English

English 

 

Alliteration 

Alliteration is the repetition of a sound at the beginning of a string of words. For example, “Ted tipped Tod ten dollars.” In this sentence, the sound T is repeated, except for the word “dollar” in which it is a D sound. Something is considered alliteration when two or more words alliterate. They can have words like ‘of’, ‘and’, ‘is’, etc... inside, but all nouns and adjectives should be alliterating. ‘Teresa’ and ‘the’ do not alliterate as ‘the’ has a ‘th’ sound but Teresa has a T sound.  

Sibilance and Assonance 

Sibilance is alliteration with the S sound. Example: “Saul saw the setting Sun.” This is a specific form of alliteration. 

Assonance is when a vowel sound repeats, like alliteration. Example: monotone.  

Onomatopoeia 

Onomatopoeia is when you use a word to express a sound. For example, saying ‘BOOM’ for an explosion. These are a few commonly used: 

  • CRACK – a sound of cracking 

  • KNOCK – what happens when someone taps a door 

  • KAPOW – word to describe the sound after a punch or attack 

They can make your writing very engaging. 

Simile and Metaphor 

A simile likens two different things using ‘like’ or ‘as’.  

Example: “The man was as small as a rat.” 

A metaphor directly likens two different things figuratively. 

Example: “That test was a killer.” 

A simile is a type of metaphor. 

Extra Literary Devices 

Personification 

When you give something human-like qualities. 

Example: “The tree groaned in the wind.” 

Rule of Three 

Three of something (statistics, entities, events, etc...) is more satisfying/humorous/impactful. 

Example: “He was stupid. In one day, he had blown up a farm and destroyed a library” versus “He was stupid. In one day, he had blown up a farm, destroyed a library, and nearly killed the mayor.” 

Inferences 

An inference is when you draw a conclusion based on implicit evidence and connections. For example, you could tell where they were going in this story: 

“Joe and his mom were going somewhere. Joe ran through his mental checklist. Ball? Check. Sunscreen? Check. Sunglasses? Check. Swimsuit? Check.” 

Based on what they’re packing, y0ou can tell they’re going to the beach.  

DAAFORRESTI