Action words express an act or an event. By using specific verbs, writers add details that help the reader picture an event more exactly. Instead of just telling something, like “He walked out the door off to school,” more specifically verbs like “He trudged out the door off to school.”

PLAIN SENTENCE: The couple moved across the dance floor and went out the door.

SENTENCE WITH PIZZAZZ: The couple swept across the dance floor and glided out the door.

Adjectives describe people, places, and things. When used effectively, adjectives can add detail, sensory impressions, and a richness to writing.

PLAIN SENTENCE: He wore a suit and a hat.

SENTENCE WITH PIZZAZZ: He wore an old, tattered suit full of moth holes and a wide-brimmed cowboy hat that was completely misshapen.

Adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. Descriptive adverbs help to paint an action more exactly for the reader.

PLAIN SENTENCE: She walked down the street.

SENTENCE WITH PIZZAZZ: She walked aimlessly down the street.

Characterization is the description of a person’s qualities, peculiarities, and/or personality. By adding in details of the character’s personality, the writer makes the people in his/her story come to life for the reader. Instead of just saying that a character has a certain quality, good writers give examples of the character’s action and let the reader infer the character’s traits.

PLAIN SENTENCE: She was a wicked old witch.

SENTENCE WITH PIZZAZZ: She was a wicked old witch who took delight in hearing the screams of terror when an unsuspecting child came too near.

Comparisons and contrasts show the similarities and differences between two or more items, people, or situations– helping to complete a complete picture in the writing.

PLAIN SENTENCE: The dog had a big bone.

SENTENCE WITH PIZZAZZ: The dog had a big bone that not only seemed too big for his food dish; it actually outweighed him.

Conversation is the way that writers bring characters to life through dialogue and the exchange of ideas, feelings, and opinions between two or more people in the story. By using dialogue writers capture the individual voices of the characters of their story.

PLAIN SENTENCE: My mother said I couldn’t go.

SENTENCE WITH PIZZAZZ: My mother said, “I certainly will not allow you to go to that party!”

Description helps create a mental picture for the reader. Good description is exact and specific, and it helps to recreate a complete picture for the reader. Think of a photographer using a wide-angle lens to capture an entire scene. That’s what description does for writing.

PLAIN SENTENCE: The view from the balcony was beautiful.

SENTENCE WITH PIZZAZZ: I was awed by the view from the balcony-- tiny sailboats lazily skimmed the lake’s crystal surface like dragonflies; green trees like soldiers encircled the beach; and, overhead, a flock of birds peppered mashed potato clouds.

Details are the small and distinct pieces of information that add support and substance to a piece of writing. When writers use detail, they use their words like a photographer’s lens to do a close-up picture of their subject.

PLAIN SENTENCE: The girl wore a dress.

SENTENCE WITH PIZZAZZ: The girl’s strapless aquamarine dress fit loosely around her and gently brushed the floor as she entered the ballroom.

An exaggeration is an extravagant statement made about an object, idea, or situation. Exaggeration attracts a reader’s attention through deliberate overstatement or understatement. Deliberate exaggeration in writing for humorous effect is called hyperbole.

PLAIN SENTENCE: We were driving slowly.

SENTENCE WITH PIZZAZZ: Our car crept so slowly through the traffic that an old woman with a walker passed us.

Location specifies the exact place or situation of an object, person, or place. Location helps to create a visual picture for the reader, by giving the reader an idea where exactly something or someone in the writing is located.

PLAIN SENTENCE: The clock was on the table.

SENTENCE WITH PIZZAZZ: The clock rested behind a stack of well-read romance novels at the edge of the woman’s bedside table.

A metaphor is a figure of speech that implies a similarity between two unlike objects by saying one object is actually another, or by giving one object the characteristics of the other. Metaphors help the read to picture abstract people, places, and ideas in concrete/real ways.

PLAIN SENTENCE: The boy was mean in the morning.

SENTENCE WITH PIZZAZZ: The boy was an angry bear, growling at everyone who tried to wake him.

Personification is a technique writers use to give human qualities to some non-human, often non-living, things. Personification makes writing more interesting by helping readers to see non-human things in a new way.

PLAIN SENTENCE: The sun was shining on the playground.

SENTENCE WITH PIZZAZZ: The sun smiled down on the playground.

In order to make writing come to life, good writers use words that appeal to the five senses of taste, touch, smell, sound, and sight. Using sensory images helps readers to experience the writing with their whole body; they can feel the action, taste the food, hear the music and sounds, etc.

PLAIN SENTENCE: We had pizza for lunch.

SENTENCE WITH PIZZAZZ: The aroma of warm bread and garlic wafted around the cafeteria as we savored the tangy sauce, pooling pepperoni grease, and the sweetness of the perfectly aged mozzarella from the pizza slices on our lunch trays.

A simile is another way of comparing two unlike people, places, objects, or situations. In this type of comparison, the connection is made by using the words “like” or “as”. Similes help to make writing more descriptive by giving readers a clearer picture.

PLAIN SENTENCE: The library was busy.

SENTENCE WITH PIZZAZZ: The library was like a beehive full of kids buzzing around gathering books like they were bees gathering pollen.