Unit 1

Essentials of Good Writing

Literary Devices
A literary device is a writing technique that writers use to express ideas, convey
meaning, and highlight important themes in a piece of text.
These devices serve a wide range of purposes in literature.
Some might work on an intellectual level, while others have a more emotional
effect.
● Imagery
● Simile
● Metaphor
● Personification
● Hyperbole
Imagery

Imagery is a literary device that refers to the use of figurative language to evoke a sensory experience or create a
picture with words for a reader.
By utilizing effective descriptive language and figures of speech, writers appeal to a reader’s senses of sight, taste,
smell, touch, and sound, as well as internal emotion and feelings.
Imagery is not limited to visual representations or mental images, but also includes physical sensations and Internal
emotions.
Seven Types of Imagery:
● Visual
● Auditory
● Gustatory
● Tactile
● Olfactory
● Kinesthetic
● Organic
Visual Imagery
● Visual imagery is most likely what people think of when they hear the term imagery
● It uses qualities of how something looks visually to best create an image in the reader’s head.
● These visual qualities can be shapes, colour, light, shadow, or even patterns.
● It is one of the most common types of imagery as it allows readers to better describe the world and
characters of a novel or poem.
● Visual imagery is often used in screenplays when first introducing characters.
● Visual imagery is often achieved through the use of other literary devices like metaphors and similes.
● To say a woman looks like Helen of Troy is both imagery, a simile, and an allusion.

Examples

● She sat at the desk, chin on hand, and carelessly flipped through the pages. When she got to chapter
three, she sat up straight, and pulled off her glasses.
● He took her hand and led her to the edge of the cliff. The verdant glades that spread before them
dazzled her with every shade of green.
● Together, they sat at the shoreline. The shimmering sun was sinking into the sea and, as it disappeared,
she told him they’d never meet again.
Auditory Imagery
● This type of imagery appeals to a reader’s sense of hearing.
● Melodic sounds, silence , harsh noises, and even onomatopoeia .
● Creating an auditory experience through text can be difficult. But it can also be necessary for a story or plot.
● For example, the sound of war can be necessary to immerse the reader into a war novel. This may be used to
describe gunfire, explosions, screams.

Examples

● The clank of the keys

● The clang of the plates
● Crow of the rooster in the morning
● The chirping of the birds
● Whistling crescendo of the nightingale
● The rustle of the papers
Gustatory Imagery
● Gustatory imagery is a type of imagery that aims at a reader’s sense of taste.
● This would most commonly be used to describe food as a character eats it.
● A great example of this can be found in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. “As the
Queen creates Turkish Delight for Edmund, C.S. Lewis uses gustatory imagery to describe its taste.”
“The Queen let another drop fall from her bottle on to the snow, and instantly there appeared a round
box, tied with green silk ribbon, which, when opened, turned out to contain several pounds of the best
Turkish Delight. Each piece was sweet and light to the very centre and Edmund had never tasted
anything more delicious. He was quite warm now, and very comfortable.”
Examples.
● The familiar comforting warmth of the chicken noodle soup, with the moist chicken and soft carrots,
instantly made Mike feel much better.
● Joe plucked an apple right from the tree and crunched into it, the tart juices filling his mouth and
running down his chin.
● Sue thought she was biting into an oranslice and was shocked as her mouth exploded with the bitter
taste of a lemon.
Tactile Imagery
● To create the sensory experience of touch through text, writers utilize tactile imagery.
● This type of imagery can be used to describe how something feels such as texture, temperature, wetness, dryness, etc.
● Tactile imagery appeals to a reader’s sense of touch and allows them to better empathize with a character.

Examples:

● Liam opened the window, and a gust of cold breeze blew over him, and the snow melted, leaving moist warm touch,
making his body shiver.
● Princess Aurora touched the needle and felt a prick on her finger.
● Jenifer tried to grab the snake, but its slimy wet skin made it slip away.
Olfactory Imagery
“But a smell shivered him awake. It was a scent as old as the world. It was a hundred aromas of a
thousand places. It was the tang of pine needles. It was the musk of sex. It was the muscular rot of
mushrooms. It was the spice of oak. Meaty and redolent of soil and bark and herb. It was bats and
husks and burrows and moss. It was solid and alive - so alive! And it was close.”

Olfactory imagery can also be used in a screenplay as a plot point and to suggest to actor’s
what they are smelling and how they are reacting.

Examples:

● The honeysuckle fragrant lawn lured the insects and flies; I could hear the crickets calling and
singing their eerie song of the night.
● The tracker dog sniffed the table and recoiled in the stench of bleach and ammonia.
● His room stank of rotten eggs which made Shaina retch, and she covered her mouth with her
hand.
Kinesthetic Imagery
● Kinesthetic imagery is used to describe the sensory experience of motion. Speed, slowness, falling, or
even fighting can be written with kinesthetic imagery.
● In the world of screenwriting, kinesthetic imagery is perhaps most important in the genre of action
films. How else can you write an epic fight scene other than by using kinesthetic imagery to paint the
picture?
● Kinesthetic imagery is also great when writing about topics like sports, driving, and other intense
action.

Examples:

He rummaged through each drawer, hurling items to the floor until he found the mysterious bracelet.

She raked her fingers through her hair in an attempt to smooth out the knots.

He enjoyed watching the palm trees swaying in the wind as rain drizzled from the sky.
Organic Imagery
● Organic imagery appeals to the most primitive sensations in the human experience such as hunger, fatigue,
fear and even emotion.
● It can be quite difficult to describe the emotions of a sorrowful character or desperate character. But organic
imagery aims to do just that.
● When done effectively, organic imagery can be the best tool to move a reader to tears of either joy or sadness.

Examples:

● Her eyes lit up the moment she saw him, and she ran into his arms.
● He lowered his head and covered his face with his hands. He couldn’t bear for her to see what her words had
done to him.
● She clenched her fists and then threw her hands in the air as he continued to yell at her.
Simile & Metaphor
Simile Metaphor
A simile is a comparison between two different things using
A metaphor is also a comparison between two things that are
the words ‘like’ or ‘as’. Because of the presence of either of
not similar. However, in this figure of speech, the words ‘like’
these two words, it is easy to identify a simile wherever it
or ‘as’ are not used. When understanding metaphors it’s
occurs. Similes frequently occur in everyday communication,
and it makes an attractive connection in the speaker’s or important to identify the connection between the two objects
listener’s mind. that are being compared.

Examples of Similes Examples of Metaphor

● The children were as busy as bees. ● You are my sunshine.
● Her body was as cold as ice.
● She is as innocent as a lamb. ● Time is money.
● That little girl can swim like a fish. ● He is a night owl.
● Simile Metaphor Personification and Hyperbole ● David was a pig at dinner.
Personification & Hyperbole
Personification Hyperbole

Personification involves giving human traits to non-living Hyperbole is an exaggeration. This is usually used for
things, animals and ideas. We also call this emphasis and should not be taken literally by the reader
‘anthropomorphism’. Generally, personification can be or the listener. We also use this type of exaggeration in
seen in fiction and poetry. Usage of personification in daily conversations. It adds more colour to what is being
literary genres influence the reader’s imagination and said and sometimes add humour as well.
can also make the text more interesting to read.
Examples of Hyperbole
Examples of Personification
● I have watched this movie a thousand times.
● The wind howled in the night sky. ● I will die for you.
● The moon smiled at us. ● My father will kill me if he sees this.
● Time flies while you are enjoying your life. ● Your skin is soft as silk.
● The flowers danced with the wind.
Paradox & Oxymoron
Paradox Oxymoron
A paradox is a statement that appears at first to be contradictory,
An oxymoron is a figure of speech that puts together opposite
but upon reflection then makes sense. This literary device is
commonly used to engage a reader to discover an underlying logic elements. The combination of these contradicting elements
in a seemingly self-contradictory statement or phrase. As a result, serves to reveal a paradox, confuse, or give the reader a laugh.
paradox allows readers to understand concepts in a different and
even non-traditional way. ● That’s my adult child. Poor thing still can’t get himself
The earth that’s nature’s mother is her tomb; What is her burying into the real adult world.
grave, that is her womb…” ● I distinctly remember forgetting that.
● They asked us to submit the original copy.
"A child asked, 'Can God do everything?' On receiving an
affirmative reply, she at once said: 'Then can He make a stone so ● Dharini, moving to France, is an open secret.
heavy that He can’t lift it?'”

"I must be cruel only to be kind."

"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than
others.”
Alliteration & Assonance
Alliteration Assonance
alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds at the Assonance is the repetition of the same or
beginning of words that are close together, like in a phrase,
line, or sentence similar vowel sounds within words, phrases, or
sentences.
Alliteration can be used in poetry and prose, as well as in
speech and pop culture, to create auditory or visual interest. Assonance provides poetic writing with rhythm
Examples: and musicality.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a Examples:
nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin
but by the content of their character." She seems to beam rays of sunshine with her
"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth,
eyes of green.
upon this continent, a new nation…"
They’re some creeps who I wouldn’t meet if you
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and paid me a heap of cash!
weary, / Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten
lore, - / While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came I wish there was a way to make her state similar
a tapping.
feelings to those of my soul.
Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers.”
Fire at the private eye hired to pry in my
Betty bought some butter, but it is so bitter… business.
Senses
Sight

● the streets glistened like shiny ornaments after the rain

● the flashing blue lights from the police cruiser lit up our dark house

Sound

● The walls shook and vibrated like the tail of a rattle snake
● Ice crackled and pinged against the family room window like a baseball striking a bat

Smell

● the baking cake filled the kitchen with aroma of vanilla

● the warm summer air smelled of freshly cut grass

Touch

● The heavy quilt felt like an x-ray vest draped across our legs
● The puppy’s nose was dry like sandpaper

Taste

● Sweet, juicy strawberries

● Sour lemonade
Point of View
Point of view (POV) is what the character or narrator telling the story can see (his or her perspective).

The author chooses “who” is to tell the story by determining the point of view.

Types of Point of View

First person: We are see events through the eyes of the character telling the story.

Second Person: In second person, the narrator is speaklling to YOU. (poems, speeches, instructional writing, and persuasive articles.)

Third person: With third-person point of view, the narrator is describing what’s seen, but as a spectator.

1. Limited 2. Omniscient 3. Limited Omniscient

Importance of Point of View

Point of view is important in a story because it helps the reader understand characters’ feelings and actions.

Each character will have his or her own perspective, so whoever is telling the story will impact the reader’s opinion of other characters
and events.

It makes stories interesting, gives research its serious tone, poems and persuasive works their personal tone, and allows readers to easily
follow all writing.