1. ASManager2_6.zip Driver
2. D_DESC.txt File Contents

D_DESC.txt Driver File Contents (ASManager2_6.zip)

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Descriptive Language

Good descriptive language can make the reader feel, see, hear, smell, and taste what the author is describing. As you read the passage below, let yourself "experience" what is happening.

The passage is from A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle. As you read it, notice how she uses descriptive language to get across the idea of IT.

As she continued to step slowly forward, at last she realized what the Thing on the dais was.

IT was a brain.

A disembodied brain. An oversized brain, just enough larger than normal to be completely revolting and terrifying. A living brain. A brain that pulsed and quivered, that seized and commanded. No wonder the brain was called IT. IT was the most horrible, the most repellent thing she had ever seen, far more nauseating than anything she had ever imagined with her conscious mind, or that had ever tormented her in her most terrible nightmares.

Excerpted from A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle.
Copyright 1962 by Madeleine L'Engle Franklin. Reproduced
by permission of Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, Inc.


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At the marker below, describe how you felt as you "experienced" IT.

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Name and save this file now. (Press ctrl+S, type a name for the file, and press enter.)

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Now let's see how important descriptive language is. Another copy of the description of IT appears below. Delete some of the descriptive words that made you feel the way you did as you read the paragraph.

For Example:

"an oversized brain"

Might Become:

"a brain"

In some cases you may also want to replace adjectives and adverbs with less descriptive words, or remove them altogether.

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"As she continued to step slowly forward, at last she realized what the Thing on the dais was.

IT was a brain.

A disembodied brain. An oversized brain, just enough larger than normal to be completely revolting and terrifying. A living brain. A brain that pulsed and quivered, that seized and commanded. No wonder the brain was called IT. IT was the most horrible, the most repellent thing she had ever seen, far more nauseating that anything she had ever imagined with her conscious mind, or that had ever tormented her in her most terrible nightmares."


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Reread your modified paragraph. Have your partner or a friend read it. Did you manage to change the mood created by L'Engle?

Now let's change the mood of the paragraph further. A third copy of the paragraph is shown below. Replace some of the descriptive words in this paragraph with new ones. Choose words that will turn the brain into a lovely, friendly, cute little IT.

"As she continued to step slowly forward, at last she realized what the Thing on the dais was.

IT was a brain.

A disembodied brain. An oversized brain, just enough larger than normal to be completely revolting and terrifying. A living brain. A brain that pulsed and quivered, that seized and commanded. No wonder the brain was called IT. IT was the most horrible, the most repellent thing she had ever seen, far more nauseating that anything she had ever imagined with her conscious mind, or that had ever tormented her in her most terrible nightmares."


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Reread your modified paragraph. Have your partner or a friend read it. Did you manage to turn IT into something cuddly and sweet -- a special present for your best friend, perhaps? If not, go back and work on IT some more.

Now use some of L'Engle's descriptive language to create your own paragraph. Choose something other than a brain to describe, but use the six words below in your paragraph. You can also add some of your own descriptive words.

revolting horrible repellent
terrifying terrible nauseating

Subject of My Paragraph

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Descriptive Paragraph

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If you haven't done so already, name and save this file now. (Press ctrl+S, type a name for the file, and press enter.)

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end of activity
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