Help With Alliteration in Poetry: Writing Tips for Students
Tips for Using Alliteration
A poetry assignment can be troublesome to some students. However, writing poetry is really not difficult. Use the poetry technique of alliteration to add interest to your poem.
Chose a Focus or Topic
Don’t stare at a blank piece of paper for an hour. Write something on it to get started. This is called brainstorming, and it works when writing any genre (A genre is a type of writing). If your teacher asked you to write a poem, think about topics you like, such as sports, friendship, fishing, skateboarding, video games, drawing, texting, etc.
Once you have chosen a topic, make a list of what is interesting, fun and/or exciting about the topic. Now, you have a list of words you can use in your poem.
Write the Poem
When writing a poem, you can follow the rules for a specific kind of poem, such as Haiku, Tanka, Cinquain, Sonnet, etc. Or, you can write a free verse poem. Another tip is to find poems that inspire you. Remember, inspiring is different than copying.
Whatever you choose, remember that poetry says a lot with less. Be choosey with your word selection. If you choose a free verse poem, many teachers want to see at least six lines, but going over 20 is overkill.
What is Alliteration?
Adding alliteration adds style to your poem, and it sounds interesting too. Alliteration is when several words in a line or stanza of a poem begin with the same consonant. The most famous alliterative verses are tongue twisters, such as Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. But, don’t use that many same sounding consonants in your poem. Remember, be choosey.
For practice, take one consonant and write a sentence using as many words that you can with that letter.
Example: Terry Tucker took her tarantula to the theater on Thursday.
Using Alliteration
Now that you know what alliteration is, check your poem and see if you used it naturally. If not, start playing with the words in the poem and add in alliteration. Remember, the poem should sound interesting but not like a tongue twister.
Get it Checked
Peer evaluations or allowing parents to see a draft can always improve a poem. If you want a top grade, allow someone who you trust to check your work. It can really mean the difference when writing poetry.
This post is part of the series: Poetry Help
When teachers assign you to write a poem, don’t worry. Try these tips and ideas from this series of lessons on poetry.
