Descriptive Writing With Literary Devices

Now that you have chosen a specific topic and written a draft, it's time to look at how we can revise what you have to make it better. As a writer, you always have to have your reader or your audience in mind. The writer uses literary devices to show the reader his or her story. With good writing, a reader can use his or her good reading strategies to understand what the writer has written. 


Your goal is to write as descriptively as you can so the reader gets a clear picture and understanding in his or her head.

There are many literary devices or literary elements you can use:

simile

metaphor

using the 5 sense

alliteration

personification

onomatopoeia

anaphora

rhyme

strong adjectives

vivid verbs

One of my favorite mentor texts sentences right now is from Curveball by Jordan Sonnenblick. If you are in middle school or high school and haven't read one of his books, I highly reccomend them. They are great realistic fiction. 

Here's the GoodReads summary of his latest book Curveball:

"Sometimes, the greatest comebacks take place far away from the ball field.Meet Peter Friedman, high school freshman. Talented photographer. Former baseball star. When a freakish injury ends his pitching career, Peter has some major things to figure out. Is there life after sports? Why has his grandfather suddenly given him thousands of dollars worth of camera equipment? And is it his imagination, or is the super-hot star of the girls' swim team flirting with him, right in front of the amazing new girl in his photography class? In his new novel, teen author Jordan Sonnenblick performs his usual miraculous feat: exploring deep themes of friendship, romance, family, and tragedy, while still managing to be hilariously funny."

Here's the snatch of text that I loved from Curveball: 

“Freshman year rolled along, kind of. Well, parts of it rolled along, parts of it lurched along, and parts of it scraped and screeched along in the manner of scrap metal being dragged across a chalkboard.”                                 

p. 100

What do you notice about this snatch of text? What did Sonnenblick do to help you visualize as a reader? I found at least four different literary devices at work here. Can you name them? Visit Mrs. Whelan's blog to share you answers! Then try writing with some of these literary devices on your own.

If this book sounds good to you, you might also enjoy: 

Other books by Jordan Sonnenblick 

Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie

Notes From a Midnight Driver

After Ever After 

Zen and the Art of Faking It

Sleeping Freshman Never Lie by Dave Lubar

Schooled by Gordon Korman