Dragons!

Write a short description of this dragon. It should take about 4 or 5 sentences. Describe the size, shape, colour and body features. You only have 10 minutes.

In small groups, write as many words relating to dragons as you can colour, shape, size, movement, sounds, what they do etc.
When you have finished, get a dictionary and check your spelling.

Lets start by describing this dragon together orally.

First the size
Next the shape The wings

The features of the head

The legs The tail

Imagery through Adjectives and Adverbs

Using adjectives and adverbs is a great way to improve your writing, and you should try to use interesting ones, not boring predictable ones. The adjective usually goes really close to the noun and the adverb really close to the verb. See if you can come up with an imaginative adjective and adverb to put into these missing spaces.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

His eyes shone . The tongue flickered out .. Rows of .. teeth snapped .. Strings of .. saliva gleamed . A collar of spikes with webbing in between them flashed

Try some of your own

Write a sentence about each of the following

1. 2. 3. 4.

The claws The spread-out wings The head The tail

Next we will describe orally the actions and sounds of this dragon, how it moves, what it does, how the movements change the body. It walked .

Its lumbering tail

Its breath snickered . It made a rumbling It walked like a , putting .. Its wings .

As it walked, the wings

Your turn
Write rich sentences about the following:
The noise it made How it flew What it was doing

Write rich sentences about:

The noise it made

How it flew
What it was doing

Verbs must be vivacious!

Improve your writing dramatically by replacing tired, bread-and-butter verbs with sumptuous, scintillating ones. Instead of flying, fighting, roaring, biting
soaring, flapping, swooping, swirling, twisting, writhing, diving, plunging, tearing, snapping, snarling, grinding, tearing, rending, whipping, wrenching, stretching, clenching, folding, collapsing, fleeing, bolting, darting, feinting, ducking, gripping, grasping, snatching, whirling, striding, sinking, lowering, flowing, screeching, jarring, jangling, etching, burning, scorching, flipping, unfurling, swinging, slashing, echoing, hording, guarding, uncurling, extending, plucking etc. etc.

Improving Your Sentence Structure

Sometimes we can make better sentences just by joining two smaller sentences together. e.g. The dragon tore through the sky like a dart. Its voice shrieked harshly. Its eyes scanned the ground for food. becomes The dragon tore through the sky like a dart, its voice shrieking harshly as its eyes scanned the ground for food.

Join these sentences together

The dragon flew in lazy circles above the castle. It hung on a breeze. The light caught on its coasting wings.

The mist hung low over the mountains and trees below. The dragon flew high overhead. He was searching, ever searching.

The dragon swung down low over the water, sending small ripples across its surface. She hung on grimly. She hoped the journey would soon be over.

The dragon tugged on the chain binding it. It was eager to be off. The man on his back found his balance and gave the signal for release.

Sometimes we can improve our sentences just by changing around the order of the words.
The dragons swirled in a tangling mass over the deep chasm.

becomes
Over the deep chasm swirled a tangled mass of dragons.

Improve these sentences by changing around the order of the words (ensure it still makes sense and you have included all of the original ideas)

The warrior ran boldly towards the dragon raising his sword. The dragon turned its head and snarled at the sword flashing towards it. As it turned towards the man, the dragons tail lashed wildly and the creature raised its fearsome claws. The dragon reared up when it saw the warrior, and howled with anger.

One of the very best ways of using imagery in your writing is through using similes. A simile is where two things are compared, using the words like or as. For example
The dragons mouth was like the entrance to a dark and scary cave. or A single claw was as big as a hedgetrimmer

Similes

Your similes must be scrumptious and interesting, the more unusual the better - rich chocolate language, not plain bread and butter language. Compare your feature to something unusual that puts a great picture in the mind of the reader. Instead of

He flew across the sky.

it becomes

He lurched jaggedly across the fading night sky, spiralling haphazardly like a falling leaf

Similes
Finish these sentences with similes.

It rose into the sky like The egg casing fell apart like Its mouth snapped open like The wings unfurled like It slowly unfolded its legs making a sound like Its shriek pierced the falling night like Its wings creaked open like The chill wind whistled through its wings like It turned its fierce eyes and surveyed the world like The veins through its wings were like

Similes
Finish these sentences with similes.

Its claws were as sharp as Its eyes glittered like Its writhing tail curled like Its ears were as long and twisted as Its claws etched into the rocks like Its breath was as putrid as The flames were as hot as He stood his ground like It lunged towards him as quick as

Try some of your own . . .

Improve these sentences by writing a simile of your own. Remember, it must compare one thing to another, by using like or as and add an adjective or adverb as well.

The dragon held on to the crystal orb. The dragon guarded her egg.

The dragons wings were raised.

The dragon looked around her. The dragon emerged from the egg.

Write a short passage about each of these dragons, including adjectives, adverbs and possibly a simile.

Write a short description of this dragon. It should take about 4 or 5 sentences. Describe the size, shape, colour and body features. You only have 10 minutes.