Show not tell writing • high school English • writing advice for teens

High School English – Episode #48
Want to improve your English reading and writing skills? I’m here to help! My name’s Laura Randazzo and I’m a high school English teacher with more than 20 years of experience. I’ll be here three times a week this academic year to share lessons on the following:
Mondays = Mechanics, usage, and grammar (MUG shot Mondays)
Wednesdays = SAT-level vocabulary (Words on Wednesdays)
Fridays = A wide range of skill builders (Freestyle Fridays)

After today’s video, write your four short “showing” paragraphs inspired by these “telling” sentence starters in the comments section below:
1. I was exhausted.
2. The puppy was a terror.
3. My friend was so mad.
4. The substitute teacher was strange.

This show-not-tell writing lesson is part of my larger Narrative Writing unit, available here:


Lots of advice and free resources for secondary teachers at

Music used with permission:
“Werq” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License


Apple, bell, pencil, and thumbs-up image credit: Pixabay, Public domain

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