Term and Definition
Mentor Text Example
“barren blue sky” — Andrew Bridge, Hope’s
Alliteration: a poetic or literary effect achieved by using Boy
several words that begin with the same or similar
consonants, as in "Whither wilt thou wander, wayfarer?"
Simile: a figure of speech that draws a comparison
between two different things, especially a phrase
containing the word "like" or "as," e.g. "as white as a
sheet" or “runs like the wind”
“entire coffee cake, a few cheeses, a platter of
cold cuts” — Ruth Reichl, Tender to the Bone
“Her hands like doves on the encyclopedia” —
Gary Soto, “That Girl”
“patrolled the infield like a flamingo with sore
knees” — J R Moehringer, A Tender Bar
“It was this lottery of violence that haunted me.”
Metaphor: a figure of speech in which a word or phrase — Jack Gantos, Hole in My Life
is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally
applicable: “I had fallen through a trapdoor of
“And fractions, the inside of a pocket
depression.”
watch
spilled on my desk.” — Gary Soto, “That Girl”
Hyperbole: exaggerations use to create emphasis or
effect. "The bag weighed a ton."
“Steve wielded a wooden bat the size of a
telephone pole” — J R Moehringer, A Tender
Bar
“He’s a strong SOB—could strangle the life out
of a cow.” — Jack Gantos, Hole in My Life
Student Attempt at Example
Term and Definition
Mentor Text Example
Personification: giving human characteristics (or
characteristics assumed to belong only to humans) to
non-human things, non-living things. “The sun smiled
down warm beams of sunshine.”
“the great shining vistas of distant horizons
gleamed and beckoned.”
(to beckon is to gesture to someone to come;
only people beckon)
— Ira Wagler, Growing Up Amish
CAPITAL LETTERS: using all capital letters to show
strong emotion or strength of sound. “The food was
DISGUSTING,” or “The lightening EXPLODED
through the quiet patter of rain.”
“I WAS ON FIRE.” — Jeannette Walls, The
Glass Castle
Line Length: intentionally “breaking” or ending a line
to create emphasis. To create a line break, you must hit
the return key on the computer.
Word Position: Either moving words close together or
far apart to create an effect. “May I pleasepleaseplease
pleaseplease have a pony?” or “ I
can’t
make
it
an
other
step.”
“My long journey had just begun.”
(this was written as an entire paragraph)
— Ira Wagler, Growing Up Amish
No examples were present in our mentor texts.
Student Attempt at Example