What term describes words and phrases that create imagery by using the five senses?

• A. Imagery
• B. Sensory Details
• C. Figurative Language
• D. Mood

Answer: (B)

The idea being tested is how writers use the senses to make scenes come alive. Words that describe what we can see, hear, smell, taste, or touch are called sensory details. These details are the tools that create imagery, painting a vivid image in the reader’s mind. For example, describing a scene with “crisp, cold air; the scent of cinnamon; the rough bark of the tree” uses sensory details to evoke imagery. Imagery is the overall effect those sensory details produce, not the term for the words themselves. Figurative language and mood relate to other features of writing, but they aren’t the specific focus here. So this is the best choice because it names the exact kind of words that create those sensory-painted pictures.