Sensory Language

Why would an author write THIS… Think about it… Why would an author write THIS… Instead of THIS… I could feel the sun baking my face as I ran so fast that my heart was about to pound out of my chest! I could almost taste the bitter gun powder from the terrifying shots that rang out in the street. Blood littered the street as I continued to run, not even knowing where I was going. I could feel the sun as I ran from the gun shots that were fired in the middle of the street. I didn’t know what happened. I just heard shots and then I ran and never looked back. I didn’t even know where I was going.

The Purpose of Sensory Language is to… paint a picture in the reader’s mind. make the story or text seem REAL!

Words that appeal to SIGHT Words that make the reader see what you are describing! You can write about colors, movement, shapes & appearances. Examples: Sunny, rainbow, deformed, flash, & shiny.

Words that appeal to SOUND Words that make the reader hear what you are describing! Talk about loudness, quietness, or speech. Any type of sound will do! Examples: Shout, whisper, roar, rattle, & whistle.

Words that appeal to TASTE Make the reader taste what you are describing! Examples: sweet, burnt, buttery, salty, warm, & tangy

Words that appeal to SMELL Make the reader smell what you are describing! What does it taste like? Examples: musty, fresh, rotten,

Words that appeal to TOUCH/FEELING Make the reader FEEL what you are are describing! how does it feel? Examples: wet, fuzzy, warm, rough, & pillowy.

Let’s Practice! Describe McKinley using sensory language. What does McKinley look like? What does McKinley smell like? What does McKinley lunch taste like? How does McKinley sound? What does McKinley feel like?

Enhancing Text w/ Sensory Language Enhance the sentence below using the sense of smell… I had some trouble with breakfast this morning because…

Enhancing Text w/ Sensory Language Enhance the sentence below using the sense of touch/feel… When I picked up her baby…

Enhancing Text w/ Sensory Language Enhance the sentence below using the sense of sight… I met her cousin yesterday and…

Enhancing Text w/ Sensory Language Enhance the sentence below using the sense of hearing… We walked outside to get some air…

Enhancing Text w/ Sensory Language Enhance the sentence below using the sense of taste… At the strawberry festival we…