1. Why use FIDDS? FIDDS are the basic elements of a writer’s style.
A writer only has language to express his/her personality.
FIDDS helps the reader figure out theme and tone.

2. FIDDS MEAN…
“FIDDS” stands for figurative language, imagery, diction, detail, and syntax
As you read, try to find examples of these elements and explain why these elements are important– how they help to create tone and theme.

3. Figurative Language
Includes: Metaphor, Simile, Personification, Hyperbole, Symbols, and Irony

4. Metaphor Examples A football player is a bulldozer on the field.
The catcher was the bomb!
Remember: Metaphors compare two unlike objects. They imply the comparison.

5. Simile Examples Mary has the face like a rose.
Jimmy ran like a cheetah to the base.
Remember: A simile directly compares two unlike objects using like, as, than, similar to, or resembles.

6. Personification Examples
Lea’s friendship wrapped my sadness in a warm blanket.
The tree sighed sadly in the cold.
Remember: Personification gives human qualities to something that is not human, such as an object, idea, or animal.

7. Hyperbole Examples
Definition: Hyperbole is an exaggeration that is based in truth.
I’m so tired I could sleep for a week.
I was hungry enough to eat a cow.
I laughed until my sides split open wide.

8. Symbol Examples
Definition: A symbol is something that stands for itself. A symbol is literal but it represents something else.
Rose is a symbol of love.
Rainbow is a symbol of hope.
Flag symbol of country.
Moon symbol for mystery.

9. Irony Examples
Definition: Irony is saying the opposite of what you mean. Irony can be funny, serious, affectionate, or hateful. This is what makes it sometimes hard to understand.
Example: You just got served a disgusting and overcooked meal for lunch. You say “Great lunch!”
It is stormy and lightning bolts are crashing outside and you comment-- “What a great day for a swim!”

10. Imagery appeals to your 5 senses: SIGHT, SMELL, SOUND, TASTE, TOUCH

11. Imagery Examples Sight: Eerie glow in the morning fog
Sound: shrieking, wailing, moaning, creaking
Smell: The putrid rise of garbage stench filled the air.
Taste: The soup seems bitter and laced with phlegm.
Touch: The mud oozed in my palm.

12. DICTION Diction is isolated words that the author chose when writing.
Diction guides the meaning an author wants the reader to take away from the text.
This word choice covers both connotation (the feeling the word gives the reader) and denotation (the literal meaning of the word).

13. Diction Examples Instead of childish use childlike
Instead of stand use slouch
Instead of pretty use delicate
Instead of emptying use throwing
Words create feelings inside the reader. Word choice must be deliberate and specific in order to make sure that the meaning that was intended is actually created.

14. DETAILS
Details are facts the help color an otherwise drab “picture” for the reader. Gives focus to writing.
Details give life to characters, settings, and situations.
Sometimes, it’s the details the author leaves out that makes the strongest point.

15. Details Examples
He was an old man. His black, heavily wrinkled face was surrounded by a halo of crinkly white hair and whiskers that seemed to separate his head from the layers of dirty coats piled on his smallish frame. “The Treasure of Lemon Brown” by Walter Dean Myers
Contrasting details: layers of dirty coats make him seem padded and heavy; but the small frame makes him seem frail
The details also give the reader a mental picture of the old man

16. SYNTAX Syntax is the structure of the text.
It is how punctuation, sentence structure, sentence length, or repetition of words are used in the text.
The structure is how the piece is crafted.

17. Syntax Example
Elements of Syntax: sentence parts, word order, sentence length, punctuation
Original: He was a year older than I, skinny, brown as a chocolate bar, his hair orange, his hazel eyes full of mischief and laughter.
Breakdown of original: Older: comparative of an adjective; skinny: adjective; brown as a chocolate bar: simile that describes subject; orange: adjective; full of mischief and laughter: adjective phrase.
You try: He/She was ___________________ (comparative of an adjective) than I, ________________(adjective), ___________________(simile that describes the subject), his/her hair ______________(adjective), his/her eyes ___________________ (adjective phrase).