Q.1
What does it mean to write a 'sensory' description?
  • To write a sensible description of a particular scene
  • To write a sensational, exaggerated description of a scene
  • To describe the scene in a way that makes sense
  • To include details about the scene which relate to the senses
Q.2
What is the aim or purpose of writing descriptively?
  • To explain how a phenomenon occurs
  • To make the reader feel present in the scene; to evoke a feeling
  • To persuade your reader to take action
  • To tell a story
Q.3
In Charlie Connelly's , we read this description of the approach to the town, Haugesund:  'The roaring wind buffeted my progress and caused the sea to boil away to my left in huge fans of spume.  The tarmac wound between enormous rocks and the wind whistled tunelessly through the coarse, flattened grass.  Somewhere in the distance a rope clanged against a flagpole...'  Which word best describes the mood evoked by this description?
  • Joyful
  • Despairing
  • Solitary
  • Excited
Q.4
'When the hard clay is swept clean as a floor and the fine sand around the edges lined with tiny, irregular grooves, anyone can come and sit and look up into the elm tree and wait for the breezes that never come inside the house.'  In Alice Walker's description of the 'outdoor living room', from 'Everyday Use', which words are adjectives?
  • swept, lined, come, sit, look, wait, come
  • clay, floor, sand, edges, grooves, elm, tree, breezes, house
  • hard, clean, fine, tiny, irregular
  • when, as, around, with, up, into, for, inside
Q.5
In the opening chapter to John Steinbeck's , we find this description:  'A stilted heron labored up into the air and pounded down river.'   This is a good example of...
  • choosing verbs with precision
  • using plenty of adjectives
  • using powerful adverbs
  • All of the above
Q.6
Calpurnia's character description describes her hand as being 'wide as a bed-slat and twice as hard'.  What does this description accomplish?
  • It gives the reader an image of Calpurnia and hints that she has slapped the narrator before
  • It tells the reader that Calpurnia is old
  • It tells the reader that Calpurnia doesn't like the narrator
  • It hints that Calpurnia is gentle and good-natured
Q.7
Which of the following would be most effective?
  • Describing only the overall impression given by the scene
  • Spending an equal amount of time describing every aspect of the scene
  • Describing both the overall picture as well as aspects of the scene, gradually homing in
  • Focussing only on the important detail, while ignoring the rest of the scene
Q.8
In Louis Sachar's novel, , the narrator's wealthy uncle attends a bridge club which is described this way:  'If you were expecting a fancy club, with plush carpeting, leather chairs, wood paneling, and people sipping brandy and smoking cigars as they discuss the stock market, then you've come to the wrong place.'  What is the effect of this description?
  • It tells the reader that the wealthy uncle would prefer nice surroundings
  • It does not tell the reader anything
  • It describes the wealthy uncle's bridge club exactly
  • It allows you to build the image of the 'fancy' club in your head before dismissing it
Q.9
Descriptive writing often makes use of figurative language.  Which of the following is NOT an example of figurative language?
  • Simile
  • Caesura
  • Metaphor
  • Personification
Q.10
In Harper Lee's , the servant Calpurnia is described thus:  'She was all angles and bones; she was near-sighted; she squinted; her hand was wide as a bed-slat and twice as hard.'  Which of the following examples of figurative language has Lee used here?
  • Simile
  • Metaphor
  • Personification and Metaphor
  • Simile and Metaphor
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