Pass Check: Language Analysis
Identify and analyse the writer's word choices and techniques, explaining their effect on the reader.
Simile
A comparison using 'like' or 'as', e.g. 'as cold as ice'.
Metaphor
A direct comparison stating one thing is another, e.g. 'the classroom was a zoo'.
Personification
Giving human qualities to something non-human, e.g. 'the wind whispered'.
Connotation
An idea or feeling a word suggests beyond its literal meaning.
Semantic field
A group of words linked by a shared theme, e.g. words related to war or decay.
Imagery
Descriptive language that creates a picture or sensory experience for the reader.
Juxtaposition
Placing two contrasting ideas or images close together for effect.
Alliteration
Repetition of the same consonant sound at the start of nearby words, e.g. 'silent shadows'.
Quick check
Mixed quiz
1. Read this line: "Fear crept through the crowd like a slow poison." What effect does this simile create?
2. Read this extract: "The politician's promises glittered, each one a coin flipped into a well that had long run dry." Which is the most precise analytical reading of this extended metaphor?
3. Read this line: "The negotiations dragged on, each hour heavier than the last." What effect does the adjective 'heavier' create?
4. Read this line: "The old house groaned and creaked in the storm." Which technique is used?
5. Read this line: "Time is a thief, stealing our years." Which technique is used?
6. Read this line: "The teacher's words cut through the silence like a blade." What effect does this simile create?
7. Read this line: "The fragile vase shattered instantly." Which word class is 'fragile'?
8. Read this extract: "The forest held its breath as the storm approached, every leaf frozen mid-tremble." Which analysis best captures the precise effect of this personification?