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Writing a "Showing" Paragraph
When you write to "show" instead of "tell," you use sensory details so that readers can see, hear, smell, taste, and touch the experience for themselves. Read the paragraph below. Then check the sensory chart to see the details that make this description vivid.
Showing Paragraph
The rumbling grew as our raft bobbed toward the drop in the river. The air moistened and smelled of morning dew. Ahead of us, copper water plunged down a set of boiling rapids, which carved their curving way among jagged cliffs. My mouth went dry with a tang of fear. “Hold on, everybody!” I shouted.
Sensory Details
Sight |
Sound |
Smell |
Taste |
Touch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Copper water Curving river Jagged cliffs |
Rumbling Boiling “Hold on, everybody!” |
Morning dew |
Tang of fear |
Bobbing raft Moist air Dry mouth |
Your Turn Create your own sensory chart and fill it with sensory details about your surroundings. (You can also download the sensory chart template and fill it in.) Then write a paragraph using the sensory details to describe your surroundings.
Writing a "Showing" Paragraph by Thoughtful Learning is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at k12.thoughtfullearning.com/minilesson/writing-showing-paragraph.