Dialogue and Speech Writing
Two tasks, one page. Both are spoken English written down — and both are marked down when they sound like an essay read aloud.
Part One: Dialogue
A dialogue is a conversation between two people, written as speech. You are usually given the situation, the two speakers and the purpose.
The mark is for natural conversation. Two people do not take turns delivering paragraphs. They interrupt, ask, hesitate, agree and disagree.
- Layout: the speaker's name, then a colon, then what they say. Start a new line for each new speaker.
- Length: usually eight to twelve exchanges is enough.
- Language: short forms (I'm, don't, can't), short sentences, and real question forms.
Step 2 — Study a model dialogue
Question: Write a dialogue between a student and a librarian about borrowing a book that is not on the shelf.
Student: Excuse me, could you help me? I'm looking for a book on English grammar, but I can't find it on the shelf.
Librarian: Do you know the title, or just the subject?
Student: It's called Practical English Grammar. My teacher said the library has two copies.
Librarian: Let me check. … Yes, we have two, but both are out at the moment. One is due back on Friday.
Student: Oh. I need it before Thursday, though. We have a test.
Librarian: I see. In that case, would a similar book help? There's a reference copy that can't be borrowed, but you may use it here.
Student: That would be all right, I suppose. How long can I sit and read?
Librarian: Until five o'clock. Bring your library card and I'll take it out of the reference section for you.
Student: Thank you very much. Could you also put my name down for the other copy on Friday?
Librarian: Certainly. What's your name and grade?
Student: Sanduni Perera, Grade 11 B.
Librarian: Right. I'll keep it aside for you on Friday morning.
Why this answer works
- It begins in the middle of the situation. There is no Good morning, how are you? I am fine, thank you — that wastes exchanges and marks.
- Each speaker's turn is short. Notice that not one of them is more than two sentences.
- The conversation develops: a problem, a complication (the test on Thursday), an alternative offered, and an arrangement made. A dialogue that goes nowhere gains few marks.
- Short forms are used throughout, because this is speech: I'm, can't, there's, I'll.
- The exchanges are genuinely responsive — each line answers the one before it, rather than continuing a speech.
- It ends on a resolution, not in mid-air.
Steps 3 to 6 — Dialogue
Step 3 — the structure: an opening that starts inside the situation; a problem raised; a complication; a solution offered; an arrangement; a close.
Step 4 — guided practice: write only the first four exchanges of a dialogue between a passenger and a bus conductor about being given the wrong change. Then only the last four, ending in a resolution. Then join them.
Step 5 — write independently: a dialogue between two friends deciding how to spend a free Saturday, or between a student and a class teacher about joining a school society.
Step 6 — check it against this list:
- Is the layout right — name, colon, speech, new line for each speaker?
- Are the turns short?
- Does each line respond to the one before it?
- Does the conversation develop and reach a resolution?
- Have I used short forms and natural spoken English?
- Have I avoided a long polite opening that wastes exchanges?
- Are the question forms correct? (Do you know…? not You know…?)
Part Two: Speech
A speech is written to be heard, not read. That single fact governs everything: short sentences, direct address to the audience, repetition for emphasis, and a clear signposted structure so the listener never gets lost.
You are usually given the occasion, the audience and the topic. All three matter.
- Address the audience directly at the start, and again during the speech.
- Signpost where you are going: There are three things I want to say this morning.
- Use questions to the audience — a listener wakes up when asked something.
- Repeat key phrases deliberately. In writing, repetition is a fault; in a speech it is a technique.
Step 2 — Study a model speech
Question: You are the president of the school English Society. Deliver a short speech at the opening of English Day.
Opening
Respected Principal, teachers, and my dear friends.
Good morning. It is a privilege to open our English Day this year.
May I begin with a question? How many of you have ever kept quiet in class, not because you did not know the answer, but because you were afraid of saying it wrongly in English? Look around you. You are not alone, and that is exactly why we are here today.
I want to say three short things this morning: why English matters to us, what stops us using it, and what this Society intends to do about it.
Closing
So let me end where I began. The fear of making a mistake is the single greatest obstacle between us and the English we are all capable of. Nobody in this hall learnt to walk without falling, and nobody learns a language without getting it wrong first.
Speak it badly today, and you will speak it well next year. Say nothing today, and next year you will still be silent.
Let this English Day be the day we decide to be wrong out loud. Thank you.
Why this answer works
- The greeting is appropriate to the occasion and to the people present, and comes first.
- The opening question involves the audience immediately, and it is a question they can all answer privately to themselves.
- The speaker signposts the structure clearly — three short things — so the listener knows where the speech is going.
- The closing returns to the opening idea. Returning to your beginning is one of the most effective ways to end anything spoken.
- The two contrasting sentences near the end are deliberately parallel in structure. Parallelism is heard even when it is not noticed.
- It ends with a short memorable line, then Thank you. It does not trail away.
Steps 3 to 6 — Speech
Step 3 — the structure: greeting; an opening that catches attention; a signpost of what is coming; two or three developed points; a closing that returns to the opening; thanks.
Step 4 — guided practice: write only the greeting and the first three sentences of a speech welcoming a new principal. Then only the closing four sentences. Then the signpost sentence that would join them.
Step 5 — write independently: a speech to your school on the importance of reading, or a farewell speech to a teacher who is leaving. Read it aloud when you have finished — a speech that is hard to say aloud is not yet finished.
Step 6 — check it against this list:
- Have I greeted the audience appropriately for the occasion?
- Does the opening catch attention in the first three sentences?
- Have I signposted what the speech will cover?
- Are the sentences short enough to say aloud in one breath?
- Have I addressed the audience directly during the speech, not only at the start?
- Does the closing return to the opening idea?
- Does it end with a short memorable sentence, and thanks?
- Have I read it aloud and removed anything that was awkward to say?