Writing Tip: Repetition

And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep

Those are the closing lines of a famous poem called "Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening" by American poet Robert Frost. He uses repetition to create a mood and change the pace of the poem. It also makes you think about the last line. Repetition in poetry is often a great way to get readers to pay attention to what you are writing. But be careful when you use it, "repetitious" means repeating something in a way that gets boring or tiresome because your reader has already heard it. It is challenging to be an author who uses repetition without being repetitious.

Katie Yoder, age 11, makes a great use of repetition in her poem "Loons in Maine," in the oceans issue.

Hundreds on the ocean waves
Black, floating loons
Spotted, dotted, red-eyed loons
Black floating loons.

Read the poem and see the beautiful illustration here:
Oceans Issue