performance and your own reactions to it.

If you need to do research in the specialized field of performance studies (a branch of communication studies) or want to focus especially closely on poetic or powerful language in a play, see our handout on communication studies and handout on poetry explications . For additional tips on writing about plays as a form of literature, see our handout on writing about fiction .

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Carter, Paul. 1994. The Backstage Handbook: An Illustrated Almanac of Technical Information , 3rd ed. Shelter Island, NY: Broadway Press.

Vandermeer, Philip. 2021. “A to Z Databases: Dramatic Art.” Subject Research Guides, University of North Carolina. Last updated March 3, 2021. https://guides.lib.unc.edu/az.php?a=d&s=1113 .

Worthen, William B. 2010. The Wadsworth Anthology of Drama , 6th ed. Boston: Cengage.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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StageMilk / Plays / How to Write a Play

How to Write a Play

Writing a play takes time and effort. It requires patience, perseverance and a thick skin when feedback/criticism starts knocking. It’s seldom rewarding until the hundredth hour—and even if the piece you finish is incredible, there’s no guarantee that anybody will see it. So why do it? Because it’s a uniquely rewarding experience, one that challenges you to think big thoughts and betters you as an actor, an artist a human being. If we haven’t scared you off already, let’s talk about how to write a play.

If you want to learn how to write a play, start writing and keep writing. All the elements you require—resonant themes, a compelling story world, distinct characters and a good plot—are secondary to the importance of pushing through your first draft from beginning to end. And no matter how terrible the play might read, once it’s written down you can begin the process of editing, fixing and refining. It only gets better from there.

In this article, we’ll take you through the steps of how to write a play. We’re going to skip over some of the basics you might find elsewhere—such as how to structure the perfect three-act plot—and focus on the inch-by-bloody-inch battle that is putting words on a page. Every time you spill some ink, you’re improving the skill of writing. And no matter how difficult, all skills can be learned and improved.

Updated 12th Feb, 2024.

Before You Begin Writing

Before you begin writing, think about the following questions. These are the kinds of ideas that will help ground you and grant you momentum when you first begin. Sometimes, your answer to these questions will be “I don’t know yet.” That’s okay: as long as you discover them at some point during the process. At this point, with a blank page in front of you and a Herculean task ahead, take whatever you can grab.

“What’s your play about?”

An awful question. Why on earth did we start here? Because one day you’ll be pitching it to a theatre company , or a producer , or applying for a grant and you’ll need to know . What’s more, you’ll need to sum it up in a sentence or two.

Sometimes you’ll have a vague idea: “Well, it’s sort of about my father…” “It’s based on a fairy tale but it’s kinda modern…” “Um, politics?” Again, that’s okay for now. But as you go through this process, try to find and refine an answer to this question. It’ll ensure that your final product speaks confidently and completely about something .

And remember: the more things a play is about, the less it tends to say about them.

“Who is your audience?”

Who is going to respond to your play? What demographic will be interested in the themes you’re going to explore? And what kind of experience will they have: will they be entertained, amused, shocked, confronted? While you don’t want to pigeon-hole yourself into writing for one group, it’s a good idea to think about who you want your play to resonate with, and what their experience might be.

If you’re unsure, you can never go wrong writing something for yourself: something you’d like to see and you’d hold to the highest possible standards. What’s lacking in the industry? Where might you find a gap in which your work can ‘sit’?

“Where are you hoping this play will go?”

Do you want it to be programmed by a major theatre company? Do you want to submit it to a writing award? Do you want it to be adapted into a feature film, or published and put in libraries? If you want to produce it yourself in the indie space , it’s good to think about that pathway early on—just so you don’t come up with a plot that requires 20 gold-plated elephants.

For first-time writers, approaching independent theatre companies is a great way to get your work noticed. Are there companies in your city that respond to this kind of play you’re writing? (See? Already we need to know what the play is about.) Pay attention to your local theatre scene.

How to Write a Play: The Bare Essentials

For all the planning and scheming, there comes a point where it’s time to write. Here’s the bare essentials on how to write a play:

Think up a character . They can be simple or complex, good or evil, happy or sad, tall or short. At this point, who/what they are is a lower priority than what you’re about to give them: an objective that involves another person.
Take that other person and turn them into a second character in the scene. Give them their own objective, something that clashes with the wants and needs of the first character.
Start writing dialogue (and stage directions) with this as your golden rule: everything a character says or does has to push them towards them achieving their objective. If there’s no conflict, there’s no drama. If they achieve what they want, they have to want more or something else .

That’s it. That is, in its purest form, all drama written in the last few thousand years. Story world, subplots, setting, characterisation: these all work to support the primary drive of the play which is a person wants something and sets out to achieve it. And this is not to say that your work can’t be complex and contain multiple characters and timelines and worlds … but it all has to be driven by want .

Keep Your Characters Active

The desire of a character is what makes them interesting to an audience. Without a drive t0 fulfil this desire, without actively seeking out that which they want, audiences tend to have a hard time connecting with a character. No matter how impressive their backstory or clever their dialogue might be.

So at all times, keep your character ‘active’: keep them pursuing rather than responding (‘passive’). When things happen to them by external influence, or the actions of another character, don’t dwell on their emotions—think about what they plan to do about the way they feel. The great David Mamet said the three most important words for a playwright are: “What happens next?”

Find Distinct Character Voices

Once you have your characters fighting for what they want, pursuing their goals and bringing your world to life, find the differences in how they pursue their objectives. This will distinguish one character’s way of communicating from another. As they don’t operate in the same way, they won’t all end up sounding identical.

As an exercise, print out a page of your script with multiple characters and cover the names up. Can you still tell who says what? Or do they all sound the same? Remember that your character will pursue their wants differently based on factors such as personality, background and social standing. The more work you can do to build your character , the more nuanced your understanding will be.

Tell a Story, and Plot will Emerge

You might have noticed that we’ve said very little about plot. That’s because a lot of first-time playwrights get hung up on it. They’ll sketch out a character arc for weeks or months, plastering corkboards with post-its to determine exactly what goes on. But plot comes best when it unfolds due to the actions and efforts of characters. If your characters are fighting for objectives, the plot will be there.

If you’re working a more ambitious piece, or something non-linear/abstract, you may find it helpful to do more plotting. Indeed, we’re not here to tell you not to spend time on the narrative arc if that will make you feel more confident. But all plot can be related back to action/reaction of characters: who does what, how that impacts others and how they, in turn plan their next move.

Know Your First Few Seconds

Make you first scene an absolute banger. Get your reader, director, audience—whoever—involved and hooked from the get-go. Screenwriter/playwright Aaron Sorkin has a great knack for this: he likes to drop his audiences into the middle of a conversation , forcing them to sit up and take notice. You want to know what’s going on? Catch up!

One of the most over-used words by first-time playwrights is “Hello.” Don’t start scenes with characters being pleasant and talking about the weather. Take us straight into the action! And then never let us go.

The Drafting Process

Everything we’ve included so far is designed to get you to fulfil one goal: finishing draft number one. This is the most important part of the process, the thing that makes all the following steps easier and the whole damn experience worth it. After you finish the first draft of your play, your priority can switch to making what’s already there even better: by reading, refining, adding or cutting. Let’s break down the purpose of each draft you’ll make:

The First Draft

It’ll be messy. It’ll be too long. It won’t always make sense and it should never be seen by anyone else than you. But it exists: your play exists! And you’ll love it. The first draft should put everything you’ve thought of on the page. This will be your template for revisions, and the version you can always return to if you worry you’re losing your way.

The best piece of advice I was ever given about writing was also the hardest to follow: don’t revise your play until you finish the first draft. Ideally, you shouldn’t even read it back until you complete it! If you do, you’ll notice the things that don’t work, the things you’ve soured on our sobered up about. Resist the temptation to revise until the next iteration. Write until it’s done.

The Second Draft

Here’s where you start fixing things. Start by cutting anything unnecessary—superfluous scenes, overly flowery descriptions, ‘clever’ lines by the character that add nothing. Most problems will be solved by either removing things or swapping scenes/lines/plots around. Try not to add too much to what is already there: this usually leads to further complications rather than greater clarity.

Stephen King once claimed that all second drafts should be 10 percent shorter. It’s terrific advice when your goal is to refine the good ideas you’ve planted in your original writing efforts. Trust in the ideas that put you to work in the first place.

The Third Draft

Your third draft is the one you show other people: the version of your story with the plot holes plugged and the bad stuff (mostly) removed. Start with a trusted friend who gives useful feedback. Then, industry folk, or your acting peers. You could even organise a development or reading with people you know—it can be invaluable to actually hear the thing out loud.

Be ready for criticism, and for people to catch the problems with the play you’re yet to solve, or even notice. As you hear about what a terrible job you’ve done and how you should just give up, remember that whatever form criticism takes … the people telling you want you to succeed, and believe in the work enough to say so. There’s nothing more telling than sending a person your latest play, only to hear a half-assed “Good job!”

The Fourth Draft (And so on…)

The drafting process lasts as long as you want it to, for as many versions as required. After your first few plays, you’ll find that Draft Four or Five is usually all you’ll need. If you identify something to change or add in your third draft, try to fix it with minimal disruption to the rest of the text. Be surgical in your precision.

Know Your Voice

It’s incredible how much a playwright’s voice is able to carry over to stage, even with multiple actors portraying the story. This is because a playwright not only speaks through characters, but through the themes they explore, the stories they craft, the worlds they build. Your ‘voice’ as a writer is always there—as long as you are the one typing it all out. And the more practice you have, the more you will learn to trust that voice, and the instinct that comes from developing a skill through practice and focus.

For that reason, we’re leaving you with this: keep writing. Write great plays, write terrible ones. Write what you know, and write something so far away from your everyday existence you feel like an interloper. Just keep it up, and you’re bound to find something truly special.

About the Author

Alexander Lee-Rekers is a Sydney-based writer, director and educator. He graduated from NIDA in 2017 with a Masters in Writing for Performance, and his career across theatre and television has seen him tackling projects as diverse as musical theatre, Shakespeare and Disney. He is the co-founder of theatre company Ratcatch (The Van De Maar Papers, The Linden Solution) and co-director of Bondi Kids Drama, a boutique drama school offering classes to young people in the Eastern Suburbs. Alexander is drawn to themes of family, ambition, failure and legacy: how human nature can flit with ease between compassion and cruelty. He also likes Celtic fiddle, mac & cheese and cats.

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What is a play?

A play is a written script that is intended to be performed on stage in front of an audience. It is widely characterized as a literary work. Another very common name for a play is drama. A play is performed and studied for its dialogue, characters, gestures, and setting. Proper actors and stage directions are provided to make the play more believable and relevant.

A play’s foundation is set by a script that contains the storyline, and the character, and carries the plot forth. It asks for great creativity and imagination as well as the skills to jot it down on paper. A play is known for its beauty as it is a live performance and links the characters with the audience.

Typically, a play has a moral lesson that is conveyed to the viewers. However, it can also be used to entertain people. Primarily, there are two types of plays: drama (which also includes tragedy) and comedy. A drama play is more emotional while comedy contains light banter, leaving the audience happy.

Plays are written for stage performances, radio settings, and even television. However, it is usually associated with and first came to light as on-stage live performances. It is usually divided into acts and scenes to give a clear and concise overview of what is happening, where it is happening, and how. Acts and scenes are like parts, chapters, or sequels in a novel.

The person who writes a play is known as a playwright. It can be anyone and you do not need a specific degree or forum to write it. All you need is a great idea and a love for theater.

A brief history of plays

Greeks are the pioneers of plays and/or drama. Plays in this time were a competition and every playwright was expected to write long scripts. Many of these plays were focused on tragedy, many of which, however, did not survive. One of the first playwrights to ever exist was Aeschylus. Another is Sophocles who wrote the famous tragic play, Oedipus Rex.

Greeks introduced and promoted the basic structure of plays. Many follow this structure to this day. However, with time as the concept of plays spread over the globe, people took different routes. Biblical plays, morality, and mystery plays became a huge part of England and other European countries. Shakespeare brought a new type of genre in the Renaissance period, tragi-comedy, and started writing plays that soon became the benchmark for all plays to come.

Plays took many forms and shapes as time moved forth. Realistic plays, and drama, surrounding familial, personal, societal, and cultural issues arose. The Theater of the Absurd was born out of the necessity to showcase individuals undergoing an existential crisis. The example lies in Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot.

Now, plays have become an amalgam of all such concepts. No specific genre or theme is followed. Plays have changed drastically over the past centuries and they will continue to employ different shapes and forms that provide entertainment and moral lessons.

What is playwriting?

Authors or individuals who write plays are called y playwrights. They provide the play with a story, plot, and character, and are in charge of taking care of all the nitty-gritty details surrounding plays. A playwright should be creative and readily available to make any changes that would assist the plot.

Anyone can become a playwright. It is just a matter of opening your mind to endless possibilities. Creativity is key when it comes to playwriting. A playwright is a creator and the one who best knows the ins and outs of the story. You cannot expect yourself to write a groundbreaking play on the first try. As a playwright, you should be able to fix any mistakes or plot holes.

A playwright is a person who creates this form of literary art with the intention of it being performed on stage. They want it to be natural and use live performances to entertain instead of making use of CGIs etc. They need creativity, imagination, and innovative ideas to make their play exciting. As a playwright, you need to know the basic elements that make a play.

Different from screenwriting

Many people confuse playwriting with screenwriting. While they both have a script, a plot, and a structure that convey a story, there are many differences between the two. As the names suggest, a playwright is intended for a ‘play’ and screenwriting scripts are made to be played and viewed on the ‘screen’.

Playwriting usually has a stage, is a live performance, and has limited settings. Playwriting is intended to be performed on a stage and not in front of a camera. It is a performance that cannot be replayed on TV but is viewed in person. Screenwriting, on the other hand, needs to be performed before a camera, has many CGIs and special effects, and can be re-watched whenever, wherever. You can just open Netflix and search for the movie you want to watch.

Characteristics of a play

A play is defined by many defining characteristics. Each play contains a narrative arc that is not to be confused with the plot. A plot is made up of many different events, acts, and scenes that drive the play’s story. A narrative arc is different. It contains all the details that point to the plot’s progress. A typical narrative arc contains a beginning, a middle, and an end.

We will be using Tenessee Williams famous play “A Streetcar Named Desire” as an example to explain these characteristics. Beware of spoilers! Here are the five basic characteristics of a play:

An exposition is the introduction of the play. It contains all the important details and ideas behind the story and the character. The main character, their current situation, and their relationship with the antagonist or side characters are all illustrated in the exposition.

The chorus, prologue, internal monologues or flashbacks, and memories are all examples of expositions in a play. It is what leads the play to carry a pace.

Example from “A Streetcar Named Desire”: Stella and Stanley’s relationship, their lifestyle, and the character of Blanche is introduced. The audience is informed about the main characters and gains insight into their personalities.

Rising action

Rising action in a play contains the events that lead to the climax of the plot. Here certain conflicts are highlighted and keep the audience on their toes. The rising action comes after the exposition and before the climax.

Without a defined rising action, you cannot reach a riveting climax. Because it leads to and explains components of the climax, it is longer and contains all details that aid the story.

Example from “A Streetcar Named Desire”: The moment from Blanche’s stay with Stella and Stanley, the stories of her past, her meeting, and her date with Mitch till Stella has a boy.

The climax of a play is the star of the show. It is from this point forth that the end of the play is determined. It is the turning point that determines the fate of the character/characters. You need to keep a keen eye to understand what the climax is and what impact it has.

Example from “A Streetcar Named Desire”: When Stella is in the hospital and Stanley visits Blanche, a fight erupts between them, and when Stanley, as suggested, takes advantage of Blanche.

Falling action

This part of the play is when the story moves away from the climax and is reaching towards its end. Here, the playwright may mellow down the plot after a bunch of conflicts occurs.

Example from “A Streetcar Named Desire”: After Blanche suffers at the hands of Stanley, her emotional state and her consistent downfall suggest a falling action. It ultimately leads to the end of the play and her character’s decline.

Resolution/Denouement

Lastly, we have a resolution which is also known by its fancy French name, Denouement. This part of the play ties up loose ends, provides an end, and wraps up the whole plot. It is the end of the play and creates a lasting impact on the audience.

Example from “A Streetcar Named Desire”: When Blanche is sent to a mental asylum, the audience is made to believe that she has been wronged. Although the end is tragic, it gives a slight hint of what will happen to Blanche and where she is headed.

Elements of a play

Every play can have a different genre or central theme. But certain elements are present in all plays. These elements give it the momentum they deserve and clarify the plot for the audience.

Let’s explore each one of them one by one.

The plot is the story. Without a plot, there can be no story, and without a story, there can be no play. A plot consists of events and actions that carry the story forward. As discussed before, a plot is made up of an exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.

Stage direction

Stage direction is never spoken out on stage. Rather it is written down. Stage directions, however, are important to keep the plot of the play intact. The character’s actions, entrances, and exits are all stated in stage directions. In a play, stage directions are vital to ensure that all the lighting and scenes fit into the screen. When writing a play, make sure your stage direction doesn’t cause two characters to bump into each other!

Act and scene

Like a novel is made up of and is divided into chapters and parts, a play is divided into acts and scenes. Plays contain acts and these acts contain subdivisions called scenes. The playwright decides how many acts and scenes there should be in the play.

A one-act play may contain numerous scenes. For more than one act, plays usually have an intermission. The moment the first act ends, the audience is given a break, and then they resume with act 2. An act contains scenes where one topic is either talked about or elaborated on.

Where is the action taking place? Is it set in a specific country or city? In a cafe or home or the restroom, perhaps? The setting is very important in a play. It gives the audience an overall idea of where the event is taking place and what significance it has on the overall story.

Characters in a play are vital. They carry the story forward and make sense of the whole plot. A plot can only be carried out with characters. Even if it is just mere narration, a character plays his or her part in narrating the story.

No play is complete without dialogue. They are what inform the audience of what is happening between the characters. Even inner monologues are dialogues. These sorts of dialogues express the characters’ feelings and emotions. Dialogues also occur between characters and through these conversations, we understand the relationship, the conflict, and the feelings the characters have for one another.

Types of plays

There are many different types of plays and each type has an important role. We will explore the main types.

As the name suggests, this type of play contains a musical element. Here, a character sings the dialogue and captures the attention of the audience with flamboyant movements. They are swift and move across the stage very smoothly. Musicals ask for dialogues that are rhythmic and tell a story in the form of a song.

Farce is a sort of play that contains a humorous element. But it is different from comedy. A comedy intends to entertain the audience. Farce does so too but all the while it also creates a moral lesson for the audience. It is a sort of light-hearted banter between the characters where they find themselves in canny situations. An example of a farce is Christopher Marlowe’s “Dr. Faustus.”

We all know what tragedy is. It is every Greek playwright’s hope and dream. A tragic play tells the story of a character and his ultimate downfall. They face situations over which they have no control. The main character has a fatal flaw or what the Greeks call hamartia. This fatal flaw leads to their ultimate end, whether it is their death or their downfall from a high status.

A classic tragedy play is Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex. Oedipus’ hamartia is his inquisitiveness and his tragic end was his self-banishment and his gouging his eyes out.

Tragic-comedy

Tragi-comedy is a type of play that would offend the great Aristotle and his book on them, “Poetics”. It is a combination of tragedy and comedy. It narrates a tragic tale but also has a comedic element to keep the audience entertained. Shakespeare is famously known for writing tragic-comedy plays.

How to write a play format?

Whether it is comedy, drama, tragedy, or even farce, each play follows a specific format. The purpose of this format is to determine how long or short the play would be. A play’s format is different from others because it differentiates between elements within the text as well.

There is a specific format in which a play is written. Some basic format tips are to use Courier size 12 font. Now onto specifics. Let us look at what those are:

Or the name of your play. Either way, it is what attracts the audience. Your play’s title should be exciting and riveting.

Your top margin should be 3.5 inches and the left margin is supposed to be 4 inches. The right and bottom margins, both, are 1 inch. The title of your play should be capitalized and have a small description beneath it. For example, it can say, “A One Act Play”, and is written in the same format stated.

After the description, write down ‘by’, and after one space, add your full name. Make sure to add double spaces between each entry. Do not number your title page and make sure it does not contain any other information.

Cast of characters

Like the title page, the cast of characters is not numbered. The top, right, and bottom margins should be 1 inch. The left margin needs to be 1.5 inches. The page starts with the heading “Cast of Characters” in the same format. It is underlined and centered.

Beneath, following the margins, you will add your first character’s name and a small description or feature that makes them important. Such as their gender, age, and role (father, brother, sister, etc.)

Main text page

This is the page where you start writing your story for your play. Following the same margin format as the cast of characters, you need to take care of several points when you start writing.

Page numbers

Remember to add numbers to your pages with Arabic numerals. Roman numerals should only be used to number acts and scenes.

Acts and scene

When starting to write an act, make sure it is capitalized, underlined, and not centralized. With every act, add the scene number as well following the same format. If there is only one act in the entire play, then just add the scene number.

The setting of the situation is also highlighted. It is in Courier font size 12 and written in italics within parentheses.

Characters and dialogue

The characters and their dialogues should be written on the same page as the act, scene, and setting. The character name needs to be capitalized and centralized. On the following line, in the left margin, the dialogue should be written in a sentence case.

Stage directions

Any movement, gestures, or actions that are important in the scene or art should be written down as well. They are to be written in italics and within parentheses.

End of scene

Lastly, when ending the scene or act, you need to write in caps, centralized, in the parenthesis (END OF SCENE/ACT). If the play is reaching its end, then following the same format, you need to write (CURTAIN).

Make sure to always start a new act and scene on a new page.

How to write a play?

Now that we know what a play is, its type, and the basic format, we can start to write our play. Here are some of the things you need to check off before you start writing.

Brainstorm ideas

This is the answer to the question: how do you start writing a play?

Before you start, make sure you have a story and plot in mind. A good story and plot are the foundation of a good play. Your story should capture the attention of the audience. A creative and riveting plot always has elements of surprise. Make sure your plot is interactive and keeps the audience hooked.

Do not add weak plots, characters, or other links. The plot should be smooth and coherent throughout the play. You can also add subplots. Subplots are little snippets in between larger plots that attract and keep the attention of the audience. You may have a lot of ideas when you sit down to pen your play and that is good! It means your creativity is at work! The main job is to keep brainstorming for ideas. Remember the playwrights mentioned above? Search them and their work, and see what makes their writing and plays stand out. If not them, you can search for more recent playwrights and assess their work.

Remember, you cannot write a play without inspiration and creativity. So channel that onto a piece of paper and let it all spill.

Choose your characters

Your plot is nothing without your characters. You should have a character that is real and seems approachable. The audience should be able to understand the character. A plot without a character is like pizza without cheese. Make sure that you introduce your character properly. Their age, gender, role, and what significance they have in the play.

Do not make your character unrealistic and assign him or her characteristics that the audience may not understand. Typically, a play has a protagonist, antagonist, and side characters. In some cases, a play also has a chorus and a narrator. Either way, characters are important because they bring out the true essence of your play and carry its plot forward.

Outline and structure your play

Now it is time for the outline. Outlines are very important to structure your play. They may seem boring but without them, you cannot start because they provide coherency and make the playwriting process easier. All sorts of text have a beginning, middle, and end which is exactly what you need in a play too.

Your play should have a defined start, middle, and end. Following the basic characteristics of the play, you can easily think of a plot that can fit into the category and make it interesting. Other than that, you need to write your play in the form of acts and scenes.

Acts and scenes coherently divide your play into segments. An act is followed by an intermission and should end in a way that gives the audience a breather. In a one-act play, you can add as many scenes as you want and it doesn’t require an intermission.

Stage directions are crucial to understanding when writing a play. You do not want characters running into the props or each other. Stage directions suggest where the characters are to be situated during the play when is their entrance and exit, and what gestures are expected.

Stage directions also state the lighting, the music, and the environment of the play during a specific scene or act. It is crucial to understand and mention these directions because only then will you see the result you want.

Write the play

Now it is time to write. Do not worry about the format. You need to start writing the dialogues, and the stage directions, and use your writing skills to materialize your play. The format and edits can be taken care of after you have written the play.

Although a beginning, middle, and end are important in the play, when you are writing it, you can start anywhere. If you have a very amazing climax in mind, write it down first. You can build the story around it. You can even choose to write the ending first. The main goal is to write, that is it.

When writing your dialogues, make sure they sound like a normal conversation. Do not overuse posh terms. No one speaks like that. Instead, treat it like a conversation between you and your friend or you and your mother. Use the rule of three to make it more rhythmic and interesting.

Format your play

Now is the time to format. After you have written the play, you can start formatting it according to the rules stated above. This format is important because it is specific to playwriting and makes the whole reenacting process easier to understand.

Re-read, revise, and proofread

After writing and formatting your play, you should start re-reading and revising. Proofread the content to remove any grammatical or spelling errors. If there is a sentence that doesn’t make sense, strike it out.

When revising the play’s content, do not forget to look for any weak plots or loopholes, anything that confuses the audience. These plots can sabotage your play and make it seem weak. It may seem time-consuming but if you are not willing to perfect your play, then be ready to deal with the criticism that comes with it.

Lastly, give it a table read. Ask others to read it, perform it, or act it out. When applied, you can feel what the play is like when performed. If any bits seem off or do not go with the overall flow of the play, rewrite and perfect. Strike it out if you feel the need to do so.

Writing a play is not that difficult. You do not need a degree or be an expert to write a creative, interactive play. All you need is an idea. Once you use your imagination and start writing, no one can stop you. There are some basic tips and tricks that you need to know when you start your journey, but if you are looking for the answer, how to write a play? The answer is here. Just sit down and write down your thoughts. A stage awaits you to perform your creation, all you need to do is believe and write.

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The Importance of Play: On Finding Joy in your Writing Practice

How to approach your work with open hands, not closed fists.

This article originally appeared in Issue #62, Winter 2017 issue of Creative Nonfiction .

On the last morning of a writers’ retreat I went to a year ago, there was a tiny bell lying on the seat of every chair in the spacious conference center. The weekend was unlike any gathering of writers I’d ever been to: for two days, we attendees had listened, enthralled, to one heresy after another. “Find a hobby that isn’t writing,” one speaker said. “Take walks. Do yoga. Don’t be literary. Be a human being.” Another went further. “It doesn’t take that much time to get writing done,” she said, and a gasp rippled through the audience. Here were writers who took their art seriously, but not themselves—at least, not all the time.

I was charmed to find the little trinket on my seat. What was it for? While the auditorium began to fill, people traded them, pocketed them, bounced them from hand to hand.

One of the workshop leaders took the microphone. He asked us to take our bells, hold them as tightly as we could, and give them a shake. Nothing happened, although several faces turned red with exertion.

“Now take your bell,” he said, “hold it loosely in your hand, and shake it.”

Lovely tinkling music filled the giant room up to its vaulted ceiling.

“That’s how you need to approach writing,” he told us—not with clenched fists, but with open hands.

Relaxed. Playful. Open to possibility.

I returned home from the weekend, set the bell on my desk, and told myself the next hour or two was just for fun. Then I started to write—with results that surprised me. I began to wonder if other writers knew something I didn’t. Could writing be as enjoyable at the outset as at the conclusion? Could it be—dare I say it?—something close to play?

I interviewed four of my favorite writers to find out, and, although they didn’t all use (or even like) the word play , some clear themes began to emerge. Themes like surprise, laughter, and a willingness to let go of self-consciousness and convention. These writers have discovered ways to bring joy into their work, so perhaps it’s no surprise that their writing is a delight to read.

Brenda Miller

One of the workshop leaders at the retreat was Brenda Miller. As she walked us through the steps of writing short, powerful pieces, like her much-anthologized apologia “Swerve” and the sensory-rich “What I Could Eat,” she couldn’t stop smiling. On the last day of the conference, I asked her about her generative writing group, which meets every week to do a series of unusual exercises: first, five minutes of subject-verb-object sentences; then, ten minutes of linking sentences; and finally, one long, continuous run-on sentence for twenty minutes. I was puzzled by so much prescription.

“It’s an interesting paradox,” she said.

Sometimes, the more constraints we give ourselves, the more fun we can have. Think about the rules of a sport or a game: while a free-for-all may sound like fun, we often prefer to have rules and guidelines, and to see how much creativity and mastery we can accomplish within those guidelines. For these particular exercises (which were taught to me by the artist and writer Nancy Canyon), the rules give your intellectual mind something to concentrate on, and then your subconscious mind can come out to play. The time limit quiets the inner censor and forces you to keep writing whatever comes out.

Miller said she also plays in her writing practice by trying pieces as “hermit crab” essays:

In a hermit crab piece, you are adopting already existing forms to tell your story, such as a recipe, a how-to article, etc. I’ve written pieces in the forms of rejection notes, field guides, a table of figures, and how-to pieces. I end up having so much fun developing and playing with the voices of these forms that the writing barely seems like work. In the rejection note piece, titled, “We Regret to Inform You,” I begin by cataloging all the rejections one receives from grade school on, so it starts on a lighthearted note and gets progressively more serious as the chronology goes along, including my experiences with two miscarriages in my early twenties.

Miller has talked about seasons in her writing life—writing in solitude, writing in community, and, most recently, writing in collaboration:

I’ve been doing two different collaborations over the last year: one with my colleague and friend Lee Gulyas and one with my friend Julie Marie Wade. With Lee, we’ve been trading photographs and writing to the images, sometimes together and sometimes individually. You never know what the image will trigger, how our two perspectives will either mesh or diverge.

With Julie, we’ve written many different kinds of essays, usually with one of us starting on a specific topic and lobbing the essay back to the other. In this way, the essay builds bit by bit, shifting directions, always surprising us. Sometimes, it feels like a conversation with each section referring directly to something that came before (such as the essay “Toys” in CNF #60); sometimes, it feels more like parallel play.

I asked if she had always approached writing with this attitude of play.

I can say that after writing for more than thirty years, and teaching for almost twenty, I had to find some new ways to approach the writing process, or I would have stopped writing altogether. As a creative nonfiction writer, it can be easy to feel like you’ve used up your material, so the emphasis becomes finding new perspectives and forms. And yes, this approach makes me very happy to write. I get that thrill of writing something new and unexpected almost every time I come out to play.

Brian Doyle

I first met Brian Doyle at a writers’ workshop fifteen years ago and have been a fan ever since. He had a handout that suggested writers think sideways: What does grass mean? How does winter smell? In “Playfulnessness: A Note,” Doyle argues that the essay is “the most playful of forms, liable to hilarity and free association and startlement.” I recently asked him if he thinks he brings those qualities to his own writing.

Hmm—I do think it’s true, and immediately think of my sister saying I am congenitally wonder-addled because I got spectacles at age seven and have never recovered from that wash of wonder. I suppose I am also sort of addicted to the salt and swing and song of the American language, which is a bruised dusty lewd brave vibrant language, and trammeling it carefully seems disrespectful to me, as long as I am clear. I set out with an idea and try to hammer sentences that have loose ends; does that make sense? I never know where a story or an essay or a proem is going to end up, or even go, quite. . . . I just start, and I have in mind that I want to write like people talk and think, in loose-limbed, free, piercing, entertaining ways, and things go from there—sometimes utterly to the dogs.

I had to ask: what does it mean to hammer sentences that have loose ends?

I am trying to stay open to surprise, to spin, to swerve, to deepen—I want to start and then see what happens. I suspect that if you know exactly what you want to say, or exactly how a piece should end, then you have put yourself in a polite jail cell. I have the utmost respect for op-eds and editorials and reports and journalism, but I also love and am much more deeply moved by pieces that are open to surprise. An example for me is a long essay called “The Meteorites,” which started out simply as a list of all the weird summer jobs I’d had, and morphed into a piece about being a counselor at a summer day camp, and finally into a piece very much about the spangle and spatter of light and love.

Language isn’t the only thing Doyle doesn’t “trammel carefully.” He also plays with form, and I asked him about his proems —the word he uses to describe his box-shaped pieces that are part poem, part prose, part prayer.

With the proems, I want to get to some place between prose and poems, because while poems at their best are the form closest to music and swing and rhythm and cadence, at their worst, they are artsy-fartsy selfish elusive self-absorbed muddles; can you make a thing that’s alert to music but also clear as a bell, in unadorned conversational lines? And as regarding forms, there are so many: the story that’s all one voice; a paragraph in which two stories are being told alternately, as happens in my novel Mink River; the essay that is clearly wildly hyperbolic but also totally true because you waved the hyperbole flag, somehow. . .

Doyle has advised new writers to “type fast and tell a story with your fingers.”

Newer writers very often sit down with expectations and plans and programs and outlines and assumptions as to form, and I think all those things are little jail cells. You shut off so much possible when you insist on what must be. And so much poor writing is just news and memory and explanation and persuasion and report and data and airy opinion; whereas stories are bigger deeper wilder unforgettabler. For me, I think it was years as a journalist on magazines and papers in Boston and Chicago that made me yearn for what was under mere reporting and accounting. Could I catch and share moments, images, the deeper story? Could you use one tiny story to carry a thousand bigger stories on its shoulders?

David Quammen

I met David Quammen a year ago when I interviewed him about his book Ebola in the wake of the 2014 outbreak. A literary journalist who specializes in ecology and evolutionary biology, Quammen told me, then, that his purposes “are divided about halfway between education and vaudeville” as he tries to make science writing accessible to a broad audience. When I recently asked him about approaching writing with an attitude of playfulness, he made it clear he didn’t like that word:

First thing I want to say is that I distrust programmatic approaches to writing. It can’t be taught. A person is funny or playful if he or she has that capacity. Or not. It’s not a recipe. I love humor. I love surprise. I tend to be a smart aleck. “Playfulness”? Meh.

I pressed him. While playfulness may not be the right word in every case, how writers escape “programmatic” approaches to writing to keep returning and delighting in their work was exactly what I was interested in. How, for instance, does he find moments of relief while writing about infectious disease? He acknowledged the challenge:

The world right now is grim. Problems are dire. It’s rotten, catastrophic. But also filled with wonders, joys, amazing places and things, heroic behaviors. Pratfalls and ridiculosity. It’s always important to be able to laugh in the face of gloom, and in the face of time. I’ve learned that from some of the masters—Samuel Beckett; Faulkner; Ed Abbey; Dorothy Parker; my Irish mother, Mary Egan Quammen.

Quammen noted his humor can be dry and oblique. In Spillover , about the growing incidence of zoonotic diseases (infections that spread from animals to humans), he recounts an instance in which a Texas lab euthanized forty-nine monkeys as a precaution because they shared the same room as one that died and tested positive for Reston virus. Most of the monkeys, later screened posthumously for the virus, tested negative. Without missing a beat, Quammen writes, “Ten employees who had helped unload and handle the monkeys were also screened for infection, and they also tested negative, but none of them were euthanized.”

Gallows humor is helpful, too, if you’re writing about something like Ebola or HIV or herpes B. There’s always room, if it’s done with irony about the brutality of life and with sympathy for the victims’ side. Why not laugh darkly? We need laughter as much as we need pharmaceuticals.

Surprise is something Quammen said he relishes in his work. For him, it comes not from plumbing the depths of memory, but from the people he interviews.

I get interested, immediately, in their whole lives, their whole stories. I wait and hope for them to surprise me. I never ever ever say to a source, “Give me a quote on yadda yadda.” I ask genuine questions. I wait and hope for them to tell me a story because they suddenly feel they can trust me with something they have never told any other person—or, at least, any other writer. Jack Horner did that with me, 35 years ago: dyslexia led him to dinosaur bones. Kelly Warfield did it more recently: working in a 7-Eleven at Fort Detrick led her to Ebola research.

Abigail Thomas

At the writing retreat, Brenda Miller introduced me to Thomas’s first memoir, Safekeeping . She presented it as an example of memoir that—with its tiny micro-chapters, third-person accounts, and soliloquies from Thomas’s sister who comes in now and again to explain the action (a move Miller likened to a Greek chorus)—doesn’t follow convention. It’s a memoir about loss, and yet there are moments when it’s impossible not to laugh. I asked Thomas about the book’s playful tone.

Well, lots of my memories were hilarious, as were the conversations with my sister. Life is full of loss but also a lot of laughs, thank god. And yeah, probably because I had no set plan, no outline, no nothing, anything and everything came marching in. Or slithering. Life is so very funny, right in the middle of everything awful. That’s how we survive, I think.

The way I wrote Safekeeping was determined by the way my memory works (or doesn’t). My memory is terrible, but what I do remember, I remember well. There usually isn’t any interstitial material. After [my second husband] Quin died, these hundreds of little pieces came more or less flying out of me. It wasn’t a plan. I really didn’t know why I was doing what I was doing, didn’t for a long time think it would be a book. I was writing down moments, mostly—moments and feelings I remembered well.

I do think that if you have a memory, and you get it right, you leave it alone. You don’t need to put in the weather report or whatever else is lying around on the grass. Hit it, hit it as best as you can, and move on. And I couldn’t have done it without my sister. Wonderful, the Greek chorus description. Perfect.

Thomas is known for assigning her students “two pages” exercises as a way into a story “they may be staring too directly in the face,” she writes in her book Thinking about Memoir . She recalled a workshop in which she asked students to write two pages about a time they were dressed inappropriately for the occasion:

One woman described what had happened to her first husband. He had been helping load a truck for a neighbor, someone he barely knew, but that was the kind of generous man he was. The truck moved unexpectedly, and her husband was thrown to the ground. By the time they got him to the hospital, he was declared brain-dead. She remembered walking back and forth on the roof of the hospital with her husband’s brother, trying to decide whether or not to take him off life support, and thinking she was wearing the wrong clothes to be making such a decision: cutoffs, a T-shirt, sandals. It was the first time she’d ever written about this, and it was the assignment that gave her a side door. Extremely moving.

Two pages makes it less intimidating. If it goes longer, fine. But it doesn’t have to. We’re not on guard.

There’s a line in Thinking about Memoir that reminds me of the object lesson at the writers’ retreat with the bell: “We do better when we’re not trying too hard,” Thomas writes. “There is nothing more deadening to creativity than the grim determination to write.” How does she avoid the writerly tendency toward grim determination?

Doing absolutely nothing helps. Keep quiet. Take note of what you notice. See what happens. Get out of the way. Stop thinking. Wait for the unlikely pair to couple. Take naps. Especially take naps. If something strikes you while you’re beginning to drift off (and it will), get up immediately and write it down. For me, painting is a wonderful way of using a different part of what’s left of my brain. I just wait for the accident, wait for the thing to reveal itself to me. I’m NOT in charge.

What’s the most fun you’ve ever had writing?

Brenda Miller:

The most fun I’ve ever had writing was when I wrote my first hermit crab piece, “How to Meditate.” I loved poking fun at both myself and the earnestness of the meditation community while still getting at the heart of some essential experiences. It was the first time I felt so immersed in a voice not my own, and I wrote the entire piece in one twelve-hour writing day on retreat at the Ucross Foundation in Wyoming.

Brian Doyle:

Oh man, a nonfiction book about a year in a vineyard: The Grail . That was fun for all sorts of reasons, not just the wine. To write loose and free about a real place and people and science, to write a fun book about wine in a world filled with so many somber, lugubrious books about wine. . . .

David Quammen:

In Spillover, I used the techniques of fiction (which I had once used in writing novels) to give the reader an imagined (truth in advertising) version of how the fateful passage of HIV from a forest-dwelling chimpanzee to the big cities of Central Africa may have happened. It was risky, this movement in a nonfiction book from carefully reported scientific fact into a mythic mode—and it was liberating, and maybe a bit provocative. I can still remember the thrill as my hypothetical story of that event, featuring a character I called the Voyager, unfolded for me each day on the page. It was great fun, in roughly the same way that running a Class V stretch of whitewater in a kayak is fun—dangerous, exhilarating, worth-the-risk fun.

Abigail Thomas:

Well, I had a lot of fun with “Sixteen Again,” the account of a date where I feel madly in love with the guy who did not return the compliment, and got over it very quickly. The essay changed in the course of the writing from a lament to a sort of triumph, and I wound up laughing.

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Performing Arts

How to Write a Stage Play

Last Updated: May 14, 2024 Fact Checked

Developing the Story

Outlining the play, writing & formatting a script, sample scripts, expert q&a.

This article was co-authored by Melessa Sargent and by wikiHow staff writer, Sophie Burkholder, BA . Melessa Sargent is the President of Scriptwriters Network, a non-profit organization that brings in entertainment professionals to teach the art and business of script writing for TV, features and new media. The Network serves its members by providing educational programming, developing access and opportunity through alliances with industry professionals, and furthering the cause and quality of writing in the entertainment industry. Under Melessa's leadership, SWN has won numbers awards including the Los Angeles Award from 2014 through 2021, and the Innovation & Excellence award in 2020. There are 10 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 556,316 times.

Do you want to join the ranks of Shakespeare, Ibsen, and Arthur Miller? You'll need to write a play with bold characters, a dynamic plot, and that special touch that makes it fit for center stage. With a good vision, a strong format, and a little luck, you'll get to experience the thrill of seeing your finished play performed. Whether you're writing a play for theatre or just for fun, use this guide to start writing your script and bringing it to life.

Things You Should Know

Decide the genre, theme, and setting of your story. Craft your characters and what challenges and conflicts they will overcome throughout the story.
Outline the beginning, middle, and end of your story. Roughly organize the plot points of your story into scenes and acts.
Write your first draft and then another, following the playwriting format. Keep revising and asking for outside opinions before settling on a final version.

Step 1 Determine the genre and theme of your play.

For example, common themes in Shakespeare's plays include love, power, identity, madness vs. sanity, and fate vs. free will. [2] X Research source
Consider the key takeaways you want your audience to walk away with or the question you want to plant in their mind.
Choose themes that are relevant to present-day society and people, since that’s who will be watching and reading your plays.

Understand your character’s motivations and what drives their behaviors: what does your character want? What will they do to get it?
Make sure your character demonstrates growth throughout the story and has changed in some way by the play’s conclusion.
Avoid using stereotypes or common character tropes when developing your characters .
Your antagonist doesn’t have to be a person. Instead, it could be a struggle within the character’s own self (e.g., a soldier dealing with post-traumatic stress) or a conflict between the character and society (e.g., a woman fighting for her right to vote in 1918). [4] X Research source

In playwriting, these stages of a story are better known as the exposition, rising action, conflict, climax, and resolution.
The exposition should establish your play's setting, characters, and basic conflict.
The rising action should present a deepening conflict or challenge until you reach the climax of the play, which is the tensest moment in which conflicts are fully addressed.
The conflict of the play should underscore the theme and relate to the protagonist and antagonist: e.g., two brothers battling over their parents' will may highlight a theme of how grief may obscure what’s truly important.
The play’s resolution should release the tension after the climax and show characters overcoming or learning to live with their conflicts.

Trust your unique voice and be creative. "Don't try to guess what it is people want and give it to them. Try your best to write what you like, what you think your friends would like and what you think your father would like and then cross your fingers... The most valuable thing you have is your own voice."

Step 4 Understand the limitations of the stage.

Alternatively, break from traditional theatre and write a play with impossible-to-stage scenes as a way of exploring the writing itself.
If you have no plans to actually stage the play, treat it as a different form of writing a poem .
Bertolt Brecht, Samuel Beckett, and Antonin Artaud were all innovators of experimental avant-garde plays who incorporated audience participation and other absurdist or surreal elements into their drama.

In addition to your main plot, add plot points for subplots that help develop the characters or keep the audience engaged.

Step 2 Break up your plot into scenes and acts.

Acts are like mini-plays within themselves, each made up of several scenes.
The three-act play is most common, but one-act and five-act plays are also widely used. [9] X Research source
As you develop your scenes, give time for scene or costume changes and for actors to get to their places.

Get into the habit of writing every day, even if only for 5-10 minutes.
For the exploratory draft, don't worry about formatting the play or writing it "correctly." Just let out everything that needs to get out.

Go back through your drafts with a pencil. Circle any moments that pause the drama, and underline moments that move the drama forward. Cut out everything that's circled.
If you end up cutting out 90% of what you've written, so be it. Fill it back in with things that move the story forward.
Write as many drafts as it takes. There's no right number of drafts. Keep going until the play feels finished and satisfies your expectations.

Center act and scene headings.
Center and capitalize character names .
Italicize stage directions and indent them by one tab.
Write small actions and minor stage directions in parentheses.

Step 4 Arrange a table read or other opportunity for outside feedback.

Reread your play from a different perspective. As an actor, would you understand your character’s motivations? As an audience member, would you be able to follow the plot of the play if you had no background knowledge?
Get a fresh pair of eyes on your script. Ask a friend, family member, or fellow artist to read the script and give you constructive notes.
Use these pieces of feedback to revise your script and move toward your final draft.

What is playwriting?

Playwriting creates a dramatic narrative to be used in a live production.

As opposed to writing scripts for movies or television shows, writing stage plays allows playwrights to connect with and interact with the audience immediately.

Read and watch plays as you develop your own. This research will give you a better understanding of the format for playwriting and how plays typically progress. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
You can write moments when characters come into the audience to make viewers feel more involved. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
If you feel like you’re having writer’s block, just free write. Open up a text document and start typing whatever comes into your head—don’t worry about it being completely perfect or sensical. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

Tips from our Readers

Consider how your setting will impact your plot and character voice. If your characters live in a forest, they shouldn't be using urban slang or have easy access to shops and restaurants.
Don't be afraid to put yourself out there. If you have a story to share and a drive to create, then follow that!
Writing a play should be fun. If it isn't a huge success, learn from this experience and try again.
For the plot and premise of the play, start off with topics or settings that interest you.

↑ https://liberalarts.oregonstate.edu/wlf/what-theme
↑ https://studymind.co.uk/questions/what-are-the-typical-recurring-themes-in-shakespeare-s-plays/
↑ https://www.theguardian.com/stage/theatreblog/2008/nov/25/theatre-writing-plays-playwright-royal-court
↑ https://www.servicescape.com/blog/120-story-conflict-ideas-and-examples#
↑ https://thewritepractice.com/story-arcs/
↑ https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/how-to-write-a-play-script-format/
↑ https://penandthepad.com/outline-play-8541400.html
↑ https://www.writopialab.org/programs/specialty-programs/worldwide-plays-festival/the-competition/standard-playwriting-format
↑ https://dramatics.org/how-to-run-a-productive-table-read/
↑ https://writingcommons.org/article/overview-of-playwriting/

About This Article

To write a play, start each scene with a location and time of day, like INT. RESTAURANT — NIGHT. Below that, write stage directions that describe what, and who, is onstage. When writing dialogue, indent the character’s name at least 4 inches, write it in all caps, then write what they’re saying below their name. Once you’re comfortable with formatting, start your first draft by putting characters together somewhere significant to them, and giving them a minor challenge to confront. Keep writing until you find an external plot that allows them to confront their internal conflicts. To learn how to come up with interesting, realistic characters, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Home / Book Writing / How to Write a Play: Definition, Tips, and How to Publish

How to Write a Play: Definition, Tips, and How to Publish

If you've ever been to a play (or helped put one on), you know how exciting it can be as the lights go down and the curtains come open on a story performed in real time.

Stage plays are a special kind of magic, but they also have a lot in common with novels and even movies. Still, if you've never written a play before, there are some significant differences that you'll need to be aware of. I'll cover those differences and everything else you need to know in this article on how to write a play.

What to do before you write your play.
How to format your manuscript.
Tips for writing the best play possible.

What Makes a Play Different From a Novel or Movie?
The Benefits of Writing a Stage Play
Play Script Examples to Read
Movies based on Plays
Different Types of Plays
Plays with Different Structures
The Title Page
The Dramatis Personae (Cast of Characters)
Start Simple and See Where It Takes You
Focus on Character and Conflict
Let the Dialogue Drive
Make Each Scene Important
Don't Go Overboard on Stage Directions
Edit and Rewrite Ruthlessly
How to Write a Play: Curtains

When you're writing a novel or even a short story, you're limited only by your imagination. You can get as fantastical as you like. You can have buildings explode, helicopter chases, giant creatures whose heads touch the clouds, and pretty much anything else you can think of. There is no limit.

When writing a movie, you can also put all these things in. But unless you have the backing of a studio with hundreds of millions of dollars to spend, you may not be able to translate everything from your mind to the silver screen.

Format Beautiful Professional Books

Easy to use, and and full of amazing features, you can quickly turn your book into a professional book.

If you want to write a play, there are even more limitations than writing a movie. Since a play takes place on a stage with live actors, there's only so much you can do. While there are some elements or settings that can be accomplished on a stage, every fantastic element that goes into your play means a bigger budget for the production .

This is the reason why most plays are character-driven stories . You generally won't see a play that takes place in more than two or three locations, and usually, these locations are fairly common, such as offices or homes.

So as you think about the idea for your play, keep this in mind.

Any creative writing endeavor has certain benefits. Creating something out of nothing can be very fulfilling, and writing a play is no different. It can also be a cathartic process, helping you to work through strong emotions.

But since the main drivers of a stage play are character and dialogue, writing a play can really help you strengthen your skills in both those areas . So no matter what kind of creative writing you do, taking the time to learn how to write a play can strengthen your ability to write novels, short stories, or movie scripts.

If you don't ever foresee having your play produced with actors and a director, feel free to get as creative as you want. If it's purely a creative writing exercise, you need not worry about production limitations.

Immerse Yourself in Stage Plays

Before you begin writing a play, it's important to become intimately familiar with the storytelling medium. This means going to see plays in your local community theater, as well as reading play scripts.

While it's best to go see plays in person, this isn't possible for everyone. If you're limited in your ability to see a live play, you can watch some on YouTube. Or, you can watch movies that are based on plays and think about how they would look on stage. This is actually a good exercise to help you get in the playwright's frame of mind.

Hamlet by William Shakespeare (A list of plays wouldn't be complete without one from the GOAT.)
The Theory of Everything by Prince Gomolvilas
Disgraced by Ayad Akhtar
Oedipus Rex by Sophocles
The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams
A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett
Ruined by Lynn Nottage
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead
Death of a Salesman
Glengarry Glen Ross
12 Angry Men

Before we dive into writing tips (and then play script formatting details), it's important that we take a look at the different types of plays. First of all, there are genres to be aware of:

Tragedy – In which the main character spirals out of control thanks to a fatal flaw (and almost always dies at the end).
Comedy – In which the tone is light and the goal is to get the audience laughing.
Farce – The stage play's version of a “late night” or “slapstick” comedy, often nonsensical and irreverent.
Tragi-Comedy – These skirt the line between tragedy and comedy, tackling tough subjects and following a flawed protagonist in a more lighthearted manner than your average tragedy. Often, the protagonist doesn't die at the end.
Melodrama – A melodrama will often have clearly defined heroes and heroines with character flaws that are overcome by the resolution. These will often feature larger-than-life storylines.
Historical – A play based on an event in history.

There are three primary types of stage plays: one-act, two-act, and three-act. Let's discuss their differences briefly so you can decide which type you want to tackle.

One-Act Plays – One-act plays are commonly limited to a single location (so there are no set changes) and feature only a handful of characters. They're on the shorter side than two- or three-act plays, ranging from ten to sixty minutes on average. As a result, they're necessarily less complex than longer plays.
Two-Act Plays – Two-act plays are more common these days. They're longer than their one-act counterparts, anywhere from an hour to two hours. Because of this, they may feature an intermission. You'll often see multiple set pieces or (locations), a larger cast of characters, and more nuanced character development.
Three-Act Plays – Three-act plays are the longest type, sometimes ranging up to three hours or more. While in days past, these plays may have had two or more intermissions, this isn't usually the case these days. Most three-act plays (unless they're really long) will only have one intermission. Given their length, they'll often have large casts, multiple storylines, and many set changes.

It's important to note that these “acts” aren't really the same thing as the acts in plot structure diagrams like the Three Act Structure .

Every story, no matter its length, should have a beginning, middle, and end. It should have exposition , a clear conflict, rising action, and a climax that facilitates a conclusion.

Really, talking about plays in terms of their acts is a way to differentiate longer and more complex plays from shorter, simpler ones. This is also a way to think about how much it will cost to put on a given play.

How to Format Your Play Script

Play script format is similar in many ways to screenplay format, but there are some key differences to be aware of. So whether you know screenplay format or not, this section will help you with your play format.

When writing your first draft, don’t worry too much about the format . Just get the story and the dialogue down without stopping to format everything correctly. You can always format it later as or after you edit.

The title of your play should be in the middle of your title page, underlined and in all caps. Below, write your name. Like this:

THE PLAY TITLE

Playwright Name

In the bottom left corner, print your address, phone number, and email address. If you have an agent, print their name and contact info in the bottom right corner.

On this page, list each of your characters along with a very brief description of them. This can include age, sex, and notable physical attributes.

Next, set the stage (literally) with the time and setting. It should look something like this:

Briefly describe your setting. It could be an office building, a home, a hotel, etc.

Briefly describe the time. This includes whether it's day or night and whether it takes place in the present day, the past, or the future.

Next, you'll want to start with Act I and Scene 1. All act and scene settings should be centered.

All character names should be in all caps . And those above dialogue should be centered. Character names in stage directions won't be centered. But the stage directions themselves should be indented once and italicized.

Like screenplays, play scripts are written in the present tense .

Here's what a scene will look like in action:

Living room, early afternoon.

JIMMY, a slovenly criminal dressed in black clothes and a ski mask, works on getting the large TV off the wall. LEROY suddenly comes through the front door.

What are you doing?

What's it look like? I'm stealing your TV.

JIMMY

What do you care? You don't even watch it.

Do too.

And so on.

It’s important to note that there is no one right play script format. As you’re reading plays, you’ll probably see several different formats used across different plays. Really, you can choose one. Just remember to be consistent with your play format throughout the entire play.

Tips for Writing a Great Play

Writing an entire play—even a short play—is no small feat. While every writer is different in their approach to storytelling, I've tried to make the following tips broad enough yet specific enough that you can incorporate them into your own writing process, even if you're still discovering what it is!

If this is your first time writing a play, I suggest starting with a simple one-act play structure. Once you have something down with a beginning, middle, and end, you can expand on it from there. So shoot for a fifteen-page script, which will be about a fifteen-minute play (it's roughly one page per minute when all is said and done).

Keep this fairly short play as your goal, but don't let it limit you when the creative juices start to flow. See where the story takes you. If the story needs a third or fourth character to show up unexpectedly, go with it and see what happens.

Whether you end up with a 60-page stage play or a 10-page one isn't important. The important thing is making that play as good as it possibly can be. And that's what the following tips will help you do.

Character and conflict are what drive the plot of any play. Focusing on these two factors together can really help you flesh out your story. After all, the conflict needs to be directly related to your characters.

An interesting main character battling an inner demon won't do you much good until something happens to make that inner conflict clear to the audience. In a play, this is usually some form of external conflict brought about by another character—even if the other character doesn't at first realize what he or she is doing.

In Hamlet , the protagonist is struck with indecision throughout the whole play. He wants to avenge his father's murder, but he continues to put this off, philosophizing and ruminating on death and suicide. Eventually, he drives himself insane. Things spiral out of control and many innocent people die directly or indirectly due to his inaction—including himself.

As with any other story, characters need to be somewhat believable and the audience needs a reason to empathize with them . Interesting characters are great, but it won't matter how interesting they are if the audience doesn't really care what happens to them. So in the beginning, give the audience a reason to empathize with your protagonist.

The dialogue in a play is incredibly important. While you can technically have a narrator to tell the audience things, you'll need to be careful to not use this as a crutch. Really, the dialogue between characters should tell the bulk of your story through subtext.

Not only does this mean writing realistic dialogue, but it also means ensuring that the dialogue isn't too on the nose. For example, you wouldn't want your main character to say out loud to someone, “I'm angry right now because my love life is a mess!”

Instead, you'd want that anger to come with a little more nuance and subtext. Maybe she makes a snarky remark to a friend who is talking to her about the great relationship she's in. And if your character delivers a monologue, it should be true to her voice and give the audience a deeper insight into her character .

As is the case with novel and screenplay writing, each scene in the play needs to have a purpose. However, when writing your first draft, you may end up with a few scenes that don't seem to have a clear purpose. That's okay. Sometimes you need to write through meandering or unclear scenes to get to the ones that your story needs.

So when you're going through and editing your play, make sure each scene serves to drive the story forward. If there's no point to the scene, it doesn't need to be in the play.

Stage directions in a play entail everything from setting and lighting to the movements of the actors and their body language. But since plays are a group effort and each actor will bring their own unique touches to their characters, you don't need to go overboard with stage directions.

If you were writing a novel or a short story, you would want to describe important things in fairly vivid detail. But when writing a play, you need not worry about going into great detail. Instead, a few words here and there will do for stage direction. Of course, if something is really important to the story (like a prop or a location) and you want to emphasize it, it's completely fine to go into more detail.

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It's also a good idea to consider the type of stage your play will be performed on. You may be writing for a theater with a traditional stage, but you may not. There are “theater in the round” stages – a round stage surrounded by seats. Then there are thrust stages, where certain parts of the stage are surrounded on three sides with seats.

If you're not sure which kind of stage your play will be performed on, that's okay. You can always add pertinent stage directions later.

Editing and rewriting are vital parts of any creative writing endeavor. Many professionals suggest getting your first draft down and then putting it aside for a week or a month before you pick it up again with fresh eyes.

Whether you wait a week or a day before editing, try to see the play from the audience's perspective. Think about your ideal audience member and what you want them to get out of it. Then use this to rewrite and edit ruthlessly until you have a play that is as good as you can possibly make it.

Writing an original play is not only a rewarding experience, but it can help you become a better fiction writer in general. And if your play is performed in a theater, you'll be able to watch it come alive as few people ever do. The more you write, the better your chances of success. And you may even want to turn your play into a novel eventually.

No matter your specific writing process, a play can help you strengthen your character development and dialogue writing skills. And it can also help you learn how to write a screenplay, as well!

Dave Chesson

When I’m not sipping tea with princesses or lightsaber dueling with little Jedi, I’m a book marketing nut. Having consulted multiple publishing companies and NYT best-selling authors, I created Kindlepreneur to help authors sell more books. I’ve even been called “The Kindlepreneur” by Amazon publicly, and I’m here to help you with your author journey.

Author vs writer: what’s the difference, how to write an adventure story, parts of a book [from cover to cover], sell more books on amazon, amazon kindle rankings e-book.

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How to Write a Literary Analysis Essay in 8 Quick Steps

A good literary analysis involves more than just summarizing a story or poem. It's about digging deep into the text to understand its themes, characters, and writing techniques. In this article, we'll explore how to do just that. Whether you're a seasoned pro or new to the game, these tips will help you learn how to write a literary analysis essay that'll impress your readers. Let's dive in!

How to Write a Literary Analysis Essay?

Writing a good literary analysis is like taking a closer look at a painting to understand what makes it beautiful. In this section, we'll break down the steps to help you write a literary analysis essay on a book or poem. We'll explore things like characters, themes, and writing style so you can really understand what the author is trying to say. If you’re in a hurry, our experts can write paper for you overnight according to your particular instructions.

Choose Your Original

Select a source that intrigues you or one assigned by your instructor. Opt for a work that resonates with you emotionally or intellectually, as this connection will fuel your evaluation and keep you engaged throughout the process. Whether it's a classic novel, a contemporary poem, or a play, ensure that the content is rich in themes, characters, and stylistic devices to provide ample material for scrutinizing.

Read Carefully and Analyze

Once you've chosen your source, read it attentively, making notes on significant passages, character developments, and recurring themes. Pay close attention to the author's writing style, language choices, and penmanship devices such as imagery, symbolism, and foreshadowing. Analyze how these elements contribute to the overall meaning and impact of the original, and consider how they evoke emotions or convey the author's message to the reader. If you need critical analysis essay examples , here are some compelling samples for your inspiration and motivation.

Formulate a Thesis Statement

After thoroughly analyzing the text, formulate a clear and concise thesis statement that encapsulates your interpretation or claim about the work. Your thesis should assert a specific claim or perspective regarding the work's meaning, theme, or literature elements, providing a roadmap for your composition and guiding your reader's understanding of your assignment's purpose.

Develop Your Argument

With your thesis statement in mind, develop a coherent argument supporting your text interpretation. Draw on evidence from the original, including quotations, plot details, and character interactions, to substantiate your claims and illustrate your examination. Consider how each piece of evidence contributes to your overall argument and use it to build a persuasive case for your interpretation of the material. By the way, you can ask our experts, ‘ do my PowerPoint presentation ,’ and our specialists will address such an assignment, too.

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Outline Your Document

Create a detailed outline that organizes your ideas and evidence logically and sequentially. Divide your paper into an introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion, each addressing a specific aspect of your exploration. Outline the main points you'll discuss in each paragraph and the evidence you'll use to support them, ensuring a clear and structured progression of ideas throughout your document.

Write Your Introduction

Begin with an engaging introduction that provides context for your brainstorming and introduces your thesis statement to the reader. Hook your audience with an intriguing opening line or a thought-provoking question, then provide background information about the document and its author to orient your reader. Finally, present your thesis, outlining the main points you'll address in your speculation and setting the stage for the rest of your work.

Craft Your Body Paragraphs

In the main body, develop each point of your argument in separate paragraphs, providing evidence from the work to support your claims. Start each paragraph with a topic sentence that introduces the main idea or statement of the paragraph, then follow it with evidence from the original, such as quotations or textual survey, to illustrate and substantiate your point. Analyze each piece of evidence in relation to your thesis, explaining how it supports your interpretation of the source and contributes to your overall argument.

Conclude Thoughtfully

Finally, conclude your assignment with a thoughtful conclusion summarizing your arguments and reinforcing your thesis. Review the main points you've discussed in your paper, highlighting your key insights or discoveries about the text. Avoid introducing new information or arguments in your conclusion; reiterate the significance of your research and its broader implications for understanding the manuscript. End your work with a compelling closing statement that leaves a lasting impression on your reader and encourages further reflection on the work's meaning and significance. Shop for an essay for sale if both your schedule and budget are tight.

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What Is a Literary Analysis Essay?

It is a type of academic writing that examines and interprets a work, such as a novel, poem, or play. It aims to delve into the deeper layers of the text to uncover its themes, characters, symbolism, and stylistic devices.

What Is the Purpose of a Literary Analysis Essay?

The purpose of this essay is to critically analyze a piece of literature, providing insights into its meaning, significance, and artistic techniques employed by the author. By dissecting the elements of the text, the paper seeks to understand how they contribute to the overall message or purpose of the work.

How to Start off a Literary Analysis Essay?

To start off such an essay, begin by introducing the work and its author, providing context for the research. Then, craft a thesis statement that presents your interpretation or claim about the source's meaning or significance. Finally, outline the main points you'll address in your document to guide the reader through your composition.

the how-to section was made more specific;
added FAQs.
https://www.bucks.edu/media/bcccmedialibrary/pdf/HOWTOWRITEALITERARYANALYSISESSAY_10.15.07_001.pdf
https://germanna.edu/sites/default/files/2022-03/Literary%20Analysis.pdf

Scriptwriting

How to Write a Play Script Format Explained with Examples

S o you’re ready to learn about a new script writing format! If you’re familiar with one or the other — stage plays or screenplays — then you’re halfway there to understanding the other. If not, don’t fret, it may just take a little more time to master the basics. We’re going to show you everything you need to know about play script format; with all the tools and templates you’ll need to get started. But first, let’s review the terms.

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Format for Plays and Screenplays

Playwriting vs screenwriting.

Good news first: stage plays and screenplays share a lot of similarities. Both are generally structured the same way, with title pages, slug lines , and dialogue. Bad news: there are a few intricacies that make plays and film scripts different.

Here’s writer Dui Jarrod breaking down some of the conceptual differences between stage plays and screenplays:

Play Script Format vs. Screenplay Format • Examined by Film Courage 2

“When I sit down to write a play, I’m thinking about what I want to say. When I sit down to write a movie, I’m thinking about what I want to show,” Jarrod said about the difference between the two mediums.

By considering the practical and conceptual differences between screenplays and stage plays, we’re better prepared to plan out our own stories. We’re going to dive into some technical differences between stage plays and screenplays, but first let’s jump into a stage play definition.

STAGE PLAY DEFINITION

What is a stage play.

A stage play is a story written that’s intended to be performed in a theater. Stage plays usually include a character glossary (dramatis personae), setting and time, and outlined act and scenes. Intermissions and act/scene-endings are almost always written into the script, as are stage directions, dialogue, and actions.

Famous Types of Stage Plays:

History of play script formatting, where did play script format begin.

Stage plays have been around for thousands of years — tracing all the way back to the ancient world. Egypt, Rome, and Greece all produced stage plays, and some of their works are considered among the greatest plays of all time.

Modern theater is very much rooted in the ancient structure of stage plays. When writing a stage play, you should consider what kind of a stage you envision your play performed on. There are more than a dozen types of stages, but we’re going to focus on the three most popular.

Proscenium Stage

Play Script Writing for the Proscenium Theater

The proscenium is the most popular type of theater stage. The stage faces out and is well known for its curtain, which separates the production from the audience. When a character breaks that veil, it’s referred to as “ breaking the fourth wall. ”

Example: Most drama productions

Thrust Stage

Play Script Writing for the Thrust Stage

The thrust stage brings the audience closer to the production. The stage itself and the surrounding audience chairs form a semicircle.

Example: Most improv comedy stages

Theater in the Round

Play Script Writing for the Theater in the Round

The “theater in the round” quite literally gives the audience a unique perspective every time they see the play. It also changes the dynamic of how you present scenes.

Example: WWE

If you plan on directing your stage play, you’ll have to write stage directions in your script. But remember: stage directions can always be added at a later date, just like camera directions in a screenplay.

Format for Plays Explained

Guide to play script formatting.

Before you get into the actual “play,” there are a few things you’re going to need to cover in the script. The first is the title page — which is very similar to a screenplay title page.

If you’re using a program like Final Draft or StudioBinder’s screenwriting software , then simply use the template provided. If not, the image below should give you a good idea of how it should look.

Play Script Example • BBC Title Page Template

Title page check. Now it’s time to write the dramatis personae . Woo, sounds fancy (don’t worry, it’s really not). The dramatis personae is just a character glossary — and it should look something like this:

How to Write a Play Script • Star Wars EU Dramatis Personae

Play Script Example • Star Wars EU Dramatis Personae

In the dramatis personae, every character should be named, along with a very brief description of their age or physical attributes.

Next up is the setting and time; where are we? And when are we?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A quaint seaside bungalow off the Amalfi Coast.

A Wedding ceremony, the day into night, the present.

The “setting and time” is probably the easiest section to outline — and it can be of varying lengths depending on how much you want to say.

The last thing you should do before starting the story is outline the structure of the play. Simply center your acts in the script, and place the corresponding scenes below. It should look like this:

Scene 1 The house Present

Scene 2 Bedroom Present

Scene 1 Gazebo Present

Scene 2 Cellar Present

It’s worth mentioning that the formatting guidelines for stage plays are far less important than they are for screenplays. You could pick up two versions of the same play and see a myriad of different formats. But if you plan on optioning your stage play manuscript, the more organized it is, the better.

Format for Plays

How to write in play format.

If you plan on writing a stage play you should review how to format a screenplay . Most script writers have a strong understanding of the screenplay format and the stage play format.

Think about it: you may have an idea for a screenplay, but it may work better as a stage play (or vice-versa). Some stories are just more naturally suited for one medium rather than the other.

One great example of this is Samuel Beckett’s play Waiting for Godot – a story that simply wouldn’t work as a film.

This next video shows how Waiting for Godot transformed live-drama and helped to institute the theater of the absurd movement.

How to Format a Play • Waiting for Godot Examined by Ted-Ed

Waiting for Godot thrives on the back of its dialogue and the live reactions that it evokes. Compare Godot to a film like A Quiet Place and the point should be clear: some stories fundamentally don’t translate from the stage to the screen, or vice-versa.

However, some plays have become great films. Take the works of Tennessee Williams for example. His plays A Streetcar Named Desire and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof were both made into classic films.

Many of Alfred Hitchcock’s best movies , like Rope and Dial M for Murder , were based on original stage plays. Another one of his classics, Rear Window , would also make an interesting stage production.

The point is that there’s a considerable amount of overlap between playwriting format and screenwriting format — learning about one or the other will make you better in both formats.

Teleplay vs. Screenplay vs. Script

Now that we’ve reviewed what makes a stage play different from a screenplay, perhaps you’re looking for more information on what makes a screenplay different from a teleplay or a script. In this next article, we breakdown teleplays, screenplays, and scripts, with examples from 30 Rock and The Big Bang Theory . By the end, you’ll be ready to start a script of any kind!

Up Next: A Guide to Teleplays →

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Collaboration, information literacy, writing process, quoting plays and poetry in mla.

The rules for quoting drama and/or poetry in Modern Language Association (MLA) Style differ from those for quoting the genre of prose. This article discusses rules for using MLA style to format quotes from drama and poetry. Consult the MLA Handbook to learn more.

Quoting Poetry

The MLA Handbook offers specific guidelines for quoting poetry.

Quoting part or all of a line of a verse

If it does not require special emphasis, put it in quotation marks within your text (77).

Example: Many students enjoy William Yeats’s poem titled “A Prayer for My Daughter”; one of its most tender lines appears in the second stanza: “I have walked and prayed for this young child and hour” (line 9).

Quoting two or three lines

Follow the rule for quoting one line, and use a forward slash with a space on each side ( / ) to indicate where the line breaks fall (77).

In the first two lines of the poem “Break of Day,” John Donne presents two questions: “’Tis true, ‘tis day, what though it be? / O wilt thou therefore rise from me?” (lines 1-2).

Quoting more than three lines of verse

Set these lines off from your text as a block. Indent the block half an inch from the left margin. Do not add quotation marks.

Many students find the first four lines of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 39 puzzling:

Oh, how thy worth with manners may I sing
When thou art all the better part of me?
What can mine own praise to mine own self bring
And what is’t but mine own when I praise thee?
(1-4)

In addition to the amount quoted and line breaks, other factors that matter include stanza breaks, and unusual layouts.

Special Issues: Stanza Breaks, Unusual Layouts

Stanza Breaks: Mark stanza breaks that occur in a quotation with two forward slashes, with a space before and after them ( / / ) (78).

William Carlos Williams depicts a vivid image in “The Red Wheelbarrow”: “so much depends / / upon / / a red wheel / / barrow / / glazed with rain / / water / / beside the white / / chickens” (“Williams”).

Unusual Layouts: If the layout of the lines in the original text is unusual, reproduce it as accurately as you can (79).

The English metaphysical John Donne uses indentation in some of his poems to create unusual layouts, as the first stanza of including “A Valediction: of Weeping” demonstrates:

Let me pour forth My tears before they face, whilst I stay here, For thy face coins them, and thy stamp they bear, And by this mintage they are something worth, For thus they be Pregnant of thee; Fruits of much grief they are, emblems of more, When a tear falls, that thou falls which it bore, So thou and I are nothing then, when on a divers shore. (lines 1-9)

Quoting Plays

When you must quote dialogue from a play, adhere to these rules:

Set the quotation off from your text.
Indent each name half an inch from the left margin and write it in all capital letters.
Follow the name with a period and then start the quotation.
Indent all other lines in the character’s speech an additional amount.
When the dialogue shifts to another character, start a new line indented half an inch.
Maintain this pattern throughout the quotation (80).

Example: One of the flashbacks in Margaret Edson’s Wit suggests Vivian Bearing’s illness causes her to question some of her previous interactions with students:

STUDENT 1. Professor Bearing? Can I talk to you for a minute?

VIVIAN: You may.

STUDENT 1: I need to ask for an extension on my paper. I’m really sorry, and I know your policy, but see—

VIVIAN: Don’t tell me. Your grandmother died.

STUDENT 1: You knew.

VIVIAN: It was a guess.

STUDENT 1: I have to go home.

VIVIAN: Do what you will, but the paper is due when it is due. (63)

Special Issues

Omissions: Follow the rules for omissions in quotations of prose (83).

Although some of the rules for quoting plays and poetry in MLA differ than those for quoting prose, understanding the guidelines will help you apply them in any scenario.

Donne, John. “The Bait.” The Complete English Poems . Penguin Books, 1971, pp. 43-4.

—. “The Break of Day.” The Complete English Poems . Penguin Books, 1971, pp. 45-6. Edson, Margaret. Wit. Faber and Faber, 1993.

Shakespeare, William. Sonnet 39. The Pelican Shakespeare: The Sonnets . Penguin Books, 1970, p. 59.

Williams, William Carlos: “The Red Wheelbarrow.” Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, www.poetryfoundation.org/resources/learning/core-poems/detail/45502 .

Yeats, William. “A Prayer for My Daughter.” The Collected Poems . Ed. Richard Finneran. Scribner, 1983, pp. 188-190.

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The Beginner's Guide to Writing an Essay | Steps & Examples

An academic essay is a focused piece of writing that develops an idea or argument using evidence, analysis, and interpretation.

There are many types of essays you might write as a student. The content and length of an essay depends on your level, subject of study, and course requirements. However, most essays at university level are argumentative — they aim to persuade the reader of a particular position or perspective on a topic.

The essay writing process consists of three main stages:

Preparation: Decide on your topic, do your research, and create an essay outline.
Writing : Set out your argument in the introduction, develop it with evidence in the main body, and wrap it up with a conclusion.
Revision: Check your essay on the content, organization, grammar, spelling, and formatting of your essay.

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Essay writing process, preparation for writing an essay, writing the introduction, writing the main body, writing the conclusion, essay checklist, lecture slides, frequently asked questions about writing an essay.

The writing process of preparation, writing, and revisions applies to every essay or paper, but the time and effort spent on each stage depends on the type of essay .

For example, if you’ve been assigned a five-paragraph expository essay for a high school class, you’ll probably spend the most time on the writing stage; for a college-level argumentative essay , on the other hand, you’ll need to spend more time researching your topic and developing an original argument before you start writing.

1. Preparation	2. Writing	3. Revision
	, organized into Write the	or use a for language errors

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Before you start writing, you should make sure you have a clear idea of what you want to say and how you’re going to say it. There are a few key steps you can follow to make sure you’re prepared:

Understand your assignment: What is the goal of this essay? What is the length and deadline of the assignment? Is there anything you need to clarify with your teacher or professor?
Define a topic: If you’re allowed to choose your own topic , try to pick something that you already know a bit about and that will hold your interest.
Do your research: Read primary and secondary sources and take notes to help you work out your position and angle on the topic. You’ll use these as evidence for your points.
Come up with a thesis: The thesis is the central point or argument that you want to make. A clear thesis is essential for a focused essay—you should keep referring back to it as you write.
Create an outline: Map out the rough structure of your essay in an outline . This makes it easier to start writing and keeps you on track as you go.

Once you’ve got a clear idea of what you want to discuss, in what order, and what evidence you’ll use, you’re ready to start writing.

The introduction sets the tone for your essay. It should grab the reader’s interest and inform them of what to expect. The introduction generally comprises 10–20% of the text.

1. Hook your reader

The first sentence of the introduction should pique your reader’s interest and curiosity. This sentence is sometimes called the hook. It might be an intriguing question, a surprising fact, or a bold statement emphasizing the relevance of the topic.

Let’s say we’re writing an essay about the development of Braille (the raised-dot reading and writing system used by visually impaired people). Our hook can make a strong statement about the topic:

The invention of Braille was a major turning point in the history of disability.

2. Provide background on your topic

Next, it’s important to give context that will help your reader understand your argument. This might involve providing background information, giving an overview of important academic work or debates on the topic, and explaining difficult terms. Don’t provide too much detail in the introduction—you can elaborate in the body of your essay.

3. Present the thesis statement

Next, you should formulate your thesis statement— the central argument you’re going to make. The thesis statement provides focus and signals your position on the topic. It is usually one or two sentences long. The thesis statement for our essay on Braille could look like this:

As the first writing system designed for blind people’s needs, Braille was a groundbreaking new accessibility tool. It not only provided practical benefits, but also helped change the cultural status of blindness.

4. Map the structure

In longer essays, you can end the introduction by briefly describing what will be covered in each part of the essay. This guides the reader through your structure and gives a preview of how your argument will develop.

The invention of Braille marked a major turning point in the history of disability. The writing system of raised dots used by blind and visually impaired people was developed by Louis Braille in nineteenth-century France. In a society that did not value disabled people in general, blindness was particularly stigmatized, and lack of access to reading and writing was a significant barrier to social participation. The idea of tactile reading was not entirely new, but existing methods based on sighted systems were difficult to learn and use. As the first writing system designed for blind people’s needs, Braille was a groundbreaking new accessibility tool. It not only provided practical benefits, but also helped change the cultural status of blindness. This essay begins by discussing the situation of blind people in nineteenth-century Europe. It then describes the invention of Braille and the gradual process of its acceptance within blind education. Subsequently, it explores the wide-ranging effects of this invention on blind people’s social and cultural lives.

Write your essay introduction

The body of your essay is where you make arguments supporting your thesis, provide evidence, and develop your ideas. Its purpose is to present, interpret, and analyze the information and sources you have gathered to support your argument.

Length of the body text

The length of the body depends on the type of essay. On average, the body comprises 60–80% of your essay. For a high school essay, this could be just three paragraphs, but for a graduate school essay of 6,000 words, the body could take up 8–10 pages.

Paragraph structure

To give your essay a clear structure , it is important to organize it into paragraphs . Each paragraph should be centered around one main point or idea.

That idea is introduced in a topic sentence . The topic sentence should generally lead on from the previous paragraph and introduce the point to be made in this paragraph. Transition words can be used to create clear connections between sentences.

After the topic sentence, present evidence such as data, examples, or quotes from relevant sources. Be sure to interpret and explain the evidence, and show how it helps develop your overall argument.

Lack of access to reading and writing put blind people at a serious disadvantage in nineteenth-century society. Text was one of the primary methods through which people engaged with culture, communicated with others, and accessed information; without a well-developed reading system that did not rely on sight, blind people were excluded from social participation (Weygand, 2009). While disabled people in general suffered from discrimination, blindness was widely viewed as the worst disability, and it was commonly believed that blind people were incapable of pursuing a profession or improving themselves through culture (Weygand, 2009). This demonstrates the importance of reading and writing to social status at the time: without access to text, it was considered impossible to fully participate in society. Blind people were excluded from the sighted world, but also entirely dependent on sighted people for information and education.

See the full essay example

The conclusion is the final paragraph of an essay. It should generally take up no more than 10–15% of the text . A strong essay conclusion :

Returns to your thesis
Ties together your main points
Shows why your argument matters

A great conclusion should finish with a memorable or impactful sentence that leaves the reader with a strong final impression.

What not to include in a conclusion

To make your essay’s conclusion as strong as possible, there are a few things you should avoid. The most common mistakes are:

Including new arguments or evidence
Undermining your arguments (e.g. “This is just one approach of many”)
Using concluding phrases like “To sum up…” or “In conclusion…”

Braille paved the way for dramatic cultural changes in the way blind people were treated and the opportunities available to them. Louis Braille’s innovation was to reimagine existing reading systems from a blind perspective, and the success of this invention required sighted teachers to adapt to their students’ reality instead of the other way around. In this sense, Braille helped drive broader social changes in the status of blindness. New accessibility tools provide practical advantages to those who need them, but they can also change the perspectives and attitudes of those who do not.

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Checklist: Essay

My essay follows the requirements of the assignment (topic and length ).

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I use paragraphs to structure the essay.

I use topic sentences to introduce each paragraph.

Each paragraph has a single focus and a clear connection to the thesis statement.

I make clear transitions between paragraphs and ideas.

My conclusion doesn’t just repeat my points, but draws connections between arguments.

I don’t introduce new arguments or evidence in the conclusion.

I have given an in-text citation for every quote or piece of information I got from another source.

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An essay is a focused piece of writing that explains, argues, describes, or narrates.

In high school, you may have to write many different types of essays to develop your writing skills.

Academic essays at college level are usually argumentative : you develop a clear thesis about your topic and make a case for your position using evidence, analysis and interpretation.

The structure of an essay is divided into an introduction that presents your topic and thesis statement , a body containing your in-depth analysis and arguments, and a conclusion wrapping up your ideas.

The structure of the body is flexible, but you should always spend some time thinking about how you can organize your essay to best serve your ideas.

Your essay introduction should include three main things, in this order:

An opening hook to catch the reader’s attention.
Relevant background information that the reader needs to know.
A thesis statement that presents your main point or argument.

The length of each part depends on the length and complexity of your essay .

A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . Everything else you write should relate to this key idea.

The thesis statement is essential in any academic essay or research paper for two main reasons:

It gives your writing direction and focus.
It gives the reader a concise summary of your main point.

Without a clear thesis statement, an essay can end up rambling and unfocused, leaving your reader unsure of exactly what you want to say.

A topic sentence is a sentence that expresses the main point of a paragraph . Everything else in the paragraph should relate to the topic sentence.

At college level, you must properly cite your sources in all essays , research papers , and other academic texts (except exams and in-class exercises).

Add a citation whenever you quote , paraphrase , or summarize information or ideas from a source. You should also give full source details in a bibliography or reference list at the end of your text.

The exact format of your citations depends on which citation style you are instructed to use. The most common styles are APA , MLA , and Chicago .

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Essay Papers Writing Online

A complete guide to writing captivating and engaging narrative essays that will leave your readers hooked.

When it comes to storytelling, the ability to captivate your audience is paramount. Creating a narrative essay that holds the reader’s attention requires finesse and creativity. A well-crafted story is not merely a sequence of events; it should transport the reader to another time and place, evoking emotions and leaving a lasting impression. Crafting a compelling narrative essay requires careful consideration of the elements that make a story interesting and engaging.

Dive into the depths of your imagination and unleash your creativity to give life to your narrative. The key to an engaging story lies in your ability to paint vivid images with your words. Strong sensory details and descriptive language allow readers to visualize the scenes and connect with the story on a deeper level. Engage the senses of sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell to take your readers on a sensory journey through your narrative.

In addition to capturing the reader’s imagination, establish a relatable protagonist to anchor your story. Your main character should be someone your readers can empathize with, someone they can root for. By creating a three-dimensional character with relatable qualities, you invite the reader to become emotionally invested in the narrative. Develop a character with flaws, desires, and a clear motivation for their actions. This will add depth and complexity to your story as your protagonist navigates through challenges and evolves.

Choose a captivating topic that resonates with your audience

When it comes to writing a narrative essay, one of the most important factors in capturing your audience’s attention is selecting a captivating topic. A captivating topic will resonate with your readers and draw them into your story, making them eager to read on and discover more.

Choosing a topic that resonates with your audience means selecting a subject that they can relate to or find interesting. It’s essential to consider the interests, experiences, and emotions of your target audience when deciding on a topic. Think about what will grab their attention and keep them engaged throughout your essay.

One way to choose a captivating topic is by drawing from personal experiences. Reflect on significant events or moments in your life that have had a lasting impact on you. These experiences can provide the basis for a compelling narrative, as they often resonate with others who have gone through similar situations.

Another approach is to explore topics that are relevant or timely. Think about current events or social issues that are capturing public attention. By addressing these topics in your narrative essay, you can tap into the existing interest and engage readers who are already invested in the subject matter.

Additionally, consider incorporating elements of surprise or intrigue into your chosen topic. This could involve telling a story with an unexpected twist or focusing on an unusual or lesser-known aspect of a familiar subject. By presenting something unexpected or unique, you can pique your audience’s curiosity and make them eager to discover what happens next.

In summary, selecting a captivating topic is crucial for creating a compelling narrative essay. By choosing a subject that resonates with your audience, drawing from personal experiences, addressing relevant topics, and incorporating elements of surprise, you can capture and hold your readers’ attention, ensuring that they stay engaged throughout your story.

Develop well-rounded characters to drive your narrative

In order to create a captivating story, it is essential to develop well-rounded characters that will drive your narrative forward. These characters should be multi-dimensional and relatable, with their own unique personalities, motivations, and struggles. By doing so, you will not only make your readers more invested in your story, but also add depth and complexity to your narrative.

When developing your characters, it is important to consider their backgrounds, experiences, and beliefs. A character’s past experiences can shape their actions and decision-making throughout the story, while their beliefs can provide insight into their values and worldview. By delving into these aspects, you can create characters that feel authentic and true to life.

Furthermore, it is crucial to give your characters goals and motivations that propel them forward in the narrative. These goals can be internal or external, and can range from a desire for love and acceptance to a quest for power or revenge. By giving your characters something to strive for, you create tension and conflict that drives the plot.

In addition to goals and motivations, it is important to give your characters flaws and weaknesses. No one is perfect, and by acknowledging this, you create characters that are more relatable and human. Flaws can also create obstacles and challenges for your characters to overcome, adding depth and complexity to your story.

Lastly, remember to show, rather than tell, your readers about your characters. Instead of explicitly stating their traits and qualities, let their actions, dialogue, and interactions with other characters reveal who they are. This will allow your readers to form their own connections with the characters and become more engaged with your narrative.

By taking the time to develop well-rounded characters with unique personalities, motivations, and flaws, you will create a narrative that is not only compelling, but also resonates with your readers on a deeper level. So, dive into the minds and hearts of your characters, and let them drive your story to new heights.

Create a clear and engaging plot with a strong conflict

In order to craft a captivating narrative essay, it is essential to develop a plot that is both coherent and captivating. The plot serves as the foundation of your story, providing the framework that will guide your readers through a series of events and actions. To create an engaging plot, it is crucial to introduce a strong conflict that will propel the story forward and keep your readers hooked from start to finish.

The conflict is the driving force that creates tension and suspense in your narrative. It presents the main obstacle or challenge that your protagonist must overcome, creating a sense of urgency and keeping your readers invested in the outcome. Without a strong conflict, your story may lack direction and fail to hold your readers’ interest.

When developing your plot, consider the various elements that can contribute to a compelling conflict. This could be a clash between characters, a struggle against nature or society, or a battle within oneself. The conflict should be meaningful and have significant stakes for your protagonist, pushing them to make difficult choices and undergo personal growth.

To ensure that your plot remains clear and engaging, it is important to establish a logical progression of events. Each scene and action should contribute to the overall development of the conflict and the resolution of the story. Avoid unnecessary detours or subplots that do not advance the main conflict, as they can distract from the core narrative and confuse your readers.

In addition to a strong conflict, a clear and engaging plot also requires well-developed characters that your readers can root for and relate to. The actions and decisions of your characters should be motivated by their personalities, desires, and beliefs, adding depth and complexity to the narrative. By creating multidimensional characters, you can further enhance the conflict and make it more compelling.

When crafting your plot, consider the pacing and structure of your narrative. Gradually increase the tension and suspense as the conflict intensifies, leading to a climactic moment that resolves the conflict and provides a sense of closure. Use techniques such as foreshadowing, dramatic irony, and plot twists to keep your readers engaged and guessing.

In conclusion, creating a clear and engaging plot with a strong conflict is essential for writing a compelling narrative essay. By introducing a meaningful conflict and developing it throughout the story, you can capture your readers’ attention and keep them invested in the outcome. Remember to establish a logical progression of events, develop well-rounded characters, and consider the pacing and structure of your narrative. With these elements in place, you can create a memorable story that resonates with your readers.

Use vivid and descriptive language to bring your story to life

When it comes to writing a compelling narrative essay, one of the most important elements is the use of vivid and descriptive language. This technique helps to immerse your readers in the story, making it more engaging and memorable. By carefully selecting your words and painting a clear picture with your descriptions, you can bring your story to life and make it resonate with your audience.

Instead of simply stating facts and events, try to use descriptive language that appeals to the senses. For example, instead of saying “It was a sunny day,” you could say “The sun bathed the landscape in a warm golden glow, casting long shadows across the grass.” Using words that evoke specific sensations and feelings can help your readers to not only see the scene but also experience it.

In addition to appealing to the senses, you can also use vivid language to create a strong emotional connection with your readers. By choosing words that carry a particular emotional weight, you can elicit a specific response from your audience. For instance, instead of saying “She was sad,” you could say “Her heart ached with a deep sense of loss, tears streaming down her face.” By using descriptive language to convey emotions, you can make your readers feel the same way your characters do, creating a more powerful and immersive reading experience.

Another effective technique is to use literary devices such as similes and metaphors to add depth and richness to your narrative. By comparing seemingly unrelated things, you can make your descriptions more vivid and memorable. For example, instead of saying “The waves were big,” you could say “The waves crashed against the shore like giants, their fury and power shaking the very foundations of the earth.” By using similes and metaphors, you can create vivid and imaginative descriptions that transport your readers into the world of your story.

Finally, don’t be afraid to use strong and colorful language to convey the tone and atmosphere of your narrative. Whether your story is light-hearted and humorous or dark and suspenseful, your choice of words can greatly impact the overall feel of the story. By carefully selecting descriptive adjectives and powerful verbs, you can set the mood and create an immersive reading experience that leaves a lasting impression.

In conclusion, using vivid and descriptive language is essential when writing a compelling narrative essay. By appealing to the senses, evoking emotions, using literary devices, and setting the tone, you can bring your story to life and captivate your readers. So, don’t be afraid to unleash your creativity and use language that paints a vibrant and memorable picture in the minds of your audience.

Incorporate sensory details to immerse your readers in the story

When crafting a compelling narrative essay, it’s important to engage your readers on a sensory level. By incorporating sensory details, you can create a vivid experience that immerses your readers in the story. Through the use of descriptive language and vivid imagery, you can evoke the senses of sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch to bring your story to life.

One way to engage your readers’ senses is by utilizing descriptive language to paint a visual picture. Instead of simply telling your readers what is happening, show them through descriptive details. For example, instead of saying “the sun was shining,” you could say “the golden rays of the sun illuminated the tranquil meadow, casting a warm glow on the vibrant wildflowers.” By using descriptive language, you can transport your readers to the setting of your story and engage their sense of sight.

In addition to engaging the sense of sight, you can also incorporate sensory details to appeal to your readers’ sense of sound. This can be achieved through the use of onomatopoeia, dialogue, and descriptive language. For example, instead of saying “the dog barked,” you could say “the dog’s sharp, piercing bark reverberated through the quiet neighborhood, causing heads to turn and hearts to race.” By incorporating sensory details related to sound, you can make your readers feel as if they are truly experiencing the events of your story.

Another way to immerse your readers in the story is by appealing to their sense of smell and taste. Incorporate descriptive language that allows your readers to imagine the scents and flavors of the narrative. For example, instead of saying “the food smelled delicious,” you could say “the aroma of the sizzling garlic and onions wafted through the air, making my mouth water in anticipation.” By incorporating sensory details related to smell and taste, you can make your readers feel as if they are present in the scene and experiencing it firsthand.

Lastly, don’t forget to engage your readers’ sense of touch. By describing the textures and physical sensations experienced by the characters or narrator, you can create a more immersive reading experience. For example, instead of saying “it was hot outside,” you could say “the scorching sun beat down on my skin, causing beads of sweat to form and trickle down my forehead.” By incorporating sensory details related to touch, you can make your readers feel as if they are physically present in the story.

Incorporating sensory details into your narrative essays is essential for creating a compelling and immersive reading experience. By engaging your readers’ senses of sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch, you can transport them to the world of your story and make them feel as if they are living it alongside your characters. So, don’t be afraid to use descriptive language and vivid imagery to captivate your readers’ imaginations and immerse them in your narrative.

Pace your narrative effectively to maintain suspense and interest

Mastering the art of pacing is crucial in creating a compelling narrative that keeps readers hooked from beginning to end. By controlling the rhythm and tempo of your story, you can effectively maintain suspense and interest, making your readers eager to find out what happens next.

One way to achieve this is by varying the length and complexity of your sentences and paragraphs. Short, concise sentences can create a sense of urgency, while longer, more descriptive ones can slow down the pace and build anticipation. By using a combination of both, you can create a dynamic flow that engages your readers and keeps them guessing.

Another technique to consider is the strategic placement of cliffhangers and plot twists. These unexpected moments can interrupt the flow of the narrative and leave readers wanting more. Whether it’s a shocking revelation or a sudden change in direction, these moments of suspense can captivate your audience and propel them forward in the story.

Additionally, carefully timing the reveal of key information can help maintain suspense and interest. By strategically withholding important details until the opportune moment, you can create a sense of curiosity and anticipation in your readers. This can be achieved through foreshadowing, hinting at future events, or by gradually unveiling the truth behind a mystery.

Lastly, don’t underestimate the power of well-placed pauses and moments of reflection. By allowing your characters – and your readers – to take a breath and reflect on what has just happened, you can create tension and build anticipation for what’s to come. These moments can also provide the opportunity for emotional connection and deeper character development.

In conclusion, pacing your narrative effectively is essential in maintaining suspense and interest throughout your story. By utilizing a combination of sentence and paragraph length variations, strategic cliffhangers, well-timed reveals, and moments of reflection, you can create a captivating and engaging narrative that keeps your readers eagerly turning the pages.

Pay attention to the overall structure and organization of your essay

Ensuring that your narrative essay has a clear and well-organized structure is essential in captivating your readers and keeping them engaged throughout your story. The overall organization and flow of your essay play a crucial role in conveying your message effectively.

When crafting your narrative essay, it is vital to consider the structure that best suits your story. You can choose from various structures, such as a chronological order, a reflective approach, or even a non-linear format. Whatever structure you decide on, make sure it aligns with the theme and tone of your narrative.

Before diving into the writing process, take some time to outline the main events and key points you want to cover in your essay. This will help you establish a logical flow and prevent your story from becoming disjointed or confusing for the reader.

Organization:

Effective organization involves arranging your ideas and events in a coherent manner. Start your essay with a compelling and attention-grabbing introduction that sets the scene and introduces the main characters or your central thesis. From there, progress through your story by presenting the events in a logical sequence.

Transition smoothly between each paragraph or section to maintain the flow of your essay. Use transitional phrases or words, such as “next,” “meanwhile,” or “afterward,” to guide your readers through the narrative. This will help them understand the chronology of the events and prevent any confusion.

It is also important to give your readers a break from the main plot by incorporating descriptive details, character development, and dialogue. These elements add depth to your story and engage the readers on a more emotional level.

In conclusion, paying close attention to the overall structure and organization of your essay is vital to creating a compelling narrative. By choosing a suitable structure and organizing your ideas effectively, you can guide your readers through your story in a captivating and engaging manner.

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How to Structure an Essay

Essay writing is a fundamental skill, a basic task, that is expected of those who choose to pursue their undergraduate and master’s degrees. It constitutes a key requirement for students to complete a given course credit. However, many students and early career researchers find themselves struggling with the challenge of organizing their thoughts into a coherent, engaging structure. This article is especially for those who see essay writing as a daunting task and face problems in presenting their work in an impactful way.

Writing an essay: basic elements and some key principles
Essay structure template
Chronological structure
Problem-methods-solutions structure
Compare and contrast structures
Frequently asked questions on essay structure

Read on as we delve into the basic elements of essay writing, outline key principles for organizing information, and cover some foundational features of writing essays.

Writing an essay: basic elements and some key principles

Essays are written in a flowing and continuous pattern but with a structure of its own. An introduction, body and conclusion are integral to it. The key is to balance the amount and kind of information to be presented in each part. Various disciplines may have their own conventions or guidelines on the information to be provided in the introduction.

A clear articulation of the context and background of the study is important, as is the definition of key terms and an outline of specific models or theories used. Readers also need to know the significance of the study and its implications for further research. Most importantly, the thesis or the main proposition should be clearly presented.

The body of the essay is therefore organized into paragraphs that hold the main ideas and arguments and is presented and analyzed in a logical manner. Ideally, each paragraph of the body focuses on one main point or a distinct topic and must be supported by evidence and analysis. The concluding paragraph should bring back to the reader the key arguments, its significance and food for thought. It is best not to re-state all the points of the essay or introduce a new concept here.

In other words, certain general guidelines help structure the information in the essay. The information must flow logically with the context or the background information presented in the introductory part of the essay. The arguments are built organically where each paragraph in the body of the essay deals with a different point, yet closely linked to the para preceding and following it. Importantly, when writing essays, early career researchers must be careful in ensuring that each piece of information relates to the main thesis and is a building block to the arguments.

Essay structure template

Introduction
Provide the context and share significance of the study
Clearly articulate the thesis statement
Body
Paragraph 1 consisting of the first main point, followed by supporting evidence and an analysis of the findings. Transitional words and phrases can be used to move to the next main point.
There can be as many paragraphs with the above-mentioned elements as there are points and arguments to support your thesis.
Conclusion
Bring in key ideas and discuss their significance and relevance
Call for action
References

Essay structures

The structure of an essay can be determined by the kind of essay that is required.

Chronological structure

Also known as the cause-and-effect approach, this is a straightforward way to structure an essay. In such essays, events are discussed sequentially, as they occurred from the earliest to the latest. A chronological structure is useful for discussing a series of events or processes such as historical analyses or narratives of events. The introduction should have the topic sentence. The body of the essay should follow a chorological progression with each para discussing a major aspect of that event with supporting evidence. It ends with a summarizing of the results of the events.

Problem-methods-solutions structure

Where the essay focuses on a specific problem, the problem-methods-solutions structure can be used to organize the essay. This structure is ideal for essays that address complex issues. It starts with presenting the problem, the context, and thesis statement as introduction to the essay. The major part of the discussion which forms the body of the essay focuses on stating the problem and its significance, the author’s approach or methods adopted to address the problem along with its relevance, and accordingly proposing solution(s) to the identified problem. The concluding part offers a recap of the research problem, methods, and proposed solutions, emphasizing their significance and potential impact.

Compare and contrast structures

This structure of essay writing is ideally used when two or more key subjects require a comparison of ideas, theories, or phenomena. The three crucial elements, introduction, body, and conclusion, remain the same. The introduction presents the context and the thesis statement. The body of the essay seeks to focus on and highlight differences between the subjects, supported by evidence and analysis. The conclusion is used to summarize the key points of comparison and contrast, offering insights into the significance of the analysis.

Depending on how the subjects will be discussed, the body of the essay can be organized according to the block method or the alternating method. In the block method, one para discusses one subject and the next para the other subject. In the alternative method, both subjects are discussed in one para based on a particular topic or issue followed by the next para on another issue and so on.

Frequently asked questions on essay structure

An essay structure serves as a framework for presenting ideas coherently and logically. It comprises three crucial elements: an introduction that communicates the context, topic, and thesis statement; the body focusing on the main points and arguments supported with appropriate evidence followed by its analysis; and a conclusion that ties together the main points and its importance .

An essay structure well-defined essay structure enhances clarity, coherence, and readability, and is crucial for organizing ideas and arguments to effectively communicate key aspects of a chosen topic. It allows readers to better understand arguments presented and demonstrates the author’s ability to organize and present information systematically.

Yes, while expert recommend following an essay structure, early career researchers may choose how best to adapt standard essay structures to communicate and share their research in an impactful and engaging way. However, do keep in mind that deviating too far from established structures can hinder comprehension and weaken the overall effectiveness of the essay, By understanding the basic elements of essay writing and employing appropriate structures such as chronological, problem-methods-solutions, or compare and contrast, researchers can effectively organize their ideas and communicate their findings with clarity and precision.

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How Does Undetectable AI Help Save Time When Writing Essays

Asking students to write an essay is a good way to gauge their understanding of a subject. It’s also a time-consuming task, which makes it one of the most disliked assignments in school.

To make matters worse, because of how unreliable AI detection is, some students are forced to accept punishments due to false positives . Most get a slap on the wrist, some get lucky by providing evidence, and a handful unfairly receive permanent academic sanctions. And there’s also the unlucky few that receive punishments like having to rewrite their essays.

The best defense is prevention — and the best way of doing so is through Undetectable AI . Let me teach you how.

What is Undetectable AI?

Undetectable AI is made to bypass AI detection tools using AI systems by mimicking human writing. To do this, they use paraphrasing techniques such as lessening repetitions, adding intentional human-like errors, and removing transitional words. If you’re interested in learning more about Undetectable AI, I highly suggest reading our full review of the platform or its paraphraser .

How Exactly Are You Saving Time Writing Essays with Undetectable AI?

On paper, adding Undetectable AI to your essay writing process seems like an unnecessary waste of time. But this is where you’re wrong. Undetectable AI protects you from rewriting your essays because of one aspect in AI detection that no-one can avoid:

False positives .

As institutions ramp up efforts to detect AI-generated content, the concerning trend of false positives has emerged and they’re unfairly flagging work by students as machine-generated. This issue stems from the current limitations of AI detection tools, which can mistake complex writing styles for machine-generated text.

The consequences of such errors are severe, with students facing potential academic penalties or even expulsion for unsubstantiated AI usage accusations. This climate of distrust and overcorrection risks discouraging students from developing their writing abilities and expressing themselves authentically.

And the worst part of this is that they’re not isolated cases. There have been numerous reports from the USA to New Zealand of students getting hit with a false positive. Experts also argue that international students are more in danger of this phenomenon due to their writing pattern. Even OpenAI claims that AI detection is unreliable .

So, what’s the most common punishment? Making a student rewrite their essay .

With Undetectable AI, you can make sure that your essay won’t be flagged as machine-generated. This will prevent you from ever receiving any punishment for something you didn’t actually do and save time by not having to rewrite your essay.

How To Properly Use Undetectable AI

If you’re worried about navigating Undetectable AI as a new user, don’t be. It’s user-friendly : simply enter your text, choose your desired output settings (like readability and use case), and let the tool work its magic. You can find more details in our comprehensive review here .

Here’s an example of how an essay looks like after processing it with Undetectable AI:

Each session left me feeling lighter, more balanced. My mind, often cluttered with anxiety, found an unusual clarity. I learned that Reiki is not just about physical healing but also a deep, personal journey of self-discovery. Through regular practice, I felt a growing connection with my inner self, a sense of peace that transcended the sessions.

Reiki taught me to listen to my body and spirit. It became a sanctuary, a moment of reprieve from the chaos of daily life. Now, I approach each day with a calmness and resilience I never thought possible, grateful for the quiet strength Reiki has introduced into my life.

After each session I felt lighter and more centered. My mind, usually clouded with worries found a clarity. It dawned on me that Reiki isn't about healing but also delves into a profound journey of self discovery. With practice I felt a connection with my inner self and discovered a peace that extended beyond the sessions.

Reiki taught me to tune in to both my body and spirit. It became a haven—a moment of escape from lifes pace. Now I greet each day with a sense of calmness and resilience that pleasantly surprises me; grateful, for the strength Reiki has brought into my world.

After letting Undetectable AI do its magic, the AI likelihood score (measured by Sapling, one of the best free AI detectors) went down from 100% to 0% .

But we’re not done yet. One of the ways that Undetectable AI avoids AI detection is through adding intentional human-like errors such as grammar mistakes and misplaced punctuations. This is a double-edged sword — on one hand, it lowers AI likelihood scores, but on the other, you’re reducing the readability of your essay.

So, how do we fix these issues without sacrificing low AI likelihood scores? It’s simple: always take note of these following bullet points and remove them while you’re fixing the essay’s grammar:

Repetition . LLMs repeat certain phrases throughout an essay, showing a lack of genuine variety.
Common AI Words . Transition words, over-reliance on adverbs, and words such as “delve”, “epitome”, “utilize”, “innovative”, “revolutionary”, and more.
Hallucinations . AI systems often create fictional information just to retrofit their response based on a prompt. Most LLMs also don’t have access to real-time data, which makes the information they provide outdated.

Does Undetectable AI Actually Work?

Undetectable AI : Successfully passes as human! AI Likelihood Score : 0.2%

Other Resources

Beyond the countless times we tested Undetectable AI against other AI bypassing tools, we also have articles dedicated to testing it against AI detection tools. You can check out our article devoted to testing it against the most popular detection tools , or against Originality AI , or even against itself .

You can read them all and I guarantee that you’ll come out with this conclusion: when it comes to preventing false positives, there’s no other platform that can match Undetectable AI.

The Bottom Line

There’s nothing more deflating than having to repeat your work for something you didn’t do.

Not only is it time-consuming, but it also weighs heavily on your mental health . Imagine being accused of using AI when you fully complied with all the requirements without cheating along the way.

That’s why Undetectable AI continues to become more popular by the day. Sure, the way its technology is implemented is beneficial to bad actors, but don’t ignore its benefits just because of the stigma. Technology is here to make our lives easier, and this is just one implementation of it.

Education is no stranger to AI and we have an entire catalog to prove it. Here are some of my favorite education-related topics we’ve covered. Good luck reading!

What is ChatGPT?

How to Use Google Gemini

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ChatGPT: the latest news and updates on the AI chatbot that changed everything

In the ever-evolving landscape of artificial intelligence , ChatGPT stands out as a groundbreaking development that has captured global attention. From its impressive capabilities and recent advancements to the heated debates surrounding its ethical implications, ChatGPT continues to make headlines.

When was ChatGPT released?

How to use chatgpt, how to use the chatgpt iphone, android, and mac apps, is chatgpt free to use, who created chatgpt, chatgpt’s continuous confounding controversies, can chatgpt’s outputs be detected by anti-plagiarism systems, what are chatgpt plugins, is there a chatgpt api, what’s the future of chatgpt, chatgpt alternatives worth trying, other things to know about chatgpt.

Whether you’re a tech enthusiast or just curious about the future of AI, dive into this comprehensive guide to uncover everything you need to know about this revolutionary AI tool.

ChatGPT is a natural language AI chatbot . At its most basic level, that means you can ask it a question and it will generate an answer. As opposed to a simple voice assistant like Siri or Google Assistant , ChatGPT is built on what is called an LLM (Large Language Model). These neural networks are trained on huge quantities of information from the internet for deep learning — meaning they generate altogether new responses, rather than just regurgitating specific canned responses. They’re not built for a specific purpose like chatbots of the past — and they’re a whole lot smarter.

This is implied in the name of ChatGPT, which stands for Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer. In the case of the current version of ChatGPT, it’s based on the GPT-4 LLM. The model behind ChatGPT was trained on all sorts of web content including websites, books, social media, news articles, and more — all fine-tuned in the language model by both supervised learning and RLHF (Reinforcement Learning From Human Feedback). OpenAI says this use of human AI trainers is really what makes ChatGPT stand out.

ChatGPT was originally launched to the public in November of 2022 by OpenAI. That initial version was based on the GPT-3.5 model, though the system has undergone a number of iterative advancements since then with the current version of ChatGPT running the GPT-4 model family, with GPT-5 reportedly just around the corner . GPT-3 was first launched in 2020, GPT-2 released the year prior to that.

First, go to chatgpt.com . If you’d like to maintain a history of your previous chats, sign up for a free account. You can use the system anonymously without a login if you prefer. Users can opt to connect their ChatGPT login with that of their Google-, Microsoft- or Apple-backed accounts as well. At the sign up screen, you’ll see some basic rules about ChatGPT, including potential errors in data, how OpenAI collects data, and how users can submit feedback. If you want to get started, we have a roundup of the best ChatGPT tips .

Using ChatGPT itself is simple and straightforward, just type in your text prompt and wait for the system to respond. You can be as creative as you like, and see how your ChatGPT responds to different prompts. If you don’t get the intended result, try tweaking your prompt or giving ChatGPT further instructions The system understands context based on previous responses from the current chat session, so you can refine your requests rather than starting over fresh every time.

For example, starting with “Explain how the solar system was made” will give a more detailed result with more paragraphs than “How was the solar system made,” even though both inquiries will give fairly detailed results. Take it a step further by giving ChatGPT more guidance about style or tone, saying “Explain how the solar system was made as a middle school teacher.”

You also have the option for more specific input requests, for example, an essay with a set number of paragraphs or a link to a specific Wikipedia page. We got an extremely detailed result with the request “write a four-paragraph essay explaining Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.”

ChatGPT is capable of automating any number of daily work or personal tasks from writing emails and crafting business proposals, to offering suggestions for fun date night ideas or even drafting a best man’s speech for your buddy’s wedding. So long as the request doesn’t violate the site’s rules on explicit or illegal content, the model will do its best to fulfill the commands.

Since its launch, people have been experimenting to discover everything the chatbot can and can’t do — and the results have been impressive, to say the least . Learning the kinds of prompts and follow-up prompts that ChatGPT responds well to requires some experimentation though. Much like we’ve learned to get the information we want from traditional search engines, it can take some time to get the best results from ChatGPT. It really all depends on what you want out of it. To start out, try using it to write a template blog post, for example, or even blocks of code if you’re a programmer.

Our writers experimented with ChatGPT too, attempting to see if it could handle holiday shopping or even properly interpret astrological makeup . In both cases, we found limitations to what it could do while still being thoroughly impressed by the results.

Following an update on August 10, you can now use custom instructions with ChatGPT . This allows you to customize how the AI chatbot responds to your inputs so you can tailor it for your needs. You can’t ask anything, though. OpenAI has safeguards in place in order to “build a safe and beneficial artificial general intelligence.” That means any questions that are hateful, sexist, racist, or discriminatory in any way are generally off-limits.

You shouldn’t take everything that ChatGPT (or any chatbot, for that matter) tells you at face value. When ChatGPT first launched it was highly prone to “ hallucinations .” The system would repeat erroneous data as fact. The issue has become less prevalent as the model is continually fine tuned, though mistakes do still happen . Trust but verify!

What’s more, due to the way that OpenAI trains its underlying large language models — whether that’s GPT-3.5, GPT-4 and GPT-4o , or the upcoming GPT-5 — ChatGPT may not be able to answer your question without help from an internet search if the subject is something that occurred recently. For example, GPT-3.5 and 3.5 Turbo cannot answer questions about events after September 2021 without conducting an internet search to find the information because the data that the model was initially trained on was produced before that “knowledge cutoff date.” Similarly, GPT-4 or GPT-4 Turbo have cutoff dates of December 2023, though GPT-40 (despite being released more recently) has a cutoff of October 2023 .

While ChatGPT might not remember all of recorded history, it will remember what you were discussing with it in previous chat sessions. Logged in users can access their chat history from the navigation sidebar on the left of the screen, and manage these chats, renaming, hiding or deleting them as needed. You can also ask ChatGPT follow up questions based on those previous conversations directly through the chat window. Users also have the option to use ChatGPT in dark mode or light mode.

ChatGPT isn’t just a wordsmith. Those users paying $20/month subscription for ChatGPT Plus or $30/month/user for ChatGPT Business, gain access to the Dall-E image generator, which converts text prompts into lifelike generated images. Unfortunately, this feature is not currently available to the free tier. Regardless of subscription status, all users can use image or voice inputs for their prompt.

ChatGPT is available through the OpenAI web, as well as a mobile app for both iOS and Android devices. The iOS version was an immediate hit when it arrived at the App Store, topping half a million downloads in less than a week.

If you can use chatGPT on the web, you can use it on your phone. Logging on or signing up through the app is nearly identical to the web version and nearly all of the features found on the desktop have been ported to the mobile versions. The app lets you toggle between GPT-3.5, GPT-4, and GPT-4o as well. The clean interface shows your conversation with GPT in a straightforward manner, hiding the chat history and settings behind the menu in the top right.

Some devices go beyond just the app, too. For instance, the Infinix Folax is an Android phone that integrated ChatGPT throughout the device. Instead of just an app, the phone replaces the typical smart assistant (Google Assistant) with ChatGPT.

There’s even an official ChatGPT app released for the Mac that can be used for free . The app is capable of all sorts of new things that bring Mac AI capabilities to new levels — and you don’t even have to wait for macOS Sequoia later this year.

Yes, ChatGPT is completely free to use, though with some restrictions. Even with a free tier account, users will have access to the GPT-3.5 and GPT-40 models, though the number of queries that users can make of the more advanced model are limited. Upgrading to a paid subscription drastically increases that query limit, grants access to other generative AI tools like Dall-E image generation, and the GPT store.

It’s not free for OpenAI to continue running it, of course. Initial estimates are currently that OpenAI spends around $3 million per month to continue running ChatGPT, which is around $100,000 per day. A report from April 2023 indicated that the price of operation is closer to $700,000 per day .

Beyond the cost of the servers themselves, some troubling information and accusations have come to light regarding what else has been done to safeguard the model from producing offensive content.

OpenAI, a San Francisco-based AI research lab, created ChatGPT and released the very first version of the LLM in 2018. The organization started as a non-profit meant for collaboration with other institutions and researchers, funded by high-profile figures like Peter Thiel and Elon Musk, the latter of whom left the company after an internal power struggle to found rival firm, xAI.

OpenAI later transitioned to a for-profit structure in 2019 and is now led by CEO, Sam Altman. It runs on Microsoft’s Azure system infrastructure and is powered by Nvidia’s GPUs, including the new supercomputers just announced this year . Microsoft has invested heavily in OpenAI since 2019 as well, expanding its partnership with the AI startup in 2021 and again in 2023, when Microsoft announced a multi-billion dollar round of investments that included naming its Azure cloud as OpenAI’s exclusive cloud provider.

Although ChatGPT is an extremely capable digital tool, it isn’t foolproof. The AI is known for making mistakes or “hallucinations,” where it makes up an answer to something it doesn’t know. Early on, a simple example of how unreliable it can sometimes be involved misidentifying the prime minister of Japan .

Beyond just making mistakes, many people are concerned about what this human-like generative AI could mean for the future of the internet, so much so that thousands of tech leaders and prominent public figures have signed a petition to slow down the development. It was even banned in Italy due to privacy concerns, alongside complaints from the FTC — although that’s now been reversed. Since then, the FTC has reopened investigations against OpenAI on questions of personal consumer data is being handled.

In addition, JPMorgan Chase has threatened to restrict the use of the AI chatbot for workers, especially for generating emails, which companies like Apple have also prohibited internally. Following Apple’s announcement at WWDC 2024 that it would be integrating OpenAI’s technology into its mobile and desktop products, Tesla CEO and sore loser Elon Musk similarly threatened to ban any device running the software from his businesses — everything from iPhones to Mac Studios. Other high-profile companies have been disallowing the use of ChatGPT internally, including Samsung, Amazon, Verizon, and even the United States Congress .

There’s also the concern that generative AI like ChatGPT could result in the loss of many jobs — as many as 300 million worldwide, according to Goldman Sachs. In particular, it’s taken the spotlight in Hollywood’s writer’s strike , which wants to ensure that AI-written scripts don’t take the jobs of working screenwriters.

In 2023, many people attempting to use ChatGPT received an “at capacity” notice when trying to access the site . It’s likely behind the move to try and use unofficial paid apps, which had already flooded app stores and scammed thousands into paying for a free service.

Because of how much ChatGPT costs to run, it seems as if OpenAI has been limiting access when its servers are “at capacity.” It can take as long as a few hours to wait out, but if you’re patient, you’ll get through eventually. Of the numerous growing pains ChatGPT has faced , “at capacity” errors had been the biggest hurdle keeping people from using the service more. In some cases, demand had been so high that the entire ChatGPT website has gone down for several hours for maintenance multiple times over the course of months.

Multiple controversies have also emerged from people using ChatGPT to handle tasks that should probably be handled by an actual person. One of the worst cases of this is generating malware, which the FBI recently warned ChatGPT is being used for. More startling, Vanderbilt University’s Peabody School came under fire for generating an email about a mass shooting and the importance of community.

There are also privacy concerns. A recent GDPR complaint says that ChatGPT violates user’s privacy by stealing data from users without their knowledge, and using that data to train the AI model. ChatGPT was even made able to generate Windows 11 keys for free , according to one user. Of course, this is not how ChatGPT was meant to be used, but it’s significant that it was even able to be “tricked” into generating the keys in the first place.

Teachers, school administrators, and developers are already finding different ways around this and banning the use of ChatGPT in schools . Others are more optimistic about how ChatGPT might be used for teaching, but plagiarism is undoubtedly going to continue being an issue in terms of education in the future. There are some ideas about how ChatGPT could “watermark” its text and fix this plagiarism problem, but as of now, detecting ChatGPT is still incredibly difficult to do.

ChatGPT launched an updated version of its own plagiarism detection tool in January 2023, with hopes that it would squelch some of the criticism around how people are using the text generation system. It uses a feature called “AI text classifier,” which operates in a way familiar to other plagiarism software. According to OpenAI, however, the tool is a work in progress and remains “imperfect.” Since the advent of GPTs in April 2024, third party developers have also stepped in with their own offerings, such as Plagiarism Checker.

They’re a feature that doesn’t exist anymore. The announcement of ChatGPT plugins caused a great stir in the developer community, with some calling it “the most powerful developer platform ever created.” AI enthusiasts have compared it to the surge of interest in the iOS App Store when it first launched, greatly expanding the capabilities of the iPhone.

Essentially, developers would be able to build plugins directly for ChatGPT, to open it up to have access to the whole of the internet and connect directly to the APIs of specific applications. Some of the examples provided by OpenAI include applications being able to perform actions on behalf of the user, retrieve real-time information, and access knowledge-based information.

However, in 2024, OpenAI reversed course on its plugin plans , sunsetting the feature and replacing them with GPT applets. OpenAI’s GPT applets were released in conjunction with the unveiling of GPT-4o , They’re small, interactive JavaScript applications generated by GPT-4 and available on the ChatGPT website. These applets are various tools designed to perform specific, often singular, tasks such as acting as calculators, planners, widgets, image apps, and text transformation utilities.

Yes. APIs are a way for developers to access ChatGPT and plug its natural language capabilities directly into apps and websites. We’ve seen it used in all sorts of different cases, ranging from suggesting parts in Newegg’s PC builder to building out a travel itinerary with just a few words. Many apps had been announced as partners with OpenAI using the ChatGPT API. Of the initial batch, the most prominent example is Snapchat’s MyAI .

Recently, OpenAI made the ChatGPT API available to everyone, and we’ve seen a surge in tools leveraging the technology, such as Discord’s Clyde chatbot or Wix’s website builder . Most recently, GPT-4 has been made available as an API “for developers to build applications and services.” Some of the companies that have already integrated GPT-4 include Duolingo, Be My Eyes, Stripe, and Khan Academy.

There’s no doubt that the tech world has become obsessed with ChatGPT right now, and it’s not slowing down anytime soon. But the bigger development will be how ChatGPT continues to be integrated into other applications.

GPT-5 is the rumored next significant step up in, which has been teased and talked about ad nauseam over the past year. Some say that it will finish training as early as in December of 2024, paving the way toward AGI (artificial general intelligence) . OpenAI CTO Mira Murati has compared it to having Ph.D.-level intelligence , while others have said it will lead to AI with better memory and reasoning . The timing seems very uncertain though, but it seems like it could launch sometime in 2025.

Beyond GPT-5, plenty of AI enthusiasts and forecasters have predicted where this technology is headed. Last year, Shane Legg, Google DeepMind’s co-founder and chief AGI scientist, told Time Magazine that he estimates there to be a 50% chance that AGI will be developed by 2028. Dario Amodei, co-founder and CEO of Anthropic, is even more bullish, claiming last August that “human-level” AI could arrive in the next two to three years. For his part, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman argues that AGI could be achieved within the next half-decade .

All that to say, if you think AI is a big deal now, we’re clearly still in the early days.

ChatGPT remains the most popular AI chatbot, but it’s not without competition. Microsoft’s Copilot is a significant rival, even though Microsoft has invested heavily with the AI startup and Copilot itself leverages the GPT-4 model for its answers.

Google’s Gemini AI (formerly Google Bard ) is another such competitor. Built on Google’s own transformer architecture, this family of multimodal AI models can both understand and generate text, images, audio, videos, and code. First released in March, 2o23, Gemini is available in 46 languages and in 239 countries and territories. One of its big advantages is that Gemini can generate images for free, while you’ll have to upgrade to ChatGPT Plus in OpenAI’s ecosystem.

Anthropic’s Claude family of AI have also emerged as serious challengers to ChatGPT’s dominance. In June 2024, the AI startup announced that its recently released Claude 3.5 Sonnet model outperformed both GPT-4o and Gemini Pro 1.5 at a host of industry benchmarks and significantly outperformed the older Claude 3.0 Opus by double digits while consuming 50 percent less energy.

Meta, the parent company to Facebook, has also spent the last few years developing its own AI chatbot based on its family of Llama large language models. The company finally revealed its chatbot in April 2024, dubbed Meta AI, and revealed that it leverages the company’s latest to date model, Llama 3 . The assistant is available in more than a dozen countries and operates across Meta’s app suite, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger.

Lastly, Apple had long been rumored to be working on an artificial intelligence system of its own, and proved the world right at WWDC 2024 in June, where the company revealed Apple Intelligence . The AI is “comprised of highly capable large language and diffusion models specialized for your everyday tasks” and designed to help iPhone, iPad and Mac users streamline many of their most common everyday tasks across apps.

For example, the system will autonomously prioritize specific system notifications so as to minimize distractions while you focus on a task while writing aides can proofread your work, revise them at your command, and even summarize text for you. Apple’s AI is expected to begin rolling out to users alongside the iOS 18, iPadOS 18 and Mac Sierra software releases in Fall 2024.

Are ChatGPT chats private?

It depends on what you mean by private. All chats with ChatGPT are used by OpenAI to further tune the models, which can actually involve the use of human trainers. No, that doesn’t mean a human is looking through every question you ask ChatGPT, but there’s a reason OpenAI warns against providing any personal information to ChatGPT.

It should be noted that if you don’t delete your chats, the conversations will appear in the left sidebar. Unlike with other chatbots, individual chats within a conversation cannot be deleted, though they can be edited using the pencil icon that appears when you hover over a chat. When you delete the conversations, however, it’s not that ChatGPT forgets they ever happened — it’s just that they disappear from the sidebar chat history.

Fortunately, OpenAI has recently announced a way to make your chats hidden from the sidebar . These “hidden” chats won’t be used to train AI models either. You can also opt out of allowing OpenAI to train its models in the settings.

Will ChatGPT replace Google Search?

Rather than replace it, generative AI features are being integrated directly into search. Microsoft started things off by integrating Copilot right into its own search engine, which puts a “chat” tab right into the menu of Bing search. Google, of course, made its big move with AI Overviews , which uses AI-generated answers in place of traditional search results. It launched first through its Search Generative Experience , but rolled out widely in May 2024.

To be clear, this kind of AI is different than just Gemini or ChatGPT. And yet, it’s also undeniable that AI will play an important role in the future of search in the near future. Despite all the problems with AI Overviews, Google seems committed to making it work.

Is Copilot the same as ChatGPT?

Although Copilot and ChatGPT are capable of similar things, they’re not exactly the same. Copilot, even though it runs the same GPT-4 model as ChatGPT, is an entirely separate product that has been fine-tuned by Microsoft.

Microsoft, as part of its multi-billion dollar investment into OpenAI, originally brought ChatGPT to Bing in the form of Bing Chat . But unlike ChatGPT , Bing Chat required downloading the latest version of Edge at the time.

Bing Chat has since been completely retooled into Copilot, which has seemingly become Microsoft’s most important product. It’s integrated into Microsoft 365 apps through Copilot Pro , while the Copilot+ expands the AI capabilities deep into Windows and laptop hardware.

Can you write essays with ChatGPT?

The use of ChatGPT has been full of controversy, with many onlookers considering how the power of AI will change everything from search engines to novel writing. It’s even demonstrated the ability to earn students surprisingly good grades in essay writing.

Essay writing for students is one of the most obvious examples of where ChatGPT could become a problem. ChatGPT might not write this article all that well, but it feels particularly easy to use for essay writing. Some generative AI tools, such as Caktus AI , are built specifically for this purpose.

Can ChatGPT write and debug code?

Absolutely. It’s one of the most powerful features of ChatGPT. As with everything with AI, you’ll want to double-check everything it produces, because it won’t always get your code right. But it’s certainly powerful at both writing code from scratch and debugging code. Developers have used it to create websites, applications, and games from scratch — all of which are made more powerful with GPT-4, of course.

What is the ChatGPT character limit?

ChatGPT doesn’t have a hard character limit. However, the size of the context window (essentially, how long you can make your prompt), depends on the tier of ChatGPT you’re using. Free tier users receive just 8,000 characters, while Plus and Teams subscribers receive 32k-charcter context windows, and Enterprise users get a whopping 128k characters to play with.

What is Auto-GPT?

Built on GPT-4, Auto-GPT is the latest evolution of AI technology to cause a stir in the industry. It’s not directly related to ChatGPT or OpenAI — instead, it’s an open-source Python application that got into the hands of developers all over the internet when it was published on GitHub .

With ChatGPT or ChatGPT Plus, the capabilities of the AI are limited to a single chat window. Auto-GPT, at its simplest, is making AI autonomous. It can be given a set of goals, and then take the necessary steps towards accomplishing that goal across the internet, including connecting up with applications and software.

According to the official description on GitHub, Auto-GPT is an “experimental open-source application showcasing the capabilities of the GPT-4 language model. This program, driven by GPT-4, chains together LLM ‘thoughts’, to autonomously achieve whatever goal you set. As one of the first examples of GPT-4 running fully autonomously, Auto-GPT pushes the boundaries of what is possible with AI.”

The demo used on the GitHub page is simple — just create a recipe appropriate for Easter and save it to a file. What’s neat is how Auto-GPT breaks down the steps the AI is taking to accomplish the goal, including the “thoughts” and “reasoning” behind its actions. Auto-GPT is already being used in a variety of different applications, with some touting it as the beginning of AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) due to its autonomous nature.

Who owns the copyright to content created by ChatGPT?

This is a question open to debate. Much of the conversation around copyright and AI is ongoing, with some saying generative AI is “stealing” the work of the content it was trained on. This has become increasingly contentious in the world of AI art. Companies like Adobe are finding ways around this by only training models on stock image libraries that already have proper artist credit and legal boundaries.

According to OpenAI, however, you have the right to reprint, sell, and merchandise anything that was created with ChatGPT or ChatGPT Plus. So, you’re not going to get sued by OpenAI.

The larger topic of copyright law regarding generative AI is still to be determined by various lawmakers and interpreters of the law, especially since copyright law as it currently stands technically only protects content created by human beings.

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Microsoft has released more details about a troubling new generative AI jailbreak technique it has discovered, called "Skeleton Key." Using this prompt injection method, malicious users can effectively bypass a chatbot's safety guardrails, the security features that keeps ChatGPT from going full Taye.

Skeleton Key is an example of a prompt injection or prompt engineering attack. It's a multi-turn strategy designed to essentially convince an AI model to ignore its ingrained safety guardrails, "[causing] the system to violate its operators’ policies, make decisions unduly influenced by a user, or execute malicious instructions," Mark Russinovich, CTO of Microsoft Azure, wrote in the announcement.

IMAGES

How to Write a Play: From Finding Ideas to Formatting
5 Ways to Quote and Cite a Play in an Essay Using MLA Format
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5 Ways to Quote and Cite a Play in an Essay Using MLA Format
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COMMENTS

How to Write a Play in 9 Steps
Level Up Your Team. See why leading organizations rely on MasterClass for learning & development. Whether you dream of becoming a great dramatic writer or simply want to express yourself in a new way, writing a play is a rewarding creative exercise. Read on to learn how to write a play and turn your words into a live performance.
Analyzing Plays
An analysis essay breaks a play into parts and then discusses how the parts contribute to the whole effect or theme. This handout will help you conduct your analysis and prepare your work in an essay. ... Once you have analyzed the play, write out a thesis sentence that explains some aspect of it. In the example, below, the thesis explains a ...
How to Review a Play
You have to be able to provide a very brief summary of the play, a close objective analysis of the performance you attend, and an interpretation and evaluation of the entire ensemble of staging, acting, directing, and so on. The review assignment asks you to analyze in an objective manner the relative success or failure of a given production.
How to Write Play Titles in a Paper
2. Use Quotation Marks. Place the titles of one-act plays in quotation marks. MLA calls for titles of short works, such as articles and short poems, to be put in quotation marks. One-act plays fall in this category. 3. Italicize the Title. Italicize the title of longer plays. MLA calls for the title of longer works, such as books and films, to ...
How to Write a Play Review: 14 Steps (with Pictures)
Paragraph 3: Discuss the acting and directing. React to the performers playing the characters in the play. Paragraph 4: Describe the design elements of the production, such as the lighting, sound, costumes, make up, and set and props. Paragraph 5: React to the play as a whole.
Drama
To put it another way: the words of a play have their meanings within a larger context—the context of the production. When you watch or read a play, think about how all of the parts work (or could work) together. For the play itself, some important contexts to consider are: The time period in which the play was written
5 Ways to Quote and Cite a Play in an Essay Using MLA Format
2. Cite the author's name. Note the author's full last name first in the citation. [3] For example, you may write: " (Albee…)" or " (Hansberry…)". 3. Note the title of the play. After the author's last name, put in a comma. Then, write the title of the play you are quoting in italics.
15 Tips for Writing Your First Play
Now that you've got a general idea of the time and place of your play, focus on your character's surroundings. Picture Step Two as being like when a movie camera pans the scene from the distance, and Step Three as being like when the movie camera focuses on the main character's more immediate surroundings. Here's an example.
A Step by Step Guide to Writing Your First Play
Give them their own objective, something that clashes with the wants and needs of the first character. Start writing dialogue (and stage directions) with this as your golden rule: everything a character says or does has to push them towards them achieving their objective. If there's no conflict, there's no drama.
How to Write a Play Review
Write a rough draft of your review as quickly after the curtain comes down as possible. The longer you wait, the less you'll remember of the experience. Check, check and double check anything you claim as fact in your review - names you quote, backgrounds of individuals, plot points. Make sure you know the difference between a parabola and ...
How to write the perfect GCSE essay on a play or book
Overall, a good essay is clear, interesting and easy to follow. In order to achieve this flow and clarity, include a brief, clear and concise introduction which outlines what the essay will be about and what you will be discussing. Then he bulk of the essay should have three to four paragraphs which argue for and against the question, tackling ...
How To Write A Play? All The Tips And Tricks
Heading off to write your very first play? Wondering what you need to do to write one? Read this article to find out how to write a play. William Shakespeare, Samuel Beckett, Tennessee Williams, and Henrik
The Importance of Play: On Finding Joy in your Writing Practice
Miller said she also plays in her writing practice by trying pieces as "hermit crab" essays: In a hermit crab piece, you are adopting already existing forms to tell your story, such as a recipe, a how-to article, etc. I've written pieces in the forms of rejection notes, field guides, a table of figures, and how-to pieces.
How to Write a Literary Analysis Essay
Table of contents. Step 1: Reading the text and identifying literary devices. Step 2: Coming up with a thesis. Step 3: Writing a title and introduction. Step 4: Writing the body of the essay. Step 5: Writing a conclusion. Other interesting articles.
Ultimate Guide to Writing an Essay: Tips and Tricks
Here are some tips for writing the body of your essay: Stick to One Main Idea: Each paragraph should focus on one main idea or argument. This will help keep your essay organized and easy to follow. Use Topic Sentences: Start each paragraph with a topic sentence that introduces the main idea of the paragraph.
How to Write a Play: Simple Steps from Script to Stage
2. Break up your plot into scenes and acts. Separate each important plot point into its act, and make sure your narrative arc moves forward throughout the acts. Time the breaks between each act in a compelling way to create suspense for the audience, almost like a cliffhanger before a commercial break on TV.
How to Write a Play: Definition, Tips, and How to Publish
It should have exposition, a clear conflict, rising action, and a climax that facilitates a conclusion. Really, talking about plays in terms of their acts is a way to differentiate longer and more complex plays from shorter, simpler ones. This is also a way to think about how much it will cost to put on a given play.
How to Cite a Play in MLA Style
In-text citation with abbreviated play title (Mac. 2.1.25) How to quote dialogue from a play. When quoting multiple lines of dialogue from a play or screenplay: Set the quote on a new line, indented half an inch from the left margin. Start the dialogue with the character's name in capital letters, followed by a period.
How to Write a Literary Analysis Essay in 8 Quick Steps
FAQs What Is a Literary Analysis Essay? It is a type of academic writing that examines and interprets a work, such as a novel, poem, or play. It aims to delve into the deeper layers of the text to uncover its themes, characters, symbolism, and stylistic devices.
How to Write a Play Script Format Explained with Examples
A stage play is a story written that's intended to be performed in a theater. Stage plays usually include a character glossary (dramatis personae), setting and time, and outlined act and scenes. Intermissions and act/scene-endings are almost always written into the script, as are stage directions, dialogue, and actions.
Quoting Plays and Poetry in MLA
Set the quotation off from your text. Begin each part of the dialogue with the appropriate character's name. Indent each name half an inch from the left margin and write it in all capital letters. Follow the name with a period and then start the quotation. Indent all other lines in the character's speech an additional amount.
The Beginner's Guide to Writing an Essay
Come up with a thesis. Create an essay outline. Write the introduction. Write the main body, organized into paragraphs. Write the conclusion. Evaluate the overall organization. Revise the content of each paragraph. Proofread your essay or use a Grammar Checker for language errors. Use a plagiarism checker.
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Crafting a compelling narrative essay requires careful consideration of the elements that make a story interesting and engaging. Dive into the depths of your imagination and unleash your creativity to give life to your narrative. The key to an engaging story lies in your ability to paint vivid images with your words.
How to Structure an Essay
1. What is an essay structure? An essay structure serves as a framework for presenting ideas coherently and logically. It comprises three crucial elements: an introduction that communicates the context, topic, and thesis statement; the body focusing on the main points and arguments supported with appropriate evidence followed by its analysis; and a conclusion that ties together the main points ...
How Does Undetectable AI Help Save Time When Writing Essays
Asking students to write an essay is a good way to gauge their understanding of a subject. It's also a time-consuming task, which makes it one of the most disliked assignments in school. To make matters worse, because of how unreliable AI detection is, some students are forced to accept punishments due to false positives.Most get a slap on the wrist, some get lucky by providing evidence, and ...
ChatGPT: the latest news, updates, and helpful tips
ChatGPT might not write this article all that well, but it feels particularly easy to use for essay writing. ... and Enterprise users get a whopping 128k characters to play with.

How to Review a Play

The Nature of the Assignment

Before You Attend the Production

Attending the Production

Writing the Review

Writing the Introduction

Writing the Statement and Summary

Writing the Body of the Paper: The Review

Writing the Summary and Conclusion

Academic and Professional Writing

Analysis Papers

Grant Proposals

Job Materials and Application Essays

Proposals and Dissertations

Research Papers

Thank-You Notes

Scientific Reports

Writing for the Web

How to Write Play Titles in a Paper

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What this handout is about

What is drama? And how do you write about it?

What’s the difference between plays, productions, and performances?

A few analyzable elements of plays

How characters are constructed by their language

How language contributes to scene and mood

Productions and performances

Performances

Response papers

Works consulted

How to Write a Play

Before You Begin Writing

“What’s your play about?”

“Who is your audience?”

“Where are you hoping this play will go?”

How to Write a Play: The Bare Essentials

Keep Your Characters Active

Find Distinct Character Voices

Tell a Story, and Plot will Emerge

Know Your First Few Seconds

The Drafting Process

The First Draft

The Second Draft

The Third Draft

The Fourth Draft (And so on…)

Know Your Voice

About the Author

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What is a play?

A brief history of plays

What is playwriting?

Different from screenwriting

Characteristics of a play

Rising action

Falling action

Resolution/Denouement

Elements of a play

Stage direction

Act and scene

Types of plays

Tragic-comedy

How to write a play format?

Main text page

Page numbers

Acts and scene

Characters and dialogue

Stage directions

End of scene

How to write a play?

Brainstorm ideas

Choose your characters

Outline and structure your play