Figurative language. Figurative language, or figures of speech, can paint a detailed and vivid picture by making striking comparisons between something you are writing about and something else that helps a reader visualize, identify with, or understand it (20d).

Figures of speech include metaphors, similes, and analogies. Most simply, metaphors compare two things directly: Richard the Lion-Hearted; old age is the evening of life. Similes make comparisons using like or as: Richard is as brave as a lion; old age is like the evening of life. Analogies are extended metaphors or similes that compare an unfamiliar concept or process to a more familiar one.

Visuals can also create vivid comparisons. The panels on p. 136 come from a cartoon from Tom Tomorrow’s comic strip, This Modern World, called “If Real Life Were More Like the Internet.” Tomorrow, whose work appears regularly online, suggests in these panels that digital content has value, just as physical products and services do—and that those who create such content should be able to earn a living from it. Tomorrow adds emotional weight to the comparison by making the cartoon characters who want free content seem selfish and blind to the needs of those who serve them.

A Visual That Creates a Vivid Comparison