Descriptive writing · Grade 5
Descriptive writing paints a picture in the reader's mind. It uses the five senses, precise vocabulary and imagery such as similes and metaphors to describe a place, a person or a moment: The ancient castle loomed over the misty valley like a sleeping giant.
Key facts
- Use the senses: what you can see, hear, smell, touch and taste. The air smelt of smoke and wet leaves. The old floorboards creaked under my feet.
- Choose precise words: strode or crept instead of walked, emerald instead of green, enormous instead of big.
- Use imagery: a simile (as soft as velvet), a metaphor (the road was a ribbon of moonlight) or personification (the wind howled).
- Show, don't tell: Leo's hands shook as he waited. shows he is nervous without saying Leo was nervous.
- Organise your description: move from far to near or from the outside in, and vary your sentences, mixing short ones with longer ones.