ESL Writing: Introduction to Similes and Metaphors

This ESL writing exercise introduces students to similes and metaphors. Several sentences are presented, and students must identify whether they are similes or metaphors.

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Topic Sentences: Analogies (Similes and Metaphors)

When you write a topic sentence, you can often use analogies to make it more interesting. An analogy is when you say one thing is something else. For example:

• • My father is a bear in the morning. (Your father is not really a bear, so this is an analogy.)
  • My sister is like an angel in my life. (Your sister is not really an angel, so this is an analogy.)

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There are two kinds of analogies that we often use: Similes and Metaphors.

Similes use the words “like” or “as”:

• • My sister is like an angel in my life.
  • My bedroom is like a box of silence in a noisy world.
  • My father is angry as a bear when he wakes up.

Metaphors do not use “like” or “as”:

• • My father is a bear in the morning.
  • This food is trash.
  • My grandfather is superman.
  • My teacher is the devil!

Read these analogies. Write “S” if it is a simile or “M” if it is a metaphor.

1. _____ My life is a dream.

2. _____ Math is like a puzzle that never ends.

3. _____ My mother is an angel, always watching over me.

4. _____ Love is a flower that grows and becomes more and more beautiful.

5. _____ My mother is beautiful, with hair that is soft as a cloud.

6. _____ This city is a sea of sadness.

7. _____ The ocean waves hit the beach like a thousand hammers.

8. _____ My wife is the light in my life.

9. _____ Watch out for John. He is a sneaky snake.

10. _____ When my brother fell, he howled like a wolf.