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I can create effective sound imagery in my writing.

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Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2023), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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Key learning points

You can use aural imagery to help the reader to imagine the sounds of a scene clearly.
Onomatopoeia needs precise, interesting vocabulary, in order to make it sound sophisticated rather than clichéd.
You can describe sounds using adjectives or a simile to help create interesting aural imagery.
Sounds have names (e.g. plosive, sibilant, nasal) and each one can be used to create different effects.
Describing the development of sound can make your scene description more convincing.

Common misconception

We need to describe sounds in a scene merely to tick off the fact we have used sensory language.

Thinking of scenarios where sound is particularly important can help us to use sound imagery more effectively.

Keywords

Sound imagery - sound imagery describes things we hear to transport the reader to a scene
Onomatopoeia - when you use words that include sounds that are similar to the noises the words refer to
Alliteration - repeating similar sounds in neighbouring words throughout a sentence

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Hello, welcome to today's lesson on creating interesting sound imagery in our creative writing.

I'm Miss Sutherland and I'll be teaching you today.

Our learning outcome for today is to be able to create effective sound imagery in our writing.

We'll be looking at techniques such as onomatopoeia and alliteration, and we'll be trying to use these effectively.

Let's go through our three key terms for today's lesson.

Our first is sound imagery.

Sound imagery describes things we hear to transport the reader to a scene.

So sound imagery describes noises within a scene in great detail, in order to make the reader feel like they are part of that scene too.

Onomatopoeia is when the writer uses words that include sounds that are similar to the noises the words refer to, an example of onomatopoeia is the word crash, because the words crash creates the same sound as something actually crashing.

Alliteration, alliteration is repeating similar sounds in neighbouring words throughout a sentence.

So we might say the slippery snake slid, that uses alliteration because it repeats the \"s\" sound.

Pause the video and reflect upon those three key terms now, off you go.

Let's move on to our learning cycles for today then.

First, we're going to learn how to use sound imagery effectively.

We're going to learn how to use onomatopoeia and alliteration side by side to create an effect in our writing.

And in the second learning cycle, we'll look at how we can craft our sentences with interesting sound imagery.

So let's start off with learning how to use sound imagery effectively.

Sound imagery is about helping your reader to clearly imagine the sounds of a scene.

We can create powerful sound imagery by: using onomatopoeia, using alliteration, and describing how a sound develops.

Let's begin by looking at onomatopoeia.

Discuss now in your own words what is onomatopoeia? Pause the video and discuss.

Onomatopoeia is when you use words that include sounds that are similar to the noises the words refer to.

For example, the word sizzle, actually evokes an image of something sizzling due to the \"z\" sound.

Discuss now, which of these words use onomatopoeia and which do not? Your words are box, hiss, splash, alarm, bell, crunch, loud, and crackle.

Pause the video and discuss which of those words use onomatopoeia, off you go.

Let's go through what you might have said.

Hiss, splash, crunch, and crackle all use onomatopoeia.

Let's really listen to these words so we can understand exactly how they use onomatopoeia, hiss, splash, crunch, crackle.

Notice how the sounds that are emphasised in those words as we read them, reflect the sound they actually describe.

Now, when we are using onomatopoeia, we need to make sure our sentences are sophisticated.

So let's look at two examples and discuss which use of onomatopoeia is more sophisticated.

Example A, Bang! The gunfire in the distance woke them out of a blissful sleep.

And example, B, the lethal hiss of artillery stole into our blissful sleep.

Which use of onomatopoeia is more sophisticated, is it example A or is it example B? Try to justify your answer.

Pause the video and discuss.

Now, Example B is more effective for two reasons.

It uses an adjective to add precision and detail to the sound.

It uses the word lethal to describe the hiss, and it extends the effect of the onomatopoeia by repeating a similar sound.

And we know when we repeat sounds, it is called alliteration, so it uses onomatopoeia and alliteration together.

I want you to discuss, in example B, which sound is repeated and where is it repeated? Can you spot the alliteration in example B? Pause the video and discuss.

You may have said that this \"s\" sound is repeated.

We see that through the lethal hiss of artillery stole into our blissful sleep, so the \"s\" sound is repeated in example B, therefore, the writer has used alliteration, and it's a special type of alliteration called sibilance when we repeat the \"s\" sound.

So remember then, in order to make your onomatopoeia appear more effective, use an adjective to add precision and detail to the sound, and combine it with alliteration.

Now, as we've just mentioned, there are different types of sound we can create in our writing and they each have a different effect.

So we've just looked at sibilance, we've looked at the repetition of the \"s\" sound, but what is the effect of sibilance? Sibilance creates a hissing effect and it can also create a menacing or soft tone depending on how you use it.

We also have nasal sounds created with the \"m\" and \"n\" sounds, nasal sounds create a humming effect, and they create a quiet, monotonous tone.

We also have plosive sounds like \"b, k, p, and d,\" and plosive sounds have an abrupt effect or a harsh effect, and they can convey anger or violence in our writing.

So play around with these sounds in your writing and see how you can create different moods by using them.

Now let's check your understanding of what we've discussed.

Which type of sound is most likely to have a menacing effect? Is it a plosive sound, a nasal sound, or a sibilant sound? Pause the video and answer that question.

Well done if you said a sibilant sound is most likely to have a menacing effect.

Remember, we said sibilance is the repetition of the \"s\" sound, and quite often, we associate \"s\" with this imagery of slimness, of a snake of being menacing.

Of course, sibilance can also have a soft effect, but that depends on the words in which we use and the context in which we use the sibilance.

Now, Wilfred Owen uses interesting onomatopoeia and sound imagery in his poem, \"Dolce et Decorum Est.\" Here's one of his sentences from that poem, \"Knock-need, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge.\" Discuss the following now, which word uses onomatopoeia? What sound is repeated? What type of sound is repeated? Is it sibilant, nasal, or plosive? And why do you think Owen chose to repeat this sound? Pause the video and discuss those questions, off you go.

Now, you may have noticed that the onomatopoeic word is coughing.

If we say coughing, and we pronounce it very harshly, we can notice that that word coughing, sounds or reflects someone actually coughing.

Now for what sound is repeated? The sound that is repeated in this sentence is the \"c\" sound, we have coughing and cursed.

And what type of sound is this? Owen repeats the plosive sound \"c\" in that sentence.

And why do you think Owen chose to repeat this sound? Well, we know plosive sounds have a harsh, abrupt effect, and can convey violence.

So potentially, Owen uses the plosive \"c\" sound in his sentence to reflect the harsh and brutal environment of the battlefield.

Now I want you to rewrite the sentences below improving them by either describing the onomatopoeia in more detail with an adjective or simile, or extend the effect of the sound imagery by adding words with a similar sound effect into the sentence.

If you're feeling up to it and quite confident, you could try to do both.

You could try to improve the sentences in both ways.

Here are your sentences to improve.

Number 1, the hum of the jet grew closer.

Number 2, the radio crackled, and Number 3, leaves crackled beneath her feet as she made her escape.

Pause the video and rewrite those three sentences now, off you go.

I am really impressed by the way in which you've been able to make those sentences so much more powerful by using what we've learned.

Let's take a look at some ideas now.

The hum of the jet grew closer.

You could change that to, the obstinate hum of the jet grew closer, numbing our ears to any threats.

In that sentence, we've been able to add an adjective in front of the word hum, to make it more precise and detailed, and we've also been able to add a word with a similar sound effect, numbing.

Number 2, the radio crackled.

We could have changed that to the radio crackled bringing bad news that stuck to them like wax.

So in that sentence, what we've done is we have added another plosive sound.

So crackled is a explosive, it uses \"c\" repeatedly, but we've also added bringing bad news and that adds to the plosive sound and the harsh effect of that sentence.

Number 3, leaves crunched beneath her feet.

We could have changed that to the crisp autumn leaves crunched beneath her boots.

In the revised sentence, we've used the \"c\" sound again to add to the sound imagery.

Well done, on rewriting those sentences.

Let's move on now to crafting a paragraph with interesting sound imagery.

Sound imagery can have the most impact when we use it in a context in which sound is very important.

So discuss now, in which scenarios would sound be very important? So what could be going on in the world or where could this scene be set to make sound be of vital importance? Pause the video and discuss.

You might have said, being in a forest at night with impending threat, it would be vitally important for a person in that scenario to listen out for sounds.

Sound would be really important when navigating a busy road.

Sound would be important if you're hiding from someone, especially if you're hiding from a threat.

And hearing the phone ring in anticipation of an important call, sound might be really intensified, and important in that scenario too.

So when you use sound imagery in your writing, try to use it at a point in your narrative that sound is really important for.

We can consider also, how a sound develops to make our use of sound imagery convincing.

Consider this method when using sound imagery.

You could first describe how the sound starts, next, describe how the sound travels or develops.

And lastly, describe the climax of the sound, how is the sound at its most intense? By following those three steps, we can make the sound really convincing for our reader.

Let's take the example of being in a forest at night with an impending threat.

Let's look at how we can use that structure to make this sound more convincing.

So how does this sound start and who hears it? In the thick of the forest, they hear the first crunch of leaves.

So that is the sound at its least intense.

Now, how does the sound travel or develop? As it slowly approaches, branches snap underneath its weight.

So here we're introduced to something that is making that crunch, making that snapping sound in the forest.

And how does it sound at its most intense? Each heavy footstep sounds like bones cracking under pressure.

So see how we build up tension by using that structure too.

Now what might you describe last if you want to build up a convincing idea of sound for the reader? Pause the video and answer that question.

If you want to build up a convincing idea of sound for the reader, you might describe the sound at its most intense last.

This allows the reader to learn about the sound at the same pace as the characters do.

and it also allows you to build tension in your narrative.

Now, I want you to write one paragraph describing this scene and I want you to use sound imagery.

Your checklist is on the right.

I want you to use interesting onomatopoeia.

You could also use an adjective to make your onomatopoeic word more precise and detailed.

I also want you to use alliteration, and I want you to describe how the sound develops.

So remember, start off by describing the sound at its least intense, and gradually build up to describing the sound at its most intense.

That's a way to make that sound really come alive for your reader.

Think about what sound might awake the soldier in that picture.

Or perhaps, you describe a sound in his dreams. You can be as creative as you want for this task.

Pause the video and get writing, off you go.

Well done, on your effort in that writing task.

Now, I want you to re-read your work and I want you to highlight which elements from the checklist you have met.

Have you used interesting onomatopoeia? And have you added adjectives to describe your sound to make it more precise and detailed? Have you used alliteration, and do you know which type you've used? And have you also described how the sound develops? Pause the video and reflects upon your work now, off you go.

Brilliant effort there, I'm really impressed by how you've been able to use sound imagery in your own writing.

Here's what we've learned in today's lesson.

You can use sound imagery to help the reader to imagine the sounds of a scene clearly.

Onomatopoeia needs precise, interesting vocabulary, in order to make it more sophisticated rather than cliched.

You can describe sounds using adjectives or a simile to help create interesting sound imagery.

Sounds have names, for example, plosive, sibilant, and nasal, and each one can be used to create different effects.

And describing the development of a sound can make your scene description more convincing.

Thank you so much for joining me in today's lesson, I hope you're more confident with using sound imagery in your work, and I hope you'll join me for another lesson soon.

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