The document describes five basic brush strokes or grammar techniques that can be used to improve writing by making it more descriptive: 1) the participle, which uses -ing or -ed verbs at the beginning or end of sentences; 2) the absolute, which combines a noun with a participle; 3) the appositive, which adds a second image to a preceding noun; 4) shifting adjectives out of order; and 5) replacing passive verbs with active verbs to energize descriptions. Examples are provided to illustrate how each technique can enrich writing. Readers are then invited to try applying several brush strokes to sample image descriptions.

1. Five Basic Brush Strokes
Improve your writing and appreciate the art
of grammar by painting with words.
Prepared by Logan Aimone
University of Chicago Laboratory High School
Source: Image Grammar by Harry R. Noden

2. 1. Participle

3. The Participle
• A participle is an -ing verb tagged on the
beginning or end of a sentence.
• A participle can also use the -ed form instead
of -ing.

4. The Participle
• Basic sentence:
The diamond-scaled snakes attacked their
prey.
• Sentence with brush stroke applied:
Hissing, slithering and coiling,
the diamond-scaled snakes attacked
their prey.

5. The Participle
• Now, see how it looks with two participial
phrases added to the original sentence:
• Sentence with brush stroke applied:
Hissing their forked red tongues and coiling
their cold bodies, the diamond-scaled snakes
attacked their prey.

6. The Participle
• Both methods — adding several participles or
adding one or two participial phrases — paint
more detailed pictures.
• The participle also allows for more detail to be
packed into the sentence.

7. The Participle
• Take this example:
Shifting the weight of the line to his left shoulder
and kneeling carefully, he washed his hand in the
ocean and held it there, submerged, for more than a
minute, watching the blood trail away and the
steady movement of the water against his hand as
the boat moved.
Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea, pp. 56-57

8. 2. Absolute

9. The Absolute
• Close your eyes and visualize and picture a
mountain climber moving along a steep cliff.
• Visualize this one-sentence description:
The mountain climber edged along the cliff.

10. The Absolute
• The next brush stroke is simply a noun
combined with a participle (-ing or -ed).
• Eyes closed still…
The mountain climber edged along the cliff,
hands shaking, feet trembling.
• Or…
Hands shaking, feet trembling, the
mountain climber edged along the cliff.

11. The Absolute
• Basic sentence:
The cat climbed the tree.
• Sentence with brush stroke applied:
Claws digging, feet kicking, the cat climbed
the tree.

12. The Absolute
• Absolute phrases are also effective:
Feet trembling on the snow-covered rocks,
the mountain climber edged along the cliff.

13. The Absolute
• Take this example:
The mummy was moving. The mummy’s right arm
was outstretched, the torn wrappings hanging
from it, as the being stepped out of its gilded box!
The scream froze in her throat. The thing was
coming towards her — towards Henry, who stood
with his back to it — moving with a weak, shuffling
gait, that arm outstretched before it, the dust
rising from the rotting linen that covered it, a great
smell of dust and decay filling the room.
Anne Rice, The Mummy, pp. 72

14. 3. Appositive

15. The Appositive
• An appositive is a noun that adds a second
image to a preceding noun. Like the absolute,
the appositive expands details in the reader’s
imagination.

16. The Appositive
• Basic sentence:
The raccoon enjoys eating turtle eggs.
• Sentence with brush stroke applied:
The raccoon, a midnight scavenger who
roams lake shorelines in search of food,
enjoys eating turtle eggs.

17. The Appositive
• Take this example of how Cornelius Ryan uses
appositives in June 6, 1944: The Longest Day.
He could have written“A phalanx of ships and
planes bore down on Hitler’s Europe.”Instead,
Ryan expanded the image with appositives
and then extended the image with further
specific examples.

18. The Appositive
• Take this example:
Plowing through the choppy gray waters, a phalanx of
ships bore down on Hitler’s Europe: fast new attack
transports, slow rust-scarred freighters, small ocean
liners, channel steamers, hospital ships, weather-
beaten tankers, and swarms of fussing tugs. Barrage
balloons flew above the ships. Squadrons of fighter
planes weaved below the clouds. And surrounding this
cavalcade of ships packed with men, guns, tanks, and
motor vehicles, and supplies came a formidable array of
702 warships.
Cornelius Ryan, June 6, 1944: The Longest Day, p. 243

19. 4. Adjectives Shifted
Out of Order

20. Adjectives Shifted Out of Order
• Adjectives shifted out of order, used more
often by authors of fiction, amplify the details
of an image.
• Avoid the string of adjectives stacked up by
leaving one adjective in place and shifting
two others after the noun.

21. Adjectives Shifted Out of Order
• Basic sentence:
The large, red-eyed, angry bull moose
charged the intruder.
• Sentence with brush stroke applied:
The large bull moose, red-eyed and angry,
charged the intruder.

22. Adjectives Shifted Out of Order
• Take this example of three adjectives at
the end of a sentence to describe a
mysterious sound:
And then, suddenly, in the very dead of
the night, there came a sound to my
ears, clear, resonant, and unmistakable.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Hound of the Baskervilles, p. 72

23. Adjectives Shifted Out of Order
• Take this example:
I could smell Mama, crisp and starched,
plumping my pillow, and the cool muslin
pillowcase touched both my ears as the back
of my head sank into all those feathers.
Robert Newton Peck, A Day No Pigs Would Die, p. 12

24. 5. Action Verbs

25. Action Verbs
• Eliminate passive voice and reduce being
verbs to energize action images.
• Verbs of passive voice communicate no action
like a still photograph with the subject of the
action frozen with the prepositions by or with.

26. Action Verbs
• Basic sentence with being verb:
The gravel road was on the left side of the
barn.
• Sentence with brush stroke applied:
The gravel road curled around the left side of
the barn.

27. The 5 Brush Strokes: Review
• The participle
• The absolute
• The appositive
• Adjectives out of order
• Action verbs

28. The 5 Brush Strokes
Are you ready
to try them
for yourself?

29. Try the brush strokes
• Use at least two brush
strokes to describe
this deer. Consider the
appositive and
adjectives shifted out
of order.
29

30. Try the brush strokes
• Use at least two brush
strokes to describe
this waterfall. Consider
the participle and
action verbs.
30

31. Try the brush strokes
• Use at least two brush
strokes to describe
this cat. Consider the
absolute, participle
and action verbs.
31

32. Try the brush strokes
• Use at least four brush
strokes to describe
this sunset. Write at
least five sentences.
32

33. What do you think?
• What are your thoughts about seeing and
using the brush strokes?

34. On your own
• Take another look at a piece of writing you’ve
done for another assignment. Can you find a
way to improve the piece with one or more of
the brush strokes.
• Revise the piece and see how it changes.
• What are some of the effects on your writing
as a result?

35. On your own
• How can you improve your future writing by
using the brush strokes?
• Select two brush strokes and make a goal to
use them in your next writing task.