year 6 creative writing techniques

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Part 4: How to Write a Year 6 Creative in 8 Steps | Free Short Story Planner

Guide Chapters

• 1. Grammar Mistakes
• 2. Comprehension Skills
• 3. Reading Journals
• 4. Creative Writing
• 5. Extended Responses

Creative writing can be hard, but it needn’t be. Many Year 6 students get overwhelmed by creative tasks. In this post, we’ll show you how to write a Year 6 creative in 8 steps as if you were in Year 7.

Get ready to rock your marker!

How do you write Year 6 creatives?

This is the process we teach students for writing high scoring creatives:

• Design your character
• Work out how your narrative ends
• Decide what happens to them
• Choose your structure
• Write your draft
• Get feedback
• Redraft for submission

Why do Year 6 students struggle with writing creatives?

Many High School students struggle with creative writing. So, it is no wonder that Year 6 students find creative writing difficult.

Year 6 students tend to get frustrated because they can come up with imaginative ideas, but then have difficulty developing them.

Do any of these sound like you?

• I can come up with a character, but I can’t make her believable
• I’ve got an idea for a plot, but I don’t know where it goes
• The narrative I’ve written is too short
• My dialogue is terrible
• I don’t know how to finish my story
• My story tells and doesn’t show
• I can’t use techniques in my narrative

These are common problems. And the good news is that they can be solved by following a process!

We’ve developed a method for writing compelling and exciting creatives that will work for Year 6 students all the way to Year 12!

What we’re going to do now is step you through the step-by-step process for writing fantastic creatives.

How to write a Year 6 creative in 8 steps!

The secret to doing anything well is following a process. Just because narratives are creative doesn’t mean they just pour out of you.

No. There’s a reason it’s called the creative PROCESS!

So, let’s go through the Matrix step-by-step process for writing creatives.

Step 1: Design your characters

Narratives require a character to be engaging. This is because we relate to people (or anthropomorphised creatures – like Simba from the Lion King or Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy.

One of the things that makes characters compelling is having qualities and flaws that are prominent and change over the course of the story.

So, the first thing you want to do is decide on who your character is.

You should use a table to plan out your character details.

Once you’ve created a character, you’re in a position to start figuring out what happens to them.

Step 2: Decide how your narrative ends

Sometimes it is hard to figure exactly how your story ends.

That’s okay. Writing endings, especially good endings, is the hardest part of writing a story.

Remember, you don’t need to produce a complete resolution. Farah doesn’t need to learn how to be a perfect bassist or acquire a taste for his Teta’s baking. You just need to show what the next logical step is in his development.

Here are some questions to ask when deciding on an appropriate ending:

• What are some negative traits that the protagonist has demonstrated? How can they change these?
• Does the protagonist have a damaged relationship that needs addressing or repairing?
• What likes or dislikes that the character has can shape what they need to overcome
• If the protagonist can’t solve their problem, what is the first thing they could do in trying to solve it?

It doesn’t matter if you can’t totally pin down the exact ending, you can always develop it further as you work through the second or 3rd draft

Once you’ve figured out a rough ending, you can plan out the structure in more detail.

Step 3: Decide what happens to get to the ending

Narratives work because they have characters we care about (like the one you just created!) that have interesting and relatable things happen to them.

When you are trying to figure out the broad elements of the narrative, it may help you to break it down into three parts:

• Introduction : Where you introduce the protagonist (the main character), other characters and the setting
• Complication : Something happens that disrupts the regular life of the protagonist, challenging them
• Resolution : The protagonist works out how to solve their challenge and tries to solve it.

Step 4: Choose your Structure

When you plan structure you need to consider:

• The scaffold of events that occur in the text
• The tense that the story is told in (past/present/future)
• The perspective the narrative is told from (1st/ 2nd/ 3rd)

Step 4a: Choose your plot scaffold

A plot scaffold develops your plot in more detail and gives you the structure to tell it. Do you want to use a flashback as a narrative device or would you rather tell your story from start to finish?

Your choice here would shape your plot scaffold. Below is a pair of flowcharts illustrating the two most common scaffolds:

• Scaffold 1 is a linear narrative that runs from start to finish
• Scaffold 2 uses a flashback to develop the resolution

One scaffold is not better than the other. Flashbacks can be confusing, cliche or unnecessarily convoluted, similarly linear narratives can be predictable or a little plain.

You will need to play around to see which one works best for YOUR story.

You’ll notice that this is more detailed than the initial plot structure:

• The introduction has been split into  ORIENTATION and  TRIGGER
• The complication has been developed into FIRST and SECOND COMPLICATIONS

Let’s see what this might look like:

Step 4b: Choose your tense

Once, you’ve picked a scaffold, you need to decide if it is told in the present or the past tense.

Writing in the simple past is the most common. It is easy to read and relatively straight forward to write.

Narratives written in the present continuous (-ing) are not uncommon but are a little harder to write. They can become hard to follow when characters in the present are remembering events in the past or they can seem overly simple and childish.

Blake Crouch’s  Dark matter (2017) is a good example of an engaging and well-written present continuous narrative. You can read a sample on this page .

You should think about whether the events in the narrative are being narrated as they happen to the protagonist or if they are being remembered later on:

• Use the present tense if events are being narrated in real-time
• Use the past tense if they are being remembered later on

Step 4c: Choose your perspective

You have three choices when choosing the perspective your story is narrated from:

• First-person : Events are told from a character’s perspective. the narrator uses “I”, “me”, and “we” to describe their actions
• Second-person : Events are told from the reader’s perspective. This means that you use “you” to describe the narrator’s actions. This is a difficult perspective to write and can be quite jarring
• Third-person : Events are told from an omniscient (god’s eye-view) perspective. The common pronouns used to describe the protagonist’s actions are “they”, “he”, “she”, “it”, etc.

if you’re just getting confidence writing narratives, you’ll find it easiest to start off with a third-person perspective. As you develop confidence and skill, you should start practising first-person narration.

As a rule, second-person narration should be avoided intially as it is to get wrong and can seem quite gimmicky.

To help you choose, here are some pros and cons for each tense:

Okay, now you’ve done your planning, you’re ready to… write your 1st draft!

Step 5: Write your draft

First things first,

It’s okay for your first draft to suck!

Like, really really suck. That’s okay. That’s the point of a first draft. it is a starting point for something much much better.

Be prepared to produce something terrible and then rebuild it into something great!

Now grab your plan and we’ll develop a first draft.

Let’s see how you should do that:

Step 5a: Compose the orientation

Your narrative needs a compelling hook. It also needs to introduce the characters and setting.

Don’t worry too much about getting the hook right in the first draft.

Introduce the setting and prominent characters by providing brief descriptions rather than detailed ones. Stories are more effective when the reader gets to paint the picture of characters.

For example, compare these two openings:

• Farah was hunched over his controller focused on clearing the map with his teammates when the door to his room nearly blew off the hinges. His mother hulked in through the frame, eyes glaring.
• Farah was a fourteen-year boy with blue eyes and black hair. He was playing Fortnite Season 9 with his friends. His mum knocked on the door, but Farah couldn’t hear her. His mum opened the door and walked in. She was wearing a green dress and had her hair in a ponytail. She was unhappy with Farah.

See the difference between the two? The first is more concise and only gives the reader as much information as they need. The second is much too detailed and in the process of being detailed loses any tension.

When writing your orientation, aim to only introduce the setting and key characters. You can start developing things further when you introduce the trigger.

Step 5b: Write your trigger

The trigger is an incident that sets the course of events in the narrative in motion. It could be something small like something said in a conversation. Or it could be something huge like an alien invasion.

You should make it clear that your trigger is important. You do this by describing the protagonist’s (and other characters’) response to it.

Step 5c: Write the 1st complication

The first complication is an obstacle that a character or characters encounter

Remember, complications are meant to provoke the character to find a solution to something and to have an emotional response.

For example, in Farah’s story, the first complication is being told by his Mum that he needs to go with the family to see his Teta and Gido at the hospital. He doesn’t want to go he has band practise with his friends, but has no choice but to go to the hospital.

When you write your complication, be sure to explain what the character’s response to it is. Describe their physical response and consider how they speak to people about it.

Ask yourself:

• How does this make the character feel?
• What will my character do in response?
• Does this change the character’s environment or the story’s setting?
• Is there an impact on the character’s relationships because of this complication?

Then you can describe what the characters do in response to the first complication.

Step 5d: Write the 2nd complication

The second complication occurs while the character(s) is overcoming the first one.

As in the first one, you need to describe:

• What the complication is
• How it affects the character
• If it affects their emotions
• Whether it changes their relationships
• What the character(s) will do in response to it

For example, in Farah’s case, the second complication occurs when his Grandma gives him a hard time about not playing the cello and challenging him to play them some music. It doesn’t go well, Farah isn’t as good a bass player as a cellist.

Once you’ve written the complication and its consequences, you can finish the story by writing the resolution.

Step 5e: Write the resolution

A resolution is where you conclude the narrative.

When you resolve a narrative, you don’t need to write the complete ending!

What does this mean? When you write a creative, you are only relating a short series of events that happen to a character or group fo people. You don’t need to tell their whole life stories!

Instead, you need to think about what part of their lives you want to relate and focus on that.

For example, in Farah’s story, we don’t need to see him go to his band practice after the hospital trip. Instead, we can focus on a smaller resolution. Farah’s Gido reveals he was in a punk band, plays some really good music, and explains why he left Lebanon in the 80s. He agrees to teach Farah how to play bass. The end.

Step 6: Edit your creative

When you edit a piece of work you want to break it down into two types of editing:

• Macro edits: This is where you consider bigger picture things like structure, plot holes or characterisation, symbols and leitmotifs
• Micro edits: Where you work on correct grammar, tense consistency, incorporating techniques, making your writing concise

To edit your creative, you want to tick off the items on the following checklist.

✔ Macro: Check for plot holes

Read through your story, make sure all of the events make sense.

Ensure there are no logical flaws.

✔ Macro: Look for consistency

Make sure you’ve used the correct tenses throughout.

Ensure sure you haven’t confused tenses.

Make sure the perspective is consistent throughout.

✔ Macro: Choose a symbol/ leitmotif and develop it

You need to develop a symbol, symbols, or leitmotif (a recurrent symbol) throughout.

For example, instruments in Farah’s narrative show his passion and come to be a leitmotif showing his renewed connection to his Gido

✔ Micro: Develop your dialogue

Dialogue is important. It shows the reader how characters relate to one another.

Dialogue is hard to write right.

It takes practice. When learning how to write dialogue, focus on keeping it tight by only including dialogue that:

• Shows a relation to another character
• Develops character
• Moves the plot along
• Is only related to the plot!

If it doesn’t do any of the above, then it is unnecessary.

✔ Micro: Incorporate techniques

You need to include techniques in your writing to help represent things.

This is how you SHOW and don’t tell.

Look for parts of your narrative where you only describe things in plain language and change them to using techniques like rhetorical questions, metaphors, similes, or symbols to convey your meaning.

For example, consider the following statements:

• “In the backseat of the car, Farah sat silently but inside he was very upset”
• “Silence engulfed the car, Farah’s cold burning resentment in the backseat was a black hole that compressed the small talk to nothing.’

The second statement might be longer but, clearly, it is more evocative because it compares Farah’s mood to a black hole.

✔ Micro: Edit for grammar

Read your narrative aloud. This will help you find grammatical mistakes and other errors.

You should:

• Look for sentences that aren’t complete sentences
• Make sure you’ve used the correct form of verbs
• Ensure you’ve used possessive apostrophes
• Check you’ve spelled things correctly
• Look to see that you’ve employed paragraphing.

if you want help learning about grammar. You must read our English grammar Toolkit .

✔ Micro: Edit for concision

Finally, you want to get rid of all of the rambling and fluff from your story.

Short stories are meant to be concise. You don’t want to waste a reader’s time. Instead, you want to make sure that the action is moving along throughout.

Read through your narrative and consistently ask yourself:

Does my reader need to know this?

If the answer is no, then you should consider removing or rewriting it.

Once this is done, you’ve finished your first draft!

That’s the hardest bit done.

Now you need feedback.

Step 7: Get Feedback and incorporate

Once you’ve got the first draft and tidied it up, you’re ready to get some feedback.

Feedback is important, as it will tell you what works in your narrative and what doesn’t.

When we write, it is often very easy to write for ourselves:

• Writing big flowery sentences
• Making assumptions about events or characters in the text that a reader needs to make sense of things
• Indulge certain techniques or phrases we like that don’t work for other readers

Feedback is a way of identifying these issues.

It can be hard receiving criticism on our work. Sometimes we don’t like hearing that our work isn’t fantastic.

It’s really important that you separate criticism of your work from criticism of you. The two are not the same (take note, parents!)

To get effective feedback, it will help if you give your reader a feedback form so they can tell you what they like and don’t like.

Step 7a: Give your reader a feedback form:

Once you get the feedback, you want to review it and take on board what the reader says.

You don’t need to follow all of their suggestions, but you should pay attention to those things that the reader says affect the readability of the piece.

Step 7b: Plan your changes

Before you redraft, make a plan outlining the changes you need to make to the story to make it better:

Now you can redraft.

Step 8: Redraft

This is where you redraft your story.

Some of the pieces may need only one redraft, other times they may need to go through several drafts.

The main rule of redrafting is that you

Rewrite the story in full and don’t just cut and paster or drag and drop.

At Matrix, we prefer students to write their first and second drafts by hand. When you rewrite a second or third draft by hand, you are more willing to make drastic changes (which are really great improvements). When you use a word processor, you tend to make things that are bad work, rather than letting them go.

Make sure that after you’ve redrafted the story you give it a final proofread before you…

Now you’ve done all the hard work, you’re ready to submit it.

Remember, writing good narratives won’t happen overnight. Good writers become good through practice AND WIDE READING they weren’t born as good writers.

Don’t be afraid to write fan-fiction or try and imitate your favourite writers.

The best High School English Students try and write in a range of styles for fun and not just for school assessment tasks.

Part 5: How to Write a Year 6 Extended Response in 6 Steps

© Matrix Education and www.matrix.edu.au, 2023. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Matrix Education and www.matrix.edu.au with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

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More essential guides

The Beginner's Guide to Year 6 NSW Selective Schools

2022 High School Rankings

Part 1: Grammatical Mistakes Year 6 Students Must Fix Before High School

Activity: Perform a poem

Read the poem, talk about what it means, and perform it to an audience.

5. Find story inspiration

You can find fun story ideas anywhere! Why not raid your kitchen cupboards or hunt through the attic to find lost treasures? Anything from an old hat to a telescope will do the trick. What could the object be used for? Who might be looking for it? What secrets could it hold? Suggest different genres such as mystery or science fiction and discuss how the item might be used in this kind of story.

Real-world facts can also be a great source of inspiration. For example, did you know a jumping flea can accelerate faster than a space rocket taking off into orbit? What crazy story can your child make out of this fact? Newspapers and news websites can be great for finding these sorts of ideas.

For more storytelling ideas, download our free Story idea generator  or our Character profile activity sheet .

Activity: Story idea generator

Activity: Character profile

6. Draw your ideas first

If your child isn’t sure where to start with a story or even a piece of non-fiction, it can sometimes be helpful to sketch out their ideas first. For instance, can they draw a picture of a dastardly villain or a brave hero? How about a scary woodland or an enchanted castle?

Your child might also find it useful to draw maps or diagrams. What are all the different areas of their fantasy landscape called? How is the baddie’s base organised?

Some children might enjoy taking this idea a step further and drawing their own comics. This is great practice – it stretches your child’s creativity, gets them thinking about plot, character, and dialogue, and is a big confidence boost once they’ve finished and have an amazing story to look back on.

What your child will learn

In Year 6 (age 10–11), your child will be aiming to build upon the goals and expectations they were first set in Year 5. They will be expected to:

• Identifying the audience for and purpose of the writing
• Noting and developing initial ideas, drawing on reading and research where necessary.
• Selecting appropriate grammar and vocabulary, understanding how such choices can change and enhance meaning
• In narratives, describing settings, characters and atmosphere and integrating dialogue to convey character and advance the action
• Using a wide range of devices to build cohesion within and across paragraphs
• Using further organisational and presentational devices to structure text and to guide the reader (for example, headings, bullet points , and underlining).
• Assessing the effectiveness of their own and others’ writing
• Proposing changes to vocabulary, grammar and punctuation to enhance effects and clarify meaning
• Ensuring the consistent and correct use of tense throughout a piece of writing
• Ensuring correct subject and verb agreement when using singular and plural , distinguishing between the language of speech and writing and choosing the appropriate register.
• Proof-read for spelling and punctuation errors.

Handwriting, spelling, grammar, and punctuation are all important aspects of writing too. You can find out more about them on our dedicated pages:

Handwriting in Year 6 (age 10-11)

Find out more about handwriting in Year 6 at Primary School.

Find out more

Spelling in Year 6 (age 10-11)

Find out more about spelling in Year 6 at Primary School.

Grammar and punctuation in Year 6 (age 10-11)

Find out more about grammar and punctuation in Year 6 at Primary School.

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Year 6 writing at greater depth (GDS): quick wins, guidance and helpful materials

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This is not an ideal time for a blog about end of KS2 statutory writing assessment.  It’s the week after SATs for one thing.  So, this blog is deliberately geared towards the immediate weeks ahead. It’s clear from so many conversations, across so many schools, that quick win advice might go down well right now.  For some, addressing gaps caused by pandemic disruptions remained a priority up until recently.  It’s hardly surprising that talk has been of expected drops in the numbers achieving GDS standard in writing. Still, there have been a number of requests for support in identifying writing opportunities that might be helpful in the final stretch of the assessment window. 

This blog aims to provide some guidance along those lines.  It does not reflect our wider views and approaches to developing reader-writers.  It’s a deliberately short term and strategic look at primary writing with a particular aim in mind. It’s also an attempt to take some of the weight from our year 6 colleagues’ shoulders in what has been another challenging year.  Under 'normal' circumstances, this time of year for the Year 6 teacher, especially the new-to-year-6 teacher, is seared into my own teaching memory.  It can feel lonelier than it should, no matter how many times you might be told “You’ve got this”, no matter how healthy an outlook we might have on the place and nature of statutory KS2 assessments.

So, without any apologies, I’ll crack on with some targeted advice and helpful links.

The blog has three sections:

• section 1 looks at examples of pupil’s writing from the STA and highlights a broader view of what might constitute GDS writing.  I think this might be most useful in relation to nudging possible borderline cases, and for some quick win writing opportunities in the run up to the close of the assessment window
• section 2 offers links to four evergreen, hugely helpful blogs from our Assessment Team (@HertsAssessment) colleagues, offering practical guidance related to writing moderation and the TAFs
• section 3 gathers links to my earlier blogs on the topic of GDS writing for those that have joined Twitter/become familiar with our blogs more recently.  These offer further writing opportunities

1. In search of a benchmark: widening writing exemplifications

1a. core exemplifications.

Just briefly, let’s remember Frankie in all this.   Frankie the ‘epitome’ of GDS .

Frankie stands as the one-and-only STA  exemplification of writing judged to be representative of GDS for writing.  My relationship with Frankie’s writing efforts rivals some of my friendships in terms of how often we get to interact. In recent weeks, we’ve become aware of newer teachers/year 6 returners that are not familiar with this bank of work. 

For those not familiar, it’s essential reading under the current system. If you haven’t before, read the work and the associated commentaries, focusing on the most useful, perhaps less florid parts.  This will give you a common reference point with year 6 teachers across the country.  You can find it here:

Gov.UK: Teacher assessment exemplification: English writing - working at greater depth within the expected standard, Frankie .

Keep in mind this statement from the opening of the exemplification files:

"Exemplification materials illustrate only how 'pupil can' statements in the frameworks might be met. They do not dictate a particular method of teaching, or the evidence expected from the classroom, which will vary from school to school. "

The word 'might' is important here – Frankie is one manifestation of the standard, not a definitive model. This is good news. Otherwise, we’d all best enrol our children in ballet classes at the earliest opportunity.

Reading each piece and considering the most useful parts of the commentaries can help us to keep in mind aspects of writing that we might want to draw attention to when working with the most assured writers.  Exemplification banks, without the commentaries, can also offer some useful opportunities for focused reading for our children to see the work of others and consider what they like/dislike and how they would have gone about a similar task. This can add further layers to awareness of the limitless networks of choices that writers have at their disposal.

I used the plural ‘exemplification banks’ deliberately.  Turning to one of the EXS exemplifications might help Frankie seem a little less lonely.

Meet Leigh , handily remembered as Near-Leigh GDS Leigh. My former colleague Clare Hodgson, our then moderation lead,  wrote about Leigh’s work and how it might offer more helpful hints in an earlier blog for the assessment team.  

Take a read of this helpful snippet in which Clare flags some learning relating to bullet 3 of the GDS statements.  I’d thoroughly recommend reading  the whole of this immensely popular blog .

Obviously, writing such as  'Frankies'  clearly meets this statement - but how 'assured and conscious' do our Y6 writers need to be? Here it is worth turning to the  'Leigh'  exemplification file as a benchmark as Leigh only narrowly misses the greater depth standard. There is one piece - piece B - where Leigh is able to meet the 'assured and conscious control' statement. The annotations on the remaining pieces show where Leigh has been less consistent and hence why the award remains at expected standard. 

Reflect too, as you read the collection, on the purpose and audience for each piece in the collection. Are there enough opportunities for Leigh to write formally? Could more opportunities for formal writing have helped? Does the recount provide any evidence for Greater depth? (No!) Additionally, has Leigh been given adequate time to re-draft some sections of his/her work to consider precision of language, or tidy up punctuation? The implications are that greater depth writers may need longer to craft their writing, as well as more exposure to a range of reading material and a range of tasks that have clearly defined purpose and audience. 

Leigh’s writing is offered as one of two banks that exemplify writing demonstrating sufficient evidence of the requirements for a judgement of EXS, but was evaluated as stronger than their fellow EXS-achiever Morgan. Towards the end of each bank there is a tick-grid showing which pieces meet which bullet point in each standard.  Here’s Leigh’s tally sheet for the EXS statements.  If it was a game of bingo, you’d be getting excited:

It's almost a clean sweep.  Bullet two and three relate to narrative features and are demonstrated sufficiently well in two pieces to secure an overall nod of approval for those two statements, as shown by the tick in the final column. Piece A did not offer evidence of the EXS spelling list statement, but given that every other piece does, it’s no wonder that that statement is also judged to be fully met.

Nice work Leigh. So let’s give the GDS bullets a quick once-over.

Back to our imagined game of bingo. It’s far from a full house but Leigh does manage to get a complete line of ticks for Piece B (third column)  and a close-to-complete line for piece E (sixth column).

It’s by looking at these pieces that we can begin to broaden our view of the nature of writing that might support a judgement of GDS. Frankie is a very particular, ballet-obsessed writer who may well skew judgements towards a very secure bank of evidence demonstrating the standard.  Leigh is a very particular, different kind of writer, offering pieces that might draw closer parallels with the writing produced by your children. In piece B, we have something that we might fairly characterise as 'very recognisably primary school writing'.  It’s writing that with the right inputs, we might see from confident Year 4 writers. Here its labelled as procedural; for our purposes I am going to call it Very Fancy Instructions.  Take a look, read the piece, read the commentaries, and consider how you might apply some of those pointers to writing from your own curriculum. It’s a style of writing that is likely very familiar to your young writers.  Might Piece B offer some inspiration for some instructional writing based on rich, well-known content? 

Piece E, a retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk in something like the Star Wars universe, meets all but bullet 3 (as discussed by Clare above). Once again the commentaries are instructive and acknowledge some strengths in the manipulation of grammar, and some indications of why it doesn’t quite hit the spot.  Might this be useful in revisiting earlier narrative writing with a view to some targeted editing with that bullet point in mind? Further developing the literary language used in a piece, moving beyond structures more typical of day-to-day speech will likely pay dividends.  Giving children the chance to revisit earlier writing with a more mature eye can make all the difference and is a perfectly legitimate writing activity.  Writers revisit old work; writers put down a project and pick it up later, with fresh, or older, wiser eyes. Your writers shouldn’t be any different – and that really can be a very quick win. It’s also immensely gratifying for children to appreciate for themselves their own progress and growth as writers in their time with you. Revising earlier pieces will provide an opportunity for this, as well as a further lesson that writing is something to be crafted over time, not just within the context of a single lesson or unit.

1b. Lessons from moderation materials

Besides Leigh’s writing, there are further samples to draw from in the collections used in Lead moderator/moderator standardisation exercises.  These can be found in various locations, but our friends at Babcock offer up a beautifully well-organised webpage gathering them all together for very easy access. Thank you Babcock – this has been so useful in terms of its clear layout.

Please do me a quick favour, to help with orientation, if this is new to you:

• follow this link - Devon County Council:  KS2 Pupil Writing Collections   (previously Babcock)
• scroll down slowly enough to count the number of collections judged at GDS

I make it nine. Nine is better than one.  Include Leigh here and we have nine-and-a-bit.  Frankie is no longer the singular star in a GDS solar system.  We’ve got a galaxy of pointers, all with commentaries and some really nice pieces to broaden the horizons of all three standards.

Let me direct you to  2019 KS2 standardisation exercise 2  and take a look at Pupil C’s work, judged as meeting GDS.  This one gave a number of moderators pause for thought.  It has many nice touches, but it has its shaky moments.  Here’s a top tip: if you are ever unsure whether a bank represents achievement at EXS or GDS, read it out loud.  It really helps.  Try reading some of Pupil C out loud.  You’ll pick up on some less confident stretches, minor lapses, and moments where they seem to become somewhat locked into a groove, unsure of where to go next.

This writing is officially judged to have indicated a higher achievement than Leigh’s but I also think it offers a less intimidating vision of what GDS might look like. Some evidence banks scream GDS almost instantly. They are just plainly, obviously GDS through and through.  That's arguably less useful in terms of mapping out the standard, and certainly not so useful in helping us make a call on borderline cases. 

From this bank, and again like Leigh, take a look at the pieces that stand out as fairly common primary writing tasks, for example  Piece B, the science investigation .  Familiarity is helpful.  What do they do there that makes that piece contribute to the overall judgement? Might your children  do better?  For instance, I think the investigation loses sight of its purpose once it gets to the second page, and there are real lapses in clarity.  A sharper, scaled down version of the evaluations would have helped me maintain a better understanding of the learning from this investigation. Might this present an opportunity to revisit some similar work from across the year?

Then there’s Piece C, an information text on a ‘newly discovered, genetically engineered hybrid animal’ drawing upon research of two distinct species:

For our purposes here, let’s just note some especially helpful aspects of this piece:

• it legitimately offers scope to make use of more formal language structures (bullet 3) and as such achieves a suitably authoritative and expert register (bullet 2)
• each section is very short – generally around the 50-60 word mark.  Writing in chunks or bursts on distinct aspects of the topic should generally be less demanding than a task that builds in additional challenges from text level conventions or requirements. I can picture my children taking a section in turn (perhaps on differently coloured paper to reinforce their distinctness - don't ask me why, it just seems to help keep things in their rightful place) and working in a very focused, deliberate way for each domain
• the range of conjunctive language is relatively limited but is used effectively to link ideas (and when, where, despite, because, before, also)
• perhaps most importantly, the familiarity and friendliness of the form – this type of text is a  a staple in non-fiction reading across the primary phase, and will have likely had a place in writing lessons in multiple year groups, across the phases
• finally, keep in mind the availability of books that provide a rich bank of language/language features as helpful incidental models of this kind of writing, for example Norman Messenger’s  The Land of Neverbelieve  as well as online entries describing the features of real animals just waiting to try a new kind of coupling

In terms of quick wins, you might want to think about those tasks that are most obviously aligned to generic primary writing: Leigh’s procedural/instructions writing based on a taught topic; the science write up; the information text; the narrative sequences/episodes (as opposed to full short stories).  They may well prove useful as targeted reading, close to the act of writing.  Discuss with children what they like and what sort of friendly critique they might offer the authors. Try and divorce these pieces from  their statutory assessment context and any sense of 'teaching to the test' and instead foster a notion that we are simply looking at, and evaluating, some work from peers in a wider community of writers.  Take note of features that they find especially effective and begin to consider how this might influence their own writing, whether in fresh composition or in revisiting and revising older work. 

2. Guidance related to writing moderation/TAFs

This section provides a series of links to blogs from our colleagues in the Assessment Team ( @HertsAssessment ). Each provides helpful and accessible insights from previous rounds of moderation based on the current TAF.

'Write away!' and other lessons derived from the 2018 KS2 Writing Moderations

Clare Hodgson, my former co-presenter of our Y6 GDS writing course, wrote this extremely helpful blog drawing upon her experiences as a lead moderator, and those of the moderation team she worked with. This blog was written in October of that year, so keep in mind that much of the advice is geared towards the rest of that academic year.  That said, it contains an extremely helpful checklist for downloading that should prove helpful at this late stage of the year.  Clare offers five, easily-digested ‘lessons’, that will also serve as a very helpful primer for next year – especially for those new to year 6, or new to the Year 6 writing framework.

Declaration of Independence

As the title suggests, this blog looks at the notion of independence and independent writing. If any questions remain in relation to this aspect of the statutory requirements, here’s a good place to head.

With sincere thanks to our colleagues on the Assessment Team.

3. Earlier blogs on GDS

I’d just like to bring this blog to a close by flagging some further pieces that I put together  between 2017 and 2021.  Between them they offer a range of guidance and suggestions designed to support the achievement of GDS but situated within the context of whole class teaching.  Please note that the earliest blogs reflect the Interim Teacher Assessment Frameworks (2016 and 2017). Expectations have changed – and if you didn’t teach under those, well, that’s something to be thankful for. Three of those blogs, the In Search of…series, explicitly address the challenges around expectations for formal and informal writing. Please note, the infamous requirement to shift between levels of formality, like some kind of language-based Hokey Cokey, no longer applies. And that is a very good thing indeed.  Nonetheless, the wider points about voice, register and levels of formality should still be useful.  Each link has a summary so that you can target your reading according to your needs.

The long and the short of GDS in Year 6 writing

An introduction to the current framework, with a brief exploration of each of the four bullets.

GDS and writing in year 6: keeping things focused now time is short

This blog built on the one directly above it.  It looks at the role that reading might play in developing writing and offers some suggestions around particular approaches to instruction that might prove especially helpful when time is running short.  As such, it offers further quick win suggestions, in addition to those given in Section 1.

FULLY FUNDED - An Introduction to ESSENTIAL writing – the new HFL comprehensive curriculum for Years 1-6 launching this July – FREE webinar: Wednesday 1st May 2024 

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Year 6 Writing

Discover year 6 writing standards.

Year 6 writing is all about demonstrating text complexity in original work. Learners at this level are expected to continue developing their English language skills , in order to articulate their thoughts effectively and showcase the writing skills they’ve acquired during their time in primary school. In Year 6, your child should write stronger arguments, more engaging stories, and present factual information with ease.

Similar to previous years, your child will continue to develop a strong understanding of the relationship between reading and writing, as they will now have to start analyzing information to determine the main points of a text in order to inform their writing.

Year 6 Writing Goals:

• I can write clear arguments and provide evidence to support my claims
• I can maintain a formal or informal tone throughout my writing
• I can write strong conclusions and story endings
• I can use linking words and phrases to connect ideas and paragraphs
• I can research and include facts in my reports
• I can use dialogue and vary the pace in my narratives
• I can use technology to produce and publish my writing
• I can clearly write in different styles and text types
• I can write with stamina for a sustained period of time

Year 6 students will predominantly focus on three key writing approaches:

Opinion Writing

Informative writing, narrative writing.

The advice below will set up your Year 6 child for writing success!

Argument and opinion writing are very important styles of writing to master, as they allow learners to effectively voice their opinion and share different perspectives on a topic. Once children acquire these skills, they’ll be able to state a clear point of view and support it with reason and evidence.

Arguments should be written in a formal style. Understanding the difference between formal and informal writing, and when each should be used, is a skill children will learn in Year 6.

Being able to use linking words is an important skill your child should have at this primary education level. These words are the glue that stick claims and reasons, sentences and paragraphs, together. By Year 6, children are expected to use a variety of linking words effectively when writing arguments.

Here are a few for you to practice with your children:

• likewise, similarly, also, just as, like
• unlike, yet, despite, however, unlike
• firstly, finally, secondly, furthermore

When a child has crafted their argument by clearly stating their position, giving reasons, adding supporting details, and using linking words, they need to write a concluding statement. A concluding statement should wrap up the argument. It could summarise the main points from their argument, or rephrase their position, and it should end on a positive note.

Practice Tip

You can encourage your child to work on their opinion writing skills by introducing them to the Ninja Leaf Opinions lesson series on Night Zookeeper !

When writing informative texts, there are a variety of different strategies that children can use depending on the topic and purpose. Using definitions and cause/effect are examples of these.

Here are some top tips on how to plan an informative piece of writing:

• Identify the main topic.
• Create a list or discuss important points to mention.
• Organize the points discussed by order of importance.
• Offer a factual and neutral point of view - offering statistics if needed. Topics should be developed with facts, definitions, details, and quotations.
• Be precise and clear on the points made - use a variety of linking words to clarify the relationship between ideas and to help transition between sentences and paragraphs.

Informative writing pieces should be closed with a concluding section that summarises the main points and leaves the reader thinking about the topic. This conclusion should offer recommendations on further reading for the audience, or leave the reader with questions relating to the future of the topic.

Work on informative writing by asking your child to write a weekly grocery shopping list, asking them to name all of the essential items which are used on a regular basis.

Technique, description, and a well-sequenced plot are all expected features of Year 6 level narratives. When working on narrative writing, some aspects to focus on include a clear focus on the topic, good descriptions of characters , settings and other imagery relevant to the narrative. Narratives may also include techniques such as dialogue.

These narrative techniques are very useful, as they allow the plot to move forward and help to develop well-rounded characters.

Young writers should utilize figurative language (including similes, metaphors, and personification) and a wide vocabulary to include precise words and phrases in their short stories. Narrative writing relies heavily on providing a high level of detail with the aim to allow the reader to clearly visualise the actions, characters and settings present in the story. For example, adverbials of time and place are linking words we often use to sequence paragraphs. They show shifts in time and place that help readers follow the sequence of a narrative.

Concluding a piece of narrative writing may sometimes be challenging, as there are many techniques to choose from. We really encourage writers to try out different endings to their narrative pieces, including cliffhangers, unexpected plot twists or a classic happy ending!

The narrative lesson series on our program is a great way to help your young writer to explore narrative techniques such as pacing, description, and dialogue to move the plot forward and develop characters and events.

How Night Zookeeper can help

Looking for a way to make writing fun for your child? Try our writing program for kids !

Night Zookeeper covers the full English National Curriculum and includes content that support Year 6 students with their English skills as they prepare for secondary school. Our gamified approach to teaching writing puts an educational twist on video games to help students to stay focused, engaged and entertained as they learn.

Our program hosts a wealth of award-winning Year 6 writing content, including challenges, writing assignments, interactive lesson series, creative writing prompts, printable resources , and much more!

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Related articles

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Free Printable Creative Writing Worksheets for 6th Year

Creative Writing: Discover a world of imagination with our free printable Reading & Writing worksheets for Year 6 students. Enhance your students' skills and creativity with Quizizz's diverse resources.

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Creative Writing worksheets for Year 6 are an excellent resource for teachers looking to engage their students in the world of reading and writing. These worksheets provide a variety of activities and exercises designed to help students develop their skills in fiction writing, as well as other forms of creative expression. By incorporating these worksheets into their lesson plans, teachers can provide a structured and supportive environment for students to explore their creativity and improve their writing abilities. With a focus on reading and writing, these Year 6 worksheets offer a comprehensive approach to developing students' literacy skills, ultimately preparing them for more advanced writing tasks in the future.

Quizizz is a fantastic platform that complements Creative Writing worksheets for Year 6, offering teachers a variety of interactive and engaging activities to further enhance their students' learning experience. This platform provides a wide range of quizzes and games that can be tailored to specific topics, such as reading and writing or fiction writing, allowing teachers to reinforce key concepts and assess their students' progress. In addition to its extensive quiz library, Quizizz also offers a variety of other resources, including flashcards and interactive presentations, making it an invaluable tool for teachers seeking to create a dynamic and immersive learning environment for their Year 6 students. By incorporating Quizizz into their lesson plans, teachers can ensure that their students are not only developing their creative writing skills but also having fun in the process.

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Year 6 Writing Aids

Subject: English

Age range: 7-11

Resource type: Other

Last updated

22 February 2018

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This is really helpful. In particular the word mats and big writing checklist. Thanks

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In this page, you will find some examples of what is expected of Year 6 writers who are meeting all the age-related requirements.  SCROLL DOWN  to find out what to expect from your children and some of the reasons why this is expected at Year 6. All the examples below are from "extended writing" sessions, which are generally over two lessons and are completed independently having spent previous lessons building up and practising writing skills.

Why is this writing at the age-related expectation (ARE) for the end of Year 6?

• Almost entirely grammatically correct, allowing for occasional punctuation and spelling errors.
• Capitals, full stops, commas, apostrophes and question marks are all mostly accurate.
• Uses the full range of punctuation to include evidence of dashes, brackets, hyphens, semi-colons and colons.
• Writing structure, formality and purpose should be clearly met. For example, the tone and layout of a newspaper should be clearly different to a narrative or a set of instructions.
• Handwriting should be neat, joined and legible.
• Correct tense throughout.
• A range of multi-clause sentences, including some thought into when you would use shorter or longer sentences. This is why children learn about grammar skills, such as: fronted adverbials, relative clauses, subordinate clauses, rhetorical questions and so on.
• A range of devices to create flow in the writing.
• Evidence that they have checked, improved and/or corrected their writing and spelling.
• Year 6 notes for parents - ARE.pdf

Below is what writing should look like halfway through the year. It is not yet meeting all the criteria as set out above but it is very close.

Expected to be ARE - Halfway through the year images

Below is what "greater depth" writing may look like halfway through the year. Note the additional flair to the sentences, improved spelling and more consistent, challenging punctuation.

Greater depth writing halfway through the year

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Creative Writing Tips

Here are our top tips for acing any creative writing exam! 

1. HAVE A BANK OF STORY PLOT LINES READY

One of our top tips for any creative writing exam, is to have a bank of easily adapted plot ideas up your sleeve. Time is precious in an exam and you need to spend minimal time thinking, leaving you with the maximum amount of time to crack on with your writing!

2. DON'T MAKE YOUR PLOT LINES COMPLICATED

Don’t make your plot too complicated- only one thing needs to happen- just DESCRIBE ONE TEN MINUTE MOMENT. If your story was turned into a film, it would be a 10 minute scene, not a 2 hour film! Keep it simple! 

3. DESCRIBE DON'T EXPLAIN

This point carries on from point 2. When you have a complicated plot then you end up explaining and summarising. What any teacher or examiner wants to see in a story is description. One moment described very slowly, in lots of detail.   

4. DON'T BE AFRAID TO 'MAGPIE' IDEAS

'Magpieing' is a phrase that teachers use to describe using other people's ideas for story writing. Authors do it all the time! Nothing needs to be original! If you hear a great phrase in a book that you are reading, use it in a story! 

5. SHOW DON'T TELL

'Show don't tell' is  phrase that teachers use all the time, when teaching creative writing. It means, don't TELL me that the character is nervous; SHOW me that they are nervous by describing their sweaty palms and butterflies flutterin g in their tummy. 

6. PAINT A PICTURE IN THE READER'S MIND

If you write a simple sentence such as, 'The man walked down the road', you will conjure up different images in different reader's minds! Is it a tall man or a short man? Is he walking angrily or happily? Add description to paint the same picture in the reader's mind, as you have in your own! 

7. USE POWERFUL VERBS

The difference between an ok story and a great story, usually comes down to verb choices. Every sentence must contain a verb, so why not use powerful verb choices! For example, 'said' is a boring verb. Swap it for a verb such as 'mumbled' or 'screeched' to add more description! 

8. PERSONIFICATION

Personification is a writing technique, where an object is described like a person. The effect is that it tells you the mood of the story- how the characters are feeling. In  a happy story, the sun might be smiling but if the mood of the story is angry, the sun might be scowling! 

9. SIMILES AND METAPHORS

Similes and metaphors are both types of comparisons. We use these comparisons to exaggerate a quality. Similes use the word LIKE or AS- ' He ran as fast as a racing car' or 'He zoomed like a racing car'. A metaphor does not contain like or as- 'He was a racing car zooming.' 

10. ALLITERATION

 Alliteration is when words near or next to each other start with the same sound. An alliterative phrase like, 'flickering, firey flames' is effective because the repetition of the F sound emphasises the sound of the fire. This is a great way to add marks in an exam!

11. ONOMATOPOEIA

 We always want to describe using our senses, and onomatopoeic words describe sounds. Using sounds as verbs in a sentence, for example, BANGING, CRASHED, RUSTLING, SCREECHED, is a great way to add extra marks in a creative writing exam. 

12. AVOID REPETITION

Avoid repetition! Make sure that you vary the first word in every sentence- sometimes start with a verb, sometimes start with a preposition, sometimes sart with an adverb... Do NOT always start with He/ She/ The! Also,  vary your sentence length- some short, some medium, some long. 

13. GREAT WAYS TO START A STORY

Think carefully about the first sentence in your story, and more importantly the first WORD! Do not start with ‘Once upon a time’ or ‘One day’.  Starting with a subordinating conjunction like ‘As’ or ‘While’, is a great way to open a story as you are instantly giving the reader additional information to paint a picture of the scene in their minds.

14. PREPOSITIONS

Use prepositions in your sto ry- particularly at the start of sentences. Prepositions are words that tell us WHEN or WHERE. Prepositions that show where, are particularly good when describing a setting. It allows you to be precise and to paint a picture in the reader's mind. 

15. AVOID DIRECT SPEECH

Do not overuse direct speech- it tends to explain rather than describe. Direct speech can be a great way to start a story and it is effective in establishing relationships between the characters- but use it no more than twice. You will get a mark for correct punctuation but don’t waste dozens of lines on one mark!

16. USE THE ACRONYM MAPSO

Use the acronym MAPSO as a checklist to ensure that you have used a variety of techniques in your story. There are lots of acronyms out there, but I like MAPSO the best- it’s short, easy to remember and covers the 5 most important techniques- Metaphor, Alliteration, Personification, Simile, Onomatopoeia.

17. DESCRIBE ACTIONS NOT FEELINGS 

Avoid using these phrases in a story- they FELT, they THOUGHT, they WONDERED, they REALISED, they DECIDED… all of these phrases TELL the reader and what we want to do is SHOW. The reader is able to work out for themselves what the character is thinking and feeling from the description of their ACTIONS.

18. WHO/ WHERE/ WHEN/ WHAT/ WHY/ HOW

By the end of the first paragraph, make sure that the reader has an idea of WHO your character is, WHERE they are, WHEN it is (time of day/ season), WHAT they are doing when the story begins, HOW they are doing it (the mood) and WHY (it does not matter what order you put this information in). 

19. PLANNING

The key thing is to keep your plan short- spend no more than 2 minutes- it doesn’t matter if your plan is messy and you shouldn’t write in full sentences. A five part plan is ideal (just a few words for each section) as 5 paragraphs is about the right length for a story written in a half hour exam.

20. CHECK SPELLING AND PUNCTUATION

Always  leave yourself a few minutes at the end of the exam to check for silly mistakes!

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We hope you enjoy these creative writing tasks! You can complete the tasks at your own pace throughout the week.

We would love to read some of your writing, if you would like to share it with us send it to the year5 email address. , week beginning 13.07.20.

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60 Literary Devices and Techniques Every Writer Must Know

A literary device is a writing technique that writers use to express ideas, convey meaning, and highlight important themes in a piece of text. A metaphor, for instance, is a famous example of a literary device.

These devices serve a wide range of purposes in literature. Some might work on an intellectual level, while others have a more emotional effect. They may also work subtly to improve the flow and pacing of your writing. No matter what, if you're looking to inject something special into your prose, literary devices are a great place to start.

Sentence-level devices

1. alliteration.

Alliteration describes a series of words in quick succession that all start with the same letter or sound. It lends a pleasing cadence to prose and Hamlet and the dollar as currency in Macbeth .

Example: “ One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,

And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.” — “Death, Be Not Proud” by John Donne

Exercise: Pick a letter and write a sentence where every word starts with that letter or one that sounds similar. 

2. Anaphora

Anaphora is the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of a series of clauses or sentences. It’s often seen in poetry and speeches, intended to provoke an emotional response in its audience.

Example: Martin Luther King’s 1963 “I Have A Dream” speech.

“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed.

"… and I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit together at the table of brotherhood.

"… I have a dream that little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”

Exercise: Pick a famous phrase and write a paragraph elaborating on an idea, beginning each sentence with that phrase. 

Similar term: repetition

3. Anastrophe

Anastrophe is a figure of speech wherein the traditional sentence structure is reversed. So a typical verb-subject-adjective sentence such as “Are you ready?” becomes a Yoda-esque adjective-verb-subject question: “Ready, are you?” Or a standard adjective-noun pairing like “tall mountain” becomes “mountain tall.”

Example: “Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing.” — “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe

Exercise: Write a standard verb-subject-adjective sentence or adjective-noun pairing then flip the order to create an anastrophe. How does it change the meaning or feeling of the sentence?

4. Chiasmus

Chiasmus is when two or more parallel clauses are inverted. “Why would I do that?” you may be wondering. Well, a chiasmus might sound confusing and unnecessary in theory, but it's much more convincing in practice — and in fact, you've likely already come across it before.

Example: “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” — John F. Kennedy

5. Congeries

Congeries is a fancy literary term for creating a list. The items in your list can be words, ideas, or phrases, and by displaying them this way helps prove or emphasize a point — or even create a sense of irony. Occasionally, it’s also called piling as the words are “piling up.”

Example: "Apart from better sanitation and medicine and education and irrigation and public health and roads and a freshwater system and baths and public order, what have the Romans done for us?" — Monty Python’s Life of Brian

6. Cumulative sentence

A cumulative sentence (or “loose sentence”) is one that starts with an independent clause, but then has additional or modifying clauses. They’re often used for contextual or clarifying details. This may sound complex, but even, “I ran to the store to buy milk, bread, and toilet paper” is a cumulative sentence, because the first clause, “I ran to the store,” is a complete sentence, while the rest tells us extra information about your run to the store.

Example: “It was a large bottle of gin Albert Cousins had brought to the party, yes, but it was in no way large enough to fill all the cups, and in certain cases to fill them many times over, for the more than one hundred guests, some of whom were dancing not four feet in front of him.” – Commonwealth by Ann Patchett

Example: Write three sentences that are related to each other. Can you combine the information into a cumulative sentence? 

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7. Epistrophe

Epistrophe is the opposite of anaphora, with this time a word or phrase being repeated at the end of a sentence. Though its placement in a sentence is different it serves the same purpose—creating emphasis—as an anaphora does. 

Example: “I’ll be ever’where – wherever you look. Wherever they’s a fight so hungry people can eat, I’ll be there. Wherever they’s a cop beatin’ up a guy, I’ll be there . If Casy knowed, why, I’ll be in the way guys yell when they’re mad an’ – I’ll be in the way kids laugh when they’re hungry an’ they know supper’s ready. An’ when our folks eat the stuff they raise an’ live in the houses they build, why, I’ll be there .” — The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Similar terms: repetition, anaphora

Exercise: Write a paragraph where a phrase or a word is repeated at the end of every sentence, emphasizing the point you’re trying to make. 

8. Erotesis

Erotesis is a close cousin of the rhetorical question. Rather than a question asked without expectation of an answer, this is when the question (and the asker) confidently expects a response that is either negative or affirmative. 

Example: “ Do you then really think that you have committed your follies in order to spare your son them?” — Siddhartha by Herman Hesse

Similar term: rhetorical question

9. Hyperbaton

Hyperbaton is the inversion of words, phrases, or clauses in a sentence that differs from how they would normally be arranged. It comes from the Greek hyperbatos, which means “transposed” or “inverted.” While it is similar to anastrophe, it doesn’t have the same specific structure and allows you to rearrange your sentences in whatever order you want. 

Example: “Object there was none. Passion there was none. I loved the old man. He had never wronged me. He had never given me insult. For his gold I had no desire.” — “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe

Similar terms: anastrophe, epistrophe

10. Isocolon

If you’re a neat freak who likes things just so , isocolon is the literary device for you. This is when two or more phrases or clauses have similar structure, rhythm, and even length — such that, when stacked up on top of each other, they would line up perfectly. Isocolon often crops up in brand slogans and famous sayings; the quick, balanced rhythm makes the phrase catchier and more memorable.

Example: Veni, vidi, vici (“I came, I saw, I conquered”)

11. Litotes

Litotes (pronounced lie-toe-teez ) is the signature literary device of the double negative. Writers use litotes to express certain sentiments through their opposites, by saying that that opposite is not the case. Don’t worry, it makes more sense with the examples. 😉

Examples: “You won’t be sorry” (meaning you’ll be happy); “you’re not wrong” (meaning you’re right); “I didn’t not like it” (meaning I did)

12. Malapropism

If Shakespeare is the king of metaphors, Michael Scott is the king of malapropisms . A malapropism is when similar-sounding words replace their appropriate counterparts, typically to comic effect — one of the most commonly cited is “dance a flamingo,” rather than a “flamenco.” Malapropisms are often employed in dialogue when a character flubs up their speech.

Example: “I am not to be truffled with.”

Exercise: Choose a famous or common phrase and see if you can replace a word with a similar sounding one that changes the meaning. 

13. Onomatopoeia

Amusingly, onomatopoeia (itself a difficult-to-pronounce word) refers to words that sound like the thing they’re referring to. Well-known instances of onomatopoeia include whiz, buzz, snap, grunt, etc.

Example: The excellent children's book Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type . “Farmer Brown has a problem. His cows like to type. All day long he hears: Click, clack, moo. Click, clack, moo. Clickety, clack, moo. ”

Exercise: Take some time to listen to the sounds around you and write down what you hear. Now try to use those sounds in a short paragraph or story. 

14. Oxymoron 

An oxymoron comes from two contradictory words that describe one thing. While juxtaposition contrasts two story elements, oxymorons are about the actual words you are using.

Example: "Parting is such sweet sorrow.” — Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. (Find 100 more examples of oxymorons here .)

Similar terms: juxtaposition, paradox

Exercise: Choose two words with opposite meanings and see if you can use them in a sentence to create a coherent oxymoron. 

15. Parallelism

Parallelism is all about your sentence structure. It’s when similar ideas, sounds, phrases, or words are arranged in a way that is harmonious or creates a parallel, hence the name. It can add rhythm and meter to any piece of writing and can often be found in poetry. 

Example: “ That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” — Neil Armstrong

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16. Polysyndeton

Instead of using a single conjunction in lengthy statements, polysyndeton uses several in succession for a dramatic effect. This one is definitely for authors looking to add a bit of artistic flair to their writing, or who are hoping to portray a particular (usually naïve) sort of voice.

Example: “Luster came away from the flower tree and we went along the fence and they stopped and we stopped and I looked through the fence while Luster was hunting in the grass.” — The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner

Exercise: Write three or four independent sentences. Try combining them using conjunctions. What kind of effect does this have on the overall meaning and tone of the piece?

17. Portmanteau

A portmanteau is when two words are combined to form a new word which refers to a single concept that retains the meanings of both the original words. Modern language is full of portmanteaus. In fact, the portmanteau is itself a portmanteau. It’s a combination of the French porter (to carry) and manteau (cloak). 

Example: Brunch (breakfast and lunch); cosplay (costume and roleplay); listicle (list and article); romcom (romance and comedy)

Exercise: Pick two words that are often used together to describe a single concept. See if there’s a way to combine them and create a single word that encompasses the meaning of both.

18. Repetition

Repetition , repetition, repetition… where would we be without it? Though too much repetition is rarely a good thing, occasional repetition can be used quite effectively to drill home a point, or to create a certain atmosphere. For example, horror writers often use repetition to make the reader feel trapped and scared.

Example: In The Shining , Jack Torrance types over and over again on his pages,  “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” In this case, obsessive repetition demonstrates the character’s unraveling mind.

Similar term: anaphora

Exercise: Repetition can be used to call attention to an idea or phrase. Pick an idea you want to emphasize and write a few sentences about it. Are there any places where you can add repetition to make it more impactful? 

19. Tautology

A tautology is when a sentence or short paragraph repeats a word or phrase, expressing the same idea twice. Often, this is a sign that you should trim your work to remove the redundancy (such as “frozen ice”) but can also be used for poetic emphasis.

Example: "But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping, And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door" – “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe

20. Tmesis 

Tmesis is when a word or phrase is broken up by an interjecting word, such as abso-freaking-lutely. It’s used to draw out and emphasize the idea, often with a humorous or sarcastic slant.

Example: "This is not Romeo, he's some-other-where." – Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Narrative devices

21. allegory.

An allegory is a type of narrative that uses characters and plot to depict abstract ideas and themes . In an allegorical story, things represent more than they appear to on the surface. Many children's fables, such as The Tortoise and the Hare , are simple allegories about morality — but allegories can also be dark, complex, and controversial. 

Example: Animal Farm by George Orwell. This dystopian novella is one of modern literature’s best-known allegories. A commentary on the events leading up to Stalin's rise and the formation of the Soviet Union, the pigs at the heart of the novel represent figures such as Stalin, Trotsky, and Molotov.

Exercise: Pick a major trend or problem in the world and consider what defines it. Try and create a story where that trend plays out on a smaller scale. 

22. Anecdote

An anecdote is like a short story within a story. Sometimes, they are incredibly short—only a line or two—and their purpose is to add a character’s perspective, knowledge, or experience to a situation. They can be inspirational, humorous, or be used to inspire actions in others. Since anecdotes are so short, don’t expect them to be part of a main story. They’re usually told by a character and part of the dialogue. 

Example: Marcel Proust’s Swann’s Way , part of his series of novels, In Search of Lost Time, deals with the themes of remembrance and memory. In one section of this book, to illustrate these ideas, the main character recalls an important memory of eating a madeleine cookie. “Many years had elapsed during which nothing of Combray, save what was comprised in the theatre and the drama of my going to bed there, had any existence for me, when one day in winter, as I came home, my mother, seeing that I was cold, offered me some tea, a thing I did not ordinarily take. I declined at first, and then, for no particular reason, changed my mind. She sent out for one of those short, plump little cakes called ‘petites madeleines,’ which look as though they had been moulded in the fluted scallop of a pilgrim’s shell.”

23. Deus Ex Machina

Literally meaning “god in the machine” in Greek, deus ex machina is a plot device where an impossible situation is solved by the appearance of an unexpected or unheard of character, action, object, or event. This brings about a quick and usually happy resolution for a story and can be used to surprise an audience, provide comic relief, or provide a fix for a complicated plot. However, deus ex machinas aren’t always looked upon favorably and can sometimes be seen as lazy writing, so they should be used sparingly and with great thought. 

Example: William Golding’s famous novel of a group of British boys marooned on a desert island is resolved with a deus ex machina. At the climax of The Lord of the Flies, just as Ralph is about to be killed by Jack, a naval officer arrives to rescue the boys and bring them back to civilization. It’s an altogether unexpected and bloodless ending for a story about the boys’ descent into savagery. 

Exercise: Consider the ending of your favorite book or movie and then write an alternate ending that uses a deus ex machina to resolve the main conflict. How does this affect the overall story in terms of theme and tone?

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24. Dramatic irony

Dramatic irony is when the readers know more about the situation going on than at least one of the characters involved. This creates a difference between the ways the audience and the characters perceive unfolding events. For instance, if we know that one character is having an affair, when that character speaks to their spouse, we will pick up on the lies and double-meanings of their words, while the spouse may take them at face value.

Example: In Titanic , the audience knows from the beginning of the movie that the boat will sink. This creates wry humor when characters remark on the safety of the ship.

25. Exposition

Exposition is when the narrative provides background information in order to help the reader understand what’s going on. When used in conjunction with description and dialogue, this literary device provides a richer understanding of the characters, setting, and events. Be careful, though — too much exposition will quickly become boring, thus undercutting the emotional impact of your work.

Example: “The Dursley’s had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret, and their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it.” – Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling

Exercise: Pick your favorite story and write a short paragraph introducing it to someone who knows nothing about it. 

26. Flashback

Flashbacks to previous events split up present-day scenes in a story, usually to build suspense toward a big reveal. Flashbacks are also an interesting way to present exposition for your story, gradually revealing to the reader what happened in the past.

Example: Every other chapter in the first part of Gone Girl is a flashback, with Amy’s old diary entries describing her relationship with her husband before she disappeared.

Similar term: foreshadowing

27. Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing is when the author hints at events yet to come in a story. Similar to flashbacks (and often used in conjunction with them), this technique is also used to create tension or suspense — giving readers just enough breadcrumbs to keep them hungry for more.

Example: One popular method of foreshadowing is through partial reveals — the narrator leaves out key facts to prompt readers’ curiosity. Jeffrey Eugenides does this in The Virgin Suicides : “On the morning the last Lisbon daughter took her turn at suicide — it was Mary this time, and sleeping pills, like Therese, the two paramedics arrived at the house knowing exactly where the knife drawer was, and the gas oven, and the beam in the basement from which it was possible to tie a rope.”

Similar term: flashback

Exercise: Go back to your favorite book or movie. Can you identify any instances of foreshadowing in the early portions of the story for events that happen in the future? 

28. Frame story

A frame story is any part of the story that "frames" another part of it, such as one character telling another about their past, or someone uncovering a diary or a series of news articles that then tell the readers what happened. Since the frame story supports the rest of the plot, it is mainly used at the beginning and the end of the narrative, or in small interludes between chapters or short stories.

Example: In The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, Kvothe is telling Chronicler the story of his life over the span of three days. Most of the novel is the story he is telling, while the frame is any part that takes place in the inn.

29. In Medias Res

In medias res is a Latin term that means "in the midst of things" and is a way of starting a narrative without exposition or contextual information. It launches straight into a scene or action that is already unfolding. 

Example: “Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.” — The opening line of One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

Exercise: Pick a story you enjoy and rewrite the opening scene so that it starts in the middle of the story. 

30. Point of view

Point of view is, of course, the mode of narration in a story. There are many POVs an author can choose, and each one will have a different impact on the reading experience.

Example: Second person POV is uncommon because it directly addresses the reader — not an easy narrative style to pull off. One popular novel that manages to employ this perspective successfully is Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerney: “You are not the kind of guy who would be at a place like this at this time of the morning. But here you are, and you cannot say that the terrain is entirely unfamiliar, although the details are fuzzy.”

Exercise: Write a short passage in either first, second, or third person. Then rewrite that passage in the other two points of view, only changing the pronouns. How does the change in POV affect the tone and feel of the story? 

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31. Soliloquy 

Soliloquy involves a character speaking their thoughts aloud, usually at length (and often in a Shakespeare play). The character in question may be alone or in the company of others, but they’re not speaking for the benefit of other people; the purpose of a soliloquy is for a character to reflect independently.

Example: Hamlet’s “to be or not to be” speech, in which he ruminates on the nature of life and death, is a classic dramatic soliloquy.

Exercise: Pick a character from your favorite book or movie and write a soliloquy from their point of view where they consider their thoughts and feelings on an important part of their story or character arc. 

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Tone refers to the overall mood and message of your book. It’s established through a variety of means, including voice, characterization, symbolism, and themes. Tone sets the feelings you want your readers to take away from the story.

Example: No matter how serious things get in The Good Place , there is always a chance for a character to redeem themselves by improving their behavior. The tone remains hopeful for the future of humanity in the face of overwhelming odds.

Exercise: Write a short paragraph in an upbeat tone. Now using the same situation you came up with, rewrite that passage in a darker or sadder tone. 

33. Tragicomedy

Tragicomedy is just what it sounds like: a blend of tragedy and comedy. Tragicomedy helps an audience process darker themes by allowing them to laugh at the situation even when circumstances are bleak.

Example: Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events uses wordplay, absurd situations, and over-the-top characters to provide humor in an otherwise tragic story.

Conceptual devices

34. allusion.

An allusion is a reference to a person, place, thing, concept, or other literary work that a reader is likely to recognize. A lot of meaning can be packed into an allusion and it’s often used to add depth to a story. Many works of classic Western literature will use allusions to the Bible to expand on or criticize the morals of their time. 

Example: “The two knitting women increase his anxiety by gazing at him and all the other sailors with knowing unconcern. Their eerie looks suggest that they know what will happen (the men dying), yet don’t care.” The two women knitting in this passage from Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness are a reference to the Fates from Greek mythology, who decide the fate of humanity by spinning and cutting the threads of life.

Exercise: In a relatively simple piece of writing, see how many times you can use allusions. Go completely crazy. Once you’re finished, try to cut it down to a more reasonable amount and watch for how it creates deeper meaning in your piece. 

35. Analogy

An analogy connects two seemingly unrelated concepts to show their similarities and expand on a thought or idea. They are similar to metaphors and similes, but usually take the comparison much further than either of these literary devices as they are used to support a claim rather than provide imagery. 

Example: “ It has been well said that an author who expects results from a first novel is in a position similar to that of a man who drops a rose petal down the Grand Canyon of Arizona and listens for the echo.” — P.G. Wodehouse

Exercise: Pick two seemingly unrelated nouns and try to connect them with a verb to create an analogy. 

36. Anthropomorphism

To anthropomorphize is to apply human traits or qualities to a non-human thing such as objects, animals, or the weather. But unlike personification, in which this is done through figurative description, anthropomorphism is literal: a sun with a smiling face, for example, or talking dogs in a cartoon.

Examples: In Disney’s Beauty and the Beast , Mrs. Potts the teapot, Cogsworth the clock, and Lumière the candlestick are all household objects that act and behave like humans (which, of course, they were when they weren’t under a spell).

Similar term: personification

Exercise: Pick a non-human object and describe it as if it was human, literally ascribing human thoughts, feelings, and senses to it. 

37. Aphorism

An aphorism is a universally accepted truth stated in a concise, to-the-point way. Aphorisms are typically witty and memorable, often becoming adages or proverbs as people repeat them over and over.

Example: “To err is human, to forgive divine.” — Alexander Pope

38. Archetype

An archetype is a “universal symbol” that brings familiarity and context to a story. It can be a character, a setting, a theme, or an action. Archetypes represent feelings and situations that are shared across cultures and time periods, and are therefore instantly recognizable to any audience — for instance, the innocent child character, or the theme of the inevitability of death.

Example: Superman is a heroic archetype: noble, self-sacrificing, and drawn to righting injustice whenever he sees it.

Exercise: Pick an archetype — either a character or a theme — and use it to write a short piece centered around that idea. 

A cliché is a saying or idea that is used so often it becomes seen as unoriginal. These phrases might become so universal that, despite their once intriguing nature, they're now looked down upon as uninteresting and overused. 

Examples: Some common cliches you might have encountered are phrases like “easy as pie” and “light as a feather.” Some lines from famous books and movies have become so popular that they are now in and of themselves cliches such as Darth Vader’s stunning revelation from The Empire Strikes Back, “Luke, I am your father.” Also, many classic lines of Shakespeare are now considered cliches like, “All that glitters is not gold” from The Merchant of Venice. 

Exercise: Write a short passage using as many cliches as possible. Now try to cut them out and replace them with more original phrasing. See how the two passages compare. 

40. Colloquialism

Colloquialism is the use of casual and informal language in writing, which can also include slang. Writers use colloquialisms to provide context to settings and characters, and to make their writing sound more authentic. Imagine reading a YA novel that takes place in modern America, and the characters speak to each other like this:

“Good morning, Sue. I hope that you slept well and are prepared for this morning’s science exam.”

It’s not realistic. Colloquialisms help create believable dialogue :

“Hey Sue, what’d you get up to last night? This science test is gonna suck.”

Example: Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh takes place in Scotland, a fact made undeniably obvious by the dialect: “Thing is, as ye git aulder, this character-deficiency gig becomes mair sapping. Thir wis a time ah used tae say tae aw the teachers, bosses, dole punters, poll-tax guys, magistrates, when they telt me ah was deficient: ’Hi, cool it, gadge, ah’m jist me, jist intae a different sort ay gig fae youse but, ken?’”

Exercise: Write a dialogue between two characters as formally as possible. Now take that conversation and make it more colloquial. Imagine that you’re having this conversation with a friend. Mimic your own speech patterns as you write. 

41. Euphemism

A euphemism is an indirect, “polite” way of describing something too inappropriate or awkward to address directly. However, most people will still understand the truth about what's happening.

Example: When an elderly person is forced to retire, some might say they’re being “put out to pasture.”

Exercise: Write a paragraph where you say things very directly. Now rewrite that paragraph using only euphemisms. 

42. Hyperbole

Hyperbole is an exaggerated statement that emphasizes the significance of the statement’s actual meaning. When a friend says, "Oh my god, I haven't seen you in a million years," that's hyperbole.

Example: “At that time Bogotá was a remote, lugubrious city where an insomniac rain had been falling since the beginning of the 16th century.” — Living to Tell the Tale by Gabriel García Márquez

Exercise: Tall tales often make use of hyperbole to tell an exaggerated story. Use hyperbole to relate a completely mundane event or experience to turn it into a tall tale. 

43. Hypophora

Hypophora is much like a rhetorical question, wherein someone asks a question that doesn't require an answer. However, in hypophora, the person raises a question and answers it immediately themselves (hence the prefix hypo, meaning 'under' or 'before'). It’s often used when characters are reasoning something aloud.

Example: “Do you always watch for the longest day of the year and then miss it? I always watch for the longest day in the year and then miss it.” — Daisy in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

An idiom is a saying that uses figurative language whose meaning differs from what it literally says. These phrases originate from common cultural experiences, even if that experience has long ago been forgotten. Without cultural context, idioms don’t often make sense and can be the toughest part for non-native speakers to understand. 

Example: In everyday use, idioms are fairly common. We say things like, “It’s raining cats and dogs” to say that it’s downpouring. 

Exercise: Idioms are often used in dialogue. Write a conversation between two people where idioms are used to express their main points. 

45. Imagery

Imagery appeals to readers’ senses through highly descriptive language. It’s crucial for any writer hoping to follow the rule of "show, don’t tell," as strong imagery truly paints a picture of the scene at hand.

Example: “In the hard-packed dirt of the midway, after the glaring lights are out and the people have gone to bed, you will find a veritable treasure of popcorn fragments, frozen custard dribblings, candied apples abandoned by tired children, sugar fluff crystals, salted almonds, popsicles, partially gnawed ice cream cones and wooden sticks of lollipops.” — Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

Exercise: Choose an object, image, or idea and use the five senses to describe it. 

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Irony creates a contrast between how things seem and how they really are. There are three types of literary irony : dramatic (when readers know what will happen before characters do), situational (when readers expect a certain outcome, only to be surprised by a turn of events), and verbal (when the intended meaning of a statement is the opposite of what was said).

Example: This opening scene from Orson Welles’ A Touch of Evil is a great example of how dramatic irony can create tension.

47. Juxtaposition

Juxtaposition places two or more dissimilar characters, themes, concepts, etc. side by side, and the profound contrast highlights their differences. Why is juxtaposition such an effective literary device? Well, because sometimes the best way for us to understand something is by understanding what it’s not .

Example: In the opening lines of A Tale of Two Cities , Charles Dickens uses juxtaposition to emphasize the societal disparity that led to the French Revolution: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness…”

Similar terms: oxymoron, paradox

Exercise: Pick two ideas, objects, places, or people that seem like complete opposites. Introduce them side by side in the beginning of your piece and highlight their similarities and differences throughout. 

48. Metaphor

A metaphor compares two similar things by saying that one of them is the other. As you'd likely expect, when it comes to literary devices, this one is a heavy hitter. And if a standard metaphor doesn't do the trick, a writer can always try an extended metaphor : a metaphor that expands on the initial comparison through more elaborate parallels.

Example: Metaphors are literature’s bread and butter (metaphor intended) — good luck finding a novel that is free of them. Here’s one from Frances Hardinge’s A Face Like Glass : “Wishes are thorns, he told himself sharply. They do us no good, just stick into our skin and hurt us.”

Similar term: simile

Exercise: Write two lists: one with tangible objects and the other concepts. Mixing and matching, try to create metaphors where you describe the concepts using physical objects.

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49. Metonymy

Metonymy is like symbolism, but even more so. A metonym doesn’t just symbolize something else, it comes to serve as a synonym for that thing or things — typically, a single object embodies an entire institution.

Examples: “The crown” representing the monarchy, “Washington” representing the U.S. government.

Similar term: synecdoche

Exercise: Create a list of ten common metonymies you might encounter in everyday life and speech.

Whatever form a motif takes, it recurs throughout the novel and helps develop the theme of the narrative. This might be a symbol, concept, or image.

Example: In Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, trains are an omnipresent motif that symbolize transition, derailment, and ultimately violent death and destruction.

Similar term: symbol

Exercise: Pick a famous book or movie and see if you can identify any common motifs within it. 

51. Non sequitur

Non sequiturs are statements that don't logically follow what precedes them. They’ll often be quite absurd and can lend humor to a story. But they’re just not good for making jokes. They can highlight missing information or a miscommunication between characters and even be used for dramatic effect. 

Example: “It was a spring day, the sort that gives people hope: all soft winds and delicate smells of warm earth. Suicide weather.” — Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen 

Exercise: Write a conversation that gets entirely derailed by seemingly unrelated non sequiturs. 

52. Paradox

Paradox derives from the Greek word paradoxon , which means “beyond belief.” It’s a statement that asks people to think outside the box by providing seemingly illogical — and yet actually true — premises.

Example: In George Orwell’s 1984 , the slogan of the totalitarian government is built on paradoxes: “War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength.” While we might read these statements as obviously contradictory, in the context of Orwell’s novel, these blatantly corrupt sentiments have become an accepted truth.

Similar terms: oxymoron, juxtaposition

Exercise: Try writing your own paradox. First, think of two opposing ideas that can be juxtaposed against each other. Then, create a situation where these contradictions coexist with each other. What can you gather from this unique perspective?

53. Personification

Personification uses human traits to describe non-human things. Again, while the aforementioned anthropomorphism actually applies these traits to non-human things, personification means the behavior of the thing does not actually change. It's personhood in figurative language only.

Example: “Just before it was dark, as they passed a great island of Sargasso weed that heaved and swung in the light sea as though the ocean were making love with something under a yellow blanket, his small line was taken by a dolphin.” — The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

Similar term: anthropomorphism

Exercise: Pick a non-human object and describe it using human traits, this time using similes and metaphors rather than directly ascribing human traits to it. 

54. Rhetorical question

A rhetorical question is asked to create an effect rather than to solicit an answer from the listener or reader. Often it has an obvious answer and the point of asking is to create emphasis. It’s a great way to get an audience to consider the topic at hand and make a statement. 

Example: “If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?” — The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare

Writers use satire to make fun of some aspect of human nature or society — usually through exaggeration, ridicule, or irony. There are countless ways to satirize something; most of the time, you know it when you read it.

Example: The famous adventure novel Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift is a classic example of satire, poking fun at “travelers' tales,” the government, and indeed human nature itself.

A simile draws resemblance between two things by saying “Thing A is like Thing B,” or “Thing A is as [adjective] as Thing B.” Unlike a metaphor, a similar does not posit that these things are the same, only that they are alike. As a result, it is probably the most common literary device in writing — you can almost always recognize a simile through the use of “like” or “as.”

Example: There are two similes in this description from Circe by Madeline Miller: “The ships were golden and huge as leviathans, their rails carved from ivory and horn. They were towed by grinning dolphins or else crewed by fifty black-haired nereids, faces silver as moonlight.”

Similar term: metaphor

57. Symbolism

Authors turn to tangible symbols to represent abstract concepts and ideas in their stories  Symbols typically derive from objects or non-humans — for instance, a dove might represent peace, or a raven might represent death.

Example: In The Great Gatsby , Fitzgerald uses the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg (actually a faded optometrist's billboard) to represent God and his judgment of the Jazz Age.

Similar term: motif

Exercise: Choose an object that you want to represent something — like an idea or concept. Now, write a poem or short story centered around that symbol. 

58. Synecdoche

Synecdoche is the usage of a part to represent the whole. That is, rather than an object or title that’s merely associated with the larger concept (as in metonymy), synecdoche must actually be attached in some way: either to the name, or to the larger whole itself.

Examples: “Stanford won the game” ( Stanford referring to the full title of the Stanford football team) or “Nice wheels you got there” ( wheels referring to the entire car)

Similar term: metonymy

Zeugma is when one word is used to ascribe two separate meanings to two other words. This literary device is great for adding humor and figurative flair as it tends to surprise the reader. And it’s just a fun type of wordplay. 

Example: “ Yet time and her aunt moved slowly — and her patience and her ideas were nearly worn out before the tete-a-tete was over.” — Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

60. Zoomorphism 

Zoomorphism is when you take animal traits and assign them to anything that’s not an animal. It’s the opposite of anthropomorphism and personification, and can be either a physical manifestation, such as a god appearing as an animal, or a comparison, like calling someone a busy bee .

Example: When vampires turn into bats, their bat form is an instance of zoomorphism.

Exercise: Describe a human or object by using traits that are usually associated with animals. 

Similar terms: anthropomorphism, personification

Readers and writers alike can get a lot out of understanding literary devices and how they're used. Readers can use them to gain insight into the author’s intended meaning behind their work, while writers can use literary devices to better connect with readers. But whatever your motivation for learning them, you certainly won't be sorry you did! (Not least because you'll recognize the device I just used in that sentence. 😏)

6 responses

Ron B. Saunders says:

16/01/2019 – 19:26

Paraprosdokians are also delightful literary devices for creating surprise or intrigue. They cause a reader to rethink a concept or traditional expectation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraprosdokian)

ManhattanMinx says:

17/01/2019 – 02:07

That's pore, not pour. Shame.....

↪️ Coline Harmon replied:

14/06/2019 – 19:06

It was a Malapropism

↪️ JC JC replied:

23/10/2019 – 00:02

Yeah ManhattanMinx. It's a Malepropism!

↪️ jesus replied:

07/11/2019 – 13:24

Susan McGrath says:

10/03/2020 – 10:56

"But whatever your motivation for learning them, you certainly won't be sorry you did! (Not least because you'll recognize the device I just used in that sentence. 😏)" Litote

Comments are currently closed.

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