Writing

View & Download PDF

Show not tell video

Explanation writing video about sea turtles

Language Features we should include in our writing

• similes
• metaphors
• onomatopoeia 
• hyperbole (exaggeration)
• flashbacks
• alliteration
• personification

Similes from http://examples.yourdictionary.com/simile-examples-for-kids.html

A simile is a figure of speech that compares two things or persons which are not similar. The simile is usually in a phrase that begins with "as" or "like."

For example

• As cunning as a fox
• As cute as a bug's ear
• As dead as a doornail
• As deaf as a post
• As difficult as nailing jelly to a tree
• As heavy as lead
• As helpless as a baby
• As nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs
• As nutty as a fruitcake
• As old as the hills

Similes can also begin with 'like'

• (Sing) like an angel
• (Act) like an animal
• (Eat) like a bird
• (Fight) like cats and dogs
• (Work) like a dog
• Like a dream
• (Soar) like an eagle

Metaphors from http://examples.yourdictionary.com/metaphor-examples-for-kids.html

A metaphor is a word or phrase that is used to make a comparison between two people, things, animals, or places.

• Life is a roller coaster.  
• The alligator’s teeth are white daggers.  
• Their home was a prison. 
• The slide on the playground was a hot stove.
• His heart is a cold iron.
• She is a peacock.
• He is a shining star. 
• The stars are sparkling diamonds.
• Those two best friends are two peas in a pod.
• He is a walking dictionary.
• Donations for the popular charity were a tsunami.
• Time is money.
• My teacher is a dragon.
• Tom’s eyes were ice.
• The detective’s face was wood as he listened to her story.
• Jane’s ambitions are a house of cards.
• Her long hair was a flowing golden river.
• The computers at school are old dinosaurs.

10 Great Ways to start your sentences
- from http://marnycopal.wordpress.com/2012/11/18/writing-tip-ten-ways-to-start-sentences/

Have you ever reviewed your writing and found that something felt repetitive, but you couldn’t quite pin down the problem? Try looking at the beginning of your sentences. If you start the same way each time, with a noun or pronoun, for instance, a certain rhythm and monotony creeps in, even if your word choices are varied and your verbs active.

Breaking free from this rut is simple: just rework to create new sentence openers. Here are some ideas to get you started.

• Noun: a person, place, thing, animal, or abstraction (quality, concept, etc.).

Ashley took a steadying breath, walked up to the porch, and rang the doorbell.

Sprinklers lay unused on a yellowing lawn.

• Pronoun: a substitute for a noun.

She didn’t hear anything inside the house, not even the dog, Buster.

It felt deserted.

• Adjective: a modifier for a noun or pronoun.

Musty aromas drifted on the air, reminiscent of mushrooms, decaying pears, and the worm bin she’d built in seventh grade for extra credit.

Brown stains dotted the wooden planks underfoot.

• Article: a type of adjective (a, an, the).

A wave of revulsion washed over her.

The murder happened here.

• Verb: an action or state of being.

Calm down, Ashley told herself.

Don’t you think you’re overreacting?

• Gerund: a noun created from a verb by adding “ing.”

Jumping to conclusions seems to be your default these days, she thought with annoyance and then narrowed her eyes.

Collecting evidence wouldn’t be a bad idea, however.

• Adverb: a modifier for a verb, adjective, or adverb, answering questions such as how, when, where, and in what way.

Carefully she scraped up a few stained splinters and bundled them in a tissue.

Never had her fingers shaken so much.

Suddenly she couldn’t wait to leave.

• Conjunction: a connector between clauses and phrases.

But what about Buster?

And the cat that lived in the barn?

• Preposition: a link between nouns and pronouns and other parts of the sentence.

On the distant interstate, sirens wailed.

Along the porch planks in the fading light, a human shadow appeared, carrying a shovel.

• Interjection: an exclamation conveying emotion.

“Oh! You’re here!”

“Bingo, Ashley. You always were observant.”

It’s easy, once you get the hang of it. By the way, the sentences here are simply meant to illustrate. In reality, you wouldn’t want to place two of the more rare forms side by side, like the gerund phrases.

Writer, editor, and writing instructor Elizabeth Lyon inspired this blog post. Thanks, Elizabeth! See her book Manuscript Makeover for more great ideas.

Happy writing!