Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery

The popular saying “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” was first coined by Charles Caleb Colton. Imitation writing is taking the work of a 'master' writer and using the structure and patterns as a form to learn and work from. Together we analyze the features of a writer's poem focusing on the language and style of the original writer. The students then create their own parody of the poem based on the original model. By imitating good writing, the students will become better writers themselves.

We read the book "Quick as a Cricket" written by Audrey Wood to try our hand at imitation writing. We analyzed Ms. Wood's writing and talked about the language and style that she used throughout the book. The students noticed that she used an ABCB rhyming pattern (the second and fourth line of every stanza rhymed). They also noticed that each stanza has two sets of opposites, the first two lines and the last two line. The coolest thing about this book is that it is all written using similes!

After analyzing the language and style we were ready to start writing our own stories. I will upload them to a link on the right when we complete them.