Using the five senses in 11 Plus writing

It’s Shrove Tuesday today, so if you plan on getting out the flour, milk and eggs tonight, why not say or write a few sentences too? 

A good piece of 11 Plus writing cannot neglect the five senses. Children can use their senses to imagine a setting, which helps them choose exciting things to describe. Using the five senses, they can also explain how a character experiences a scene.

Out of all the senses, students often discuss their difficulty distinguishing between taste and smell and how to use this in writing, and I can see why, as they are inextricably linked. So, smell and taste can use similar ideas.

I made some pancakes with my son for breakfast this morning, so the images are fresh. Here is a word list and an example sentence to get you going.

And, just to let you know, we gave our cooking efforts a solid 5 out of 10 (the pancakes were a little, no, a lot, underdone)!

Word and phrase list + example sentence

Sight 

• flaxen-gold pancake
• a burnt-umber crispiness laced the edge of the pancake
• singed walnut-brown edges
• custardy centre
• bubbling batter
• the crescent moon batter seeps across the pan
• the sickle-shaped batter warily crawled across the hot pan

Sound

• Sizzling butter
• Cracking eggs
• The sluggish batter gloops from the jug

Smell 

• Milky softness
• Sour batter
• Toasted
• Burnt
• Ribbons of sweet smoke lured me towards the pan

Taste

• a milky creaminess
• a cloying texture
• a prickly burnt edge
• syrupy honey
• viscous maple-syrup
• sour lemon hit my tongue
• the comforting warmth of the batter fills my mouth

Touch 

• Heavy frying pan
• Claggy batter
• Cool batter
• Scorching pan
• Blistering pan
• Tossing the pancake into the air
• Comforting warmth

Sentence example:

Crack! The final egg is added to the milky batter, and after some vigorous mixing, I pour it slowly and watch as it gloops from the jug. The claggy liquid forms a crescent moon before reluctantly seeping across the blistering pan.