Sensory Details

Sensory Details

What are sensory details

Sensory details use the five sense (sight, touch, taste, sound, smell) to make writing more descriptive.

Multiple Choice

What are sensory details?

• Details that share personal opinions

• Details used to appeal to your five sense

• Details used to confuse you

Multiple Select

Which of the following are senses?

• nose

• sight

• ears

• smell

Sensory words for sight

• blurred

• sparkling

• glossy

• faint

Sensory words for smell

• aroma

• pungent

• whiff

• rank

Sensory words for taste

• bitter

• piquant

• sugary

• vinegary

Sensory words for touch

• fluffy

• coarse

• slimy

• prickly

Sensory words for sound

• bellow

• murmur

• whimper

• rant

Poll

Which sentence best displays the use of sensory details?

• My sister and I walked along the boardwalk each afternoon of our vacation. We watched the ocean and listened to the waves.

• My sister and I walked along the boardwalk one afternoon on our vacation. The hot boards warmed our bare feet. We watched the foam-covered waves topple over each other and then slide back into sea. The crashing water competed with the exuberant yells from the seagulls.

Multiple Choice

Which sentence best displays the use of sensory details?

• The dog barks loud.

• The howling dog can be heard from blocks away.

Vivid and Vague Language

AKA Show and Tell

• Vague Language is language that lacks descriptors (tells)

• Vivid Language uses sensory details that lends to concrete, concise writing. (shows)

Multiple Choice

Vivid or vague:

The pale turkey slices floated limply in a pool of murky fat.

• Vivid

• Vague

Multiple Choice

What sense is the sentence appealing to:

The pale turkey slices floated limply in a pool of murky fat.

• sight

• smell

• taste

• touch

• no clue

Open Ended

How do you know that sense is being emphasized? (what clues are given in the sentence)

The pale turkey slices floated limply in a pool of murky fat.

Multiple Choice

Vivid or Vague

The sprinkler was refreshing.

• vague

• vivid

Multiple Choice

What sense is the sentence appealing to?

The sprinkler was refreshing.

• smell

• sight

• touch

• taste

• no clue

Open Ended

How do you know that sense is being emphasized? (what clues are given in the sentence)

The sprinkler was refreshing.

Open Ended

Read the sentence below. Rewrite it to appeal to smell.

The baby wore a soiled pamper.

Open Ended

Read the sentence below. Rewrite it to include descriptors that appeal to the readers sight:

The man looked dirty.

Don't USE sensory details when...

• Too many adjectives—use the MOST powerful

• Too many adverbs—verbs are stronger than adverbs. 

• Clichéd figures of speech—overused language, such as green with envy, signals a lack of imagination. 

Resources

https://www.iup.edu/writingcenter/writing-resources/organization-and-structure/descriptive-writing/#:~:text=Sensory%20Details,sketch%20an%20impression%20in%20writing.&text=Now%2C%20consider%20this%20paragraph%20with,smell%2C%20taste%2C%20and%20touch.