ELA5, CSS, Sferrazza

A verb is an action or a state of being.

You want to use powerful action verbs to make your descriptive writing pop.

Ex.) With her hands in fists, Vaya went across the street. (This works, but the verb could be stronger.)

Try instead...

With her hands balled in fists, Vaya stomped across the street. (You get a much more vivid image of Vaya crossing the road.)

Try to minimize your use of being verbs.

Ex.) The children are hungry. (This is - yawn - a bit boring to read.)

Try instead...

The children gobbled every morsel, licked their plates clean, and begged for seconds. (This is more active and interesting; it clearly shows the children are hungry.)

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Now go to your Descriptive Writing Journal and complete Journal #3: Concrete Nouns, Active Adjectives, and Vivid Verbs.