Practise explaining how a writer's word choices create effects. Work through each before revealing our notes; all lines here are our own original writing.
1Read this original line: 'The lift jerked, then hung in the dark shaft, humming to itself while the numbers refused to move.' Explain how two of the writer's word choices suggest tension.
Show plan, model opening & checklist
Plan: Choose two loaded words ('jerked', 'hung', 'refused'). For each, say what it makes you picture and feel, then link it to tension.
Model opening: The verb 'jerked' suggests a sudden, violent movement, as if the lift itself is uneasy, and this jolt unsettles the reader before the stillness that follows.
Checklist:
- Quotes short words, not whole lines
- Explains effect, not just meaning
- Links the choice to a feeling or picture
- Uses tentative verbs like 'suggests'
2Using this original sentence: 'By noon the river had swallowed the low path and was fingering at the doorsteps.' Explain how the writer makes the flood feel threatening.
Show plan, model opening & checklist
Plan: Focus on the personification ('swallowed', 'fingering'). Explain what each verb makes the river seem to be doing and why it feels menacing.
A trial lesson can start from your child's attempt at Writer's effects practice tasks, with feedback from an experienced teacher.
Model opening: 'Swallowed' gives the river a hungry, animal quality, as though it consumes the path deliberately rather than merely covering it.
Checklist:
- Identifies the technique by its effect, not label alone
- Zooms in on precise words
- Explains the menace, not just the image
- Keeps quotations brief
3From this original description: 'The classroom smelt of chalk dust and old radiators, and the clock ticked as if counting down to something.' Explain how the writer creates atmosphere.
Show plan, model opening & checklist
Plan: Comment on the sensory detail (smell) and the simile on the clock. Say how each shapes the mood.
Model opening: The smell of 'chalk dust and old radiators' roots the scene in something tired and familiar, so the room feels stale and worn before anything happens.
Checklist:
- Comments on more than one choice
- Names the sense or device by its effect
- Explains atmosphere precisely
- Avoids simply retelling the sentence
See the worked annotated model response for writer's effects, or the method in our writer's effects skills guide.