Sensory Details
SHOW VS. TELL
Sensory Details – What and Why?
 Sensory details include words that describe sights,
sounds, smells, tastes and feelings of the setting,
characters and interactions.
 Sensory details allow the reader to put themselves
into your story mentally by forming a picture in
his/her mind.
 Without sensory details, the reader becomes bored
and cannot emotionally connect to the story.
Example
 Boring sentence: It was a cold, fall morning at Leo
Hayes High School.
 New Sensory details added: The frigid morning air
and dense gray fog did not stop Jane from inhaling
the fresh smell of rain from the damp concrete and
yelling across the Leo Hayes parking lot, “Good
morning Joe!”
 Notice that the boring sentence tells us what is
happening, while the new sentences shows us
what is happening.
Activity
 In your small groups, you are going to transform
some boring sentences into new, exciting sentences,
rich with sensory detail.
 Prizes will be given for the best sentences!
 It was a nice day at the beach.
 The cookies were good.
 English class is fun!