How to use the SOAP Technique

Richard Gray
Sep 2, 2024
4 min read

Updated: Apr 27

By Richard Gray

Richard Gray is the founder of Crystal Tuition. He is a specialist Creative Writing tutor for students in Year 4 and Year 5.

In addition, Richard is committed to providing high-quality, free creative writing resources to students who are preparing for their 11+ exams.

I want to kick off (pun intended) this article with a quote by the famous martial artist, Bruce Lee:

"I fear not the man who has practised 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practised one kick 10,000 times."

That is to say, students who have mastered the SOAP technique and can deploy these literary devices appropriately and effectively, will do better than students who are using a wide range of more complex literary techniques but aren’t using them in an effective manner. Master the fundamentals! Get to grips with the basics before you try anything fancy! If you have practised using the SOAP technique 100 times (not even 10,000 times!), I guarantee you will be a SOAP master!

With solid SOAP technique, along with accurate SPAG (spelling, punctuation and grammar) and the use of sophisticated vocabulary, you will be in a fantastic position for their 11+ exams. You can obviously learn additional literary techniques beyond SOAP, but the SOAP technique is absolutely crucial, so please read on if you want to ace your 11+ creative writing exam!

If you have consistently practised using the SOAP technique but you aren’t improving your creative writing at all, then I give you permission to kick me (once…not 10,000 times haha).

So first, let’s lay out what SOAP stands for. This isn’t an article brought to you by Dove, Carex or Baylis & Harding…it’s brought to you by the one and only, Mr Richard Gray!

What is SOAP?

S = similes and metaphors

O = onomatopoeia

A = alliteration

P = personification

Similes and Metaphors

Similes and metaphors both count as figurative language. Similes and metaphors make a comparison between two things. The key difference is that similes make the comparison by saying that something is like something else, whereas metaphors make the comparison by saying that something is something else.

A simile says that one thing "is like" or "is as … as" another thing. A metaphor says that one thing "is" or “was” another thing. Metaphors do not use the words "like" or "as" in their comparisons.

Let’s see some examples:

Simile = The pond was like a giant mirror.

Metaphor = The pond was a giant mirror.

Simile = The butterflies were like brightly coloured jewels.

Metaphor = The butterflies were brightly coloured jewels.

Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia is a word that sounds like how it is spelt. It is used to add sound effects to writing. When you want to make your writing come to life using sounds, you should use onomatopoeia.

Let’s see some examples:

Bang! Crash! Boom! These are the most obvious examples that children tend to use!

Snap, crackle, pop, sizzle, creak, whoosh.

You can also think of animal noises:

Hiss, moo, bark, meow, neigh, roar.

You can also have more subtle examples of onomatopoeia in a sentence:

The leaves rustled as whistling wind whizzed through the trees.

Alliteration

Alliteration is when a writer uses two or more words in a phrase or sentence that start with the same sound. Humans can easily spot audible patterns, so alliteration can be used to emphasise something or draw the audience’s attention to something specific.

Let’s see some examples:

A gaggle of graceful geese glided grandly across the water,

Beautiful blooming bluebells burst with brilliant bright blues, creating a spectacular show.

Personification

Personification is a specific type of figurative language that gives human characteristics, qualities, actions or traits to non-human things or inanimate objects. Non-human things can be animals, objects, or even something that is abstract (e.g. death or love). Authors use personification to make non-human things come to life and seem human.

Let’s see some examples:

The sun stretched its golden arms, embracing the children below with a warm hug.

(The sun doesn’t actually have yellow arms! Nor can the sun give you a hug…you’d be dead if it could!)

The sun winked cheekily as it played hide-and-seek with the ivory-white clouds.

So now we know what SOAP stands for, let’s compare two pieces of writing: one without any SOAP technique compared to one packed with SOAP technique. I have exaggerated these examples to make it clear why using the SOAP technique effectively can really enhance your writing!

Without the SOAP technique

The sun was nice and bright. There was a pond, and it was nice too. There were some nice geese, Also, the nearby butterflies were pretty too. The bluebells looked really blue and nice! It was autumn, so the breeze felt cool and nice.

Using the same idea but adding the SOAP technique

Under the kind and gentle sun, the pond glistened like a giant mirror. A gaggle of graceful geese glided grandly across the water. Nearby, several butterflies that were like brightly coloured jewels, fluttered and flittered over the beautiful blooming bluebells. Whistling and whizzing through the trees, the gentle autumn breeze played a melodious and calming tune for the fauna and flora of Kingston Park.

BONUS: Can you identify which SOAP techniques I have used and where I have used them in the sentence above? I’ve tried to help by highlighting some of them for you :)