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Topic: Writing to describe

Under this subtopic we include resources that link grammatical concepts to descriptive writing. For instance, one activity asks students to use a range of adjectives to describe the characters in two blind-date scenarios, while other activities encourage them to consider alternatives to an over-reliance on adjectives and adverbs in descriptive writing.

Using noun phrases to build worlds

Learn how writers use language to create rich and vivid mental images

How do writers use language to create images in your mind? Read this extract and think very consciously about the kinds of images the language is conjuring up for you.

A rustle in the tunnel darkness; the knife was in his hand, and then it was no longer in his hand, and it was quivering gently almost thirty feet away. He walked over to his knife and picked it up by the hilt. There was a gray rat impaled on the blade, its mouth opening and closing impotently as the life fled. He crushed its skull between finger and thumb. (Neil Gaiman, Neverwhere)

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