Isn’t dialogue just for fiction? You might think so because it features strongly in stories and, of course, in scripts. However, dialogue often is a feature of nonfiction writing. For example, not all scripts are fiction. Consider scripts for historical reenactments or documentary narrations.
Dialogues are useful for deepening students’ content knowledge. Let’s say that students are studying the pros and cons of banning smoking in public places — a real-world debate in many communities. How might two individuals on opposite sides of this debate conduct a rational discussion? Ask students to write the dialogue.
Or take another example, this one set in history. It is 1804, and Meriwether Lewis and William Clark are about to set out on their epic trek to the Pacific Ocean. Ask students to write a dialogue between the two explorers discussing various routes, the supplies they will need, or the dangers they anticipate.
To create a successful dialogue, students need to know their material (or do additional reading or research) and then be able to voice the ideas that logically might come from each party in the dialogue. Some students are good at mentally “hearing” the voices of their pair and setting down those voice on paper or on a computer screen. Other students benefit from working with a partner. In paired dialogue writing, each of the partners takes on a role. Then, in essence, they act out their characters and write down the dialogue that results.
One key thing to remember about writing dialogues is that the results won’t — and shouldn’t — look like formal English. Few people speak consistently in complete sentences or avoid contractions. Dialogues need to sound like real people speaking. The best way to check not only for correct content but also for natural speech is to ask students, singly or in pairs, to read their finished dialogues. This process works much like reader’s theater.
Most students find writing dialogues interesting and fun. The writing gets easier with practice, and students’ understanding of content is increasingly enriched over time.
