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8. Similes and Metaphors

Similes compare one thing to another using ‘like’ or ‘as’. Here are some well known
similes:

as hard as nails as cool as a cucumber as white as snow
sleeps like a baby swims like a fish

You can also make up your own:

as bright as a computer screen cross as my mum when she’s on a diet

Spot the similes in these sentences:

My brother plays rugby like a tiger!
Her voice is like music to my ears.
The cheese is as smelly as my brother’s old socks.

Metaphors compare one thing to another without using ‘like’ or ‘as’. So, although they
are similar to similes, they make a STRONGER statement because they compare two
things by saying one thing IS something else.

Here are some examples:

My brother is a tiger when he plays rugby!
Her voice is music to my ears.
Well done, you are a star!

Similes and metaphors can make a description
more colourful – but for best effect only use

them occasionally!

Self Assessment Guide for the ‘Decorating Tool’:
Use the ‘Traffic light’ system to colour in the boxes next to each target in the table:
GREEN = I can do this. YELLOW = I can sometimes do this. RED = I can’t do this.

I have used some ‘WOW’ words and/or ‘emotive’ words in my writing.

I have varied the way I start my sentences.

I have used the ‘Power of Three’ in my writing. Red/yellow/green Traffic lights

I have used ‘Facts and Stats’ or a rhetorical question in my writing.

I have used a simile, a metaphor or alliteration in my writing.
My target:

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