What language techniques should I use to make my writing more engaging?

Hi Oma,

As a reader I want to be immersed in the imaginary world that you are creating. Use the senses to allow me to share your reality. Perhaps there are smells, sounds, sights and textures that will bring your writing to life and captivate your reader? These might lead you to use similes and metaphors that encourage the reader to compare your world with their own. This will encourage us to be engaged not just with our minds but with our feelings too.

The art of keeping your reader guessing by dropping clues is called foreshadowing. It suggests that something is going to change. It is another skill worth developing to engage and hold our interest.

This is an excellent question and one that I could happily expand upon further.

I hope that helps for now.

Best wishes

Julia Homan

English Language Tutor

Especially for poetry or stories it can help to use metaphors, similes, personification and so on, just to create a more engaging or ‘unique’ perspective to your writing! Good luck! ☺️

Hello Oma - In order to make your writing more engaging you should begin by considering the reader as they are much more likely to be engaged if your piece feels relevant to them. Be clear about what you want to say and spend some time planning before you make a start. A strong introduction should serve as the shop window for your piece as the reader should be able to see your clear signposting and outline of the structure. If you are writing a creative piece be descriptive, invoking multiple senses by immersing the reader in the sights, sounds, scents, tastes, and tactile sensations of your story. Don't forget to create intriguing characters who evoke strong emotions through their actions/voice. For answering essay questions, make your writing flow by using connectives and signposting. The reader should know that you have not just read, but have also understood the question. Your introduction should indicate that you have a thesis statement developed from the question. Remember to use PEEL paragraphs. Point to the question, provide Examples, then Explain their relevance, and finally, Link back to the question. By using this method your essay will remain focused and in doing so will engage the reader.

You should try to include a range of devices such as; adverbs, adjectives, metaphors, similes, onomatopoeia, alliteration, speech, personification and assonance. Using a range of different sentence structures also helps to improve the quality of your writing.