Figurative language is not just for novels and poems, it enhances articles as well.

Here is an example from an article about the Massachusetts Audubon Society.

"The mocking laughter gave way to useless fuming when the ladies succeeded in slapping a ban on the slaughter of egrets."

The author really has a way of saying things.

An author with less imagination might have said that "the ladies succeeded in ban placed on killing egrets." By using the phrases "slapping a ban," "slaughter," and "mocking laughter" it affects the reader by grabbing the attention of the reader and adding to the finality of the decision made by the women.