Figurative language is the right stuff to make your expository writing rich
In the clarification writing section, we talked about the "recipe" for a successful clarification paper. Now, we are ready to add the "seasonings" that can increase the effectiveness and beauty of your writing. Our "seasonings" are WRITING DEVICES. The writing devices used by most writers are alliteration, metaphor, simile, sensory detail, and personification.
Alliteration
Alliteration is a string of words with the same initial (beginning) sound. Alliteration enhances the sound of language. Often used in tongue twisters.
Example: Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
Can you create your own tongue twister using alliteration?
Simile
A simile is like a metaphor, but compares two ideas using "like" or "as." A simile evokes a mental picture of what you are trying to relate.
Example: The kitten’s fur was as soft as velvet.
Can you complete this simile? The ballerina was as graceful as a ____________________.
Sensory Detail
Sensory detail is based on the five senses. Sensory detail evokes a physical sensation.
Weak Example: I felt hot and tired after the race through the desert.
Strong Example: Every inch of my body ached after the grueling race through the scorching, dry desert.
What are the five senses?
Personification
When a writer uses personification, they are giving human-like characteristics to an inanimate object or animal.
Example: The little gray cat tiptoed across the kitchen floor.
Example: The red digits of my alarm clock glared at me Monday morning.