We would describe a small and delicate person, with a slightly mischievous look about them as elfin.

A veneer is a thin layer of more expensive material that is attached to a less expensive material to make it look more grand.

If a person intrudes on someone else’s personal space, they are encroaching.

If you accumulate evidence, you have gathered lots of it together.

If you obscure something from view, you make it difficult to see.

Using language techniques and precise vocabulary to write excellent descriptions

English

In 'Fiction: Inner Musings', pupils develop narrative writing skills. In 'Writing Masters', pupils experiment using language and structure to write interesting and creative texts.

Writing masters

Which of the following verbs has negative, sinister connotations?

Starting with the most positive, rank these words from most positive to least positive.

He clenched his fists and shivered with rage.

He felt a wave of anger surge through him.

Which of the following uses figurative language? 

Which of the following words could be a synonym for 'hid' in this sentence: 'The darkness hid him from view.'

The armchair was relatively plain and dull, with no distinguishing features. 

The fabric was adorned with faded depictions of various citrus fruits.

The plush, velvet seat of the sofa looked inviting. 

Lurid orange cotton cloaked the rounded frame of the sofa. 

Hues of magenta and cyan were splashed across the woollen fabric of the sofa.

Which of the following statements would you choose to describe this sofa? 

Showing and not {{}} is a great way of making your descriptions more vivid.

blue, ocean, aqua, mermaid, fin-like, shell

green, emerald, yellow, cyan, purple, red

hideous, ugly, gargoyle, wretched, recoil, horror

Which of the following is an example of a semantic field? 

Starting with the smallest, put these words in order from smallest to largest. 

Which of these words might you use to describe this person? 

Which of the following nouns is the most appropriate in describing this body of water? 

Which of the following images would you be least likely to use as a comparison to the lightning pictured here? 

Starter Quiz