Similes and metaphors in writing
English · Key Stage 2 · The School
Two ways to compare
A SIMILE compares using "like" or "as": "as fast as a cheetah", "ran like the wind". A METAPHOR compares by saying one thing simply IS the other: "a cheetah on the pitch", "he was the wind". Both create a picture in the reader's mind, without needing a long explanation, and both are far more vivid than simply saying "fast" or "quick".
Simile, step by step
Pick something ordinary — "the rain". Pick a comparison — "nails". Join them with "like" or "as": "the rain fell like nails" or "the rain was as sharp as nails". That is a simile, built from two ordinary pieces put next to each other, with a joining word holding them apart.
Metaphor, step by step
Take the same rain and nails. Drop the "like" or "as": "nails fell from the sky". That is a metaphor — bolder and more direct than the simile, because it does not soften the comparison with a joining word standing between the two ideas, leaving them pressed right together.
For a gentle, calm description, a simile is often softer: "the sea was as calm as glass". For a sudden, dramatic moment, a metaphor can hit harder: "the sea was glass, unbroken and still". Try both for the same idea — a roaring fire. Simile: "the fire roared like a lion". Metaphor: "the fire was a lion, pacing and hungry". Read both aloud. Notice which one feels stronger, and which feels gentler. Neither is always better — the choice depends on the effect you want the reader to feel, in that exact moment of the story.