Dialogue Writing

Dialogue Writing
Dialogue is basically a conversation between two or more people. In other

words, it could be defined as a written composition in which two or more characters
are represented as conversing. It is an exchange of ideas and opinions between the
characters involved in the conversation.
The basic purpose of dialogue writing skills is to express thoughts in an easy

and natural way. However, it should not be ungrammatical. By writing dialogue, one
could understand both sides of an opinion and develop the capacity to effectively
express the opposite point of view. As mentioned earlier, dialogues must appear
natural and spontaneous.
One of the major advantages of writing dialogues is, it provides proficiency to

the students to enhance their communicative skills and the use of appropriate
vocabulary.
Tips for Writing Dialogues

1. Try to speak out the dialogue loudly as it will help you resonate on your own
dialogue and make you understand how will it sounds to the reader.
2. Keep your dialogue brief and focused. If more extra details are added, it
will only deviate the reader's mind from the main point.
3. If possible, give each character a unique way of talking or voice. It will add
an extra character trait and readers can identify the character just by
reading his dialogue.
4. While writing the dialogue, always remember whom the dialogue is being
addressed to. It will help to use the language structures and vocabulary
appropriately.
5. The language should be simple depending upon the relationship between

the speakers.
6. Make your exchanges short. Let it not be too lengthy and confusing for the
readers.
Format of Dialogue Writing
1. New Paragraph for Every Speaker

Every dialogue by every speaker gets a new paragraph. That means,
whenever a speaker says something new each time, you have to put in a fresh
paragraph, even if it is just one word.
2. Punctuations Come under Quotation Marks

All the punctuations used with dialogue must be put under quotes. For
eg: “Can we talk alone?”
3. Remove End Quote if the Paragraph is Long

If the paragraph of dialogue is too long and you need to change the
paragraph, then there is no need to put end quotes.
Prepared by Dr. Nevil Stephen S. 1

4. Dialogue Tags
Dialogue tags i.e. He says/she says are always written outside the
dialogue and is separated by a comma. When dialogue ends in a question
or exclamation mark, tags that follow start in lower case.
For eg: He says, “We should start our own business.”
5. Use Single Quotation Mark to Quote Something with a Dialogue

If you have to quote something within a dialogue, we should put single
quotes as double quotes are already enclosing the main dialogue.
For eg: Shayama says, “We should write our ‘own’ notes.”
Sample Structures
Greeting conversation starters are:
• Hello!/ Hi!
• Good Morning / afternoon / evening
• How are you? / How are you doing?
• Fine / Fine, thanks / I’m Okay
• Fine thank you, how are you?
• What’s new? / What’s new with you?
• Not much / Not too much
Seeing off people
• Good bye! / Bye!
• Good night!
• Take care!
• See you later / soon / tomorrow
Regarding Food
• What did you have for lunch?
• Which is your favourite cuisine?
• Which is your favourite ice-cream flavour?
• What do you like as your pizza topping?
Miscellaneous
• Do you have any plans for the weekend?
• What is your aim in life?
• If you had three wishes, what would they be?
• What do you do after school?
Here is a piece of conversation between a teacher and a student.
Student: Good morning, sir. Can I talk to you for a minute?

Teacher: Sure. You haven’t been in class for a while. What happened?
Student: Yeah, I’ve been unwell for a week.
Teacher: Oh! That’s no good. Is everything okay now?
Student: Yes sir, now I’m quite okay.
Teacher: Well, that’s great. If you’ve fully recovered, you should now focus on
your studies. The exams are starting next month.
Student: I know, but I’ve missed a lot of classes, so I think, I’ll need your help.
Teacher: That’s alright. I can’t give you special classes, but if you’ve any
questions or doubts, I’ll be able to help.
Student: That’s enough. Thank you very much.

Teacher: You’re welcome. I’m glad you’re feeling better.
A Dialogue Between Two Friends About Tree Plantation
Ravi: Hello Sabu. How are you?

Sabu: Doing good and what about you?
Ravi: I am also fine. Where did you go yesterday? I looked for you.
Sabu: I went to the Tree Fair to buy some saplings. The Tree Fair has been
going on for the last five days. It will continue for another two more
days.
Ravi: Who has organized this Tree Fair?
Sabu: The Department of Agriculture and Forestry organizes this Tree Fair
every year in all towns and cities on the occasion of Tree Plantation
Week.
Ravi: Why do they organise this Tree Fair?
Sabu: It appears strange to me that you are not yet fully aware of the
importance of tree plantation.
Ravi: Right you are. Please tell me about the importance of tree plantation. I
want to know about it in detail.
Sabu: Trees are our best friends. Trees give us shade and shelter. Moreover,
it is a wonderful source of oxygen. We cannot think of our existence
without trees. They are a great source of our food, vitamins, and
furniture.
Ravi: But do you notice that many unscrupulous people are callously cutting
down trees for their selfish ends? What might be its consequence?
Sabu: If they cut down trees indiscriminately, the country will one day turn
into a desert. The temperature will rise and it will cause greenhouse
effect. Global warming will hike.
Ravi: I think this would not be harmful if people planted more trees after
cutting trees. But they seem to be very indifferent to planting trees.
Sabu: You are right. To save life and maintain the ecological balance of the
environment, there is no alternative to tree plantation.
Ravi: Now I understand why tree plantation is so important. I think people of
all walks of life should come forward to make tree plantation
programmes a success.
Sabu: Absolutely, let us make aware of our friends and motivate them to plant
trees more and more to make our country a land of greenery.
Ravi: Ok then Sabu. See you later
Sabu: Bye! See you soon Ravi. Take care.

Dialogue Writing

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Dialogue Writing

Dialogue is basically a conversation between two or more people. In other

The basic purpose of dialogue writing skills is to express thoughts in an easy

One of the major advantages of writing dialogues is, it provides proficiency to

Tips for Writing Dialogues

5. The language should be simple depending upon the relationship between

Format of Dialogue Writing

1. New Paragraph for Every Speaker

2. Punctuations Come under Quotation Marks

3. Remove End Quote if the Paragraph is Long

Prepared by Dr. Nevil Stephen S. 1

For eg: He says, “We should start our own business.”

5. Use Single Quotation Mark to Quote Something with a Dialogue

Here is a piece of conversation between a teacher and a student.

Student: Good morning, sir. Can I talk to you for a minute?

Prepared by Dr. Nevil Stephen S. 2

A Dialogue Between Two Friends About Tree Plantation

Ravi: Hello Sabu. How are you?

Prepared by Dr. Nevil Stephen S. 3

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