National 5 English: Analysing Language

Every question here quotes one invented sentence and asks what the technique in it is doing — not what it is called, which is the part most candidates can already manage. Naming a metaphor earns nothing; saying that a thread worn to its last fibre shows patience that has been wearing away for a long time and is about to break is the answer. The ten sentences cover the range the paper asks about: a verb chosen for its connotations, a metaphor, personification that makes the wind seem deliberate rather than merely strong, a contrast that places excellence beside neglect so the blame lands on funding rather than on people, repetition that makes a wait accumulate, a short sentence landing after a long one, dashes that drop a broken promise into the middle of an announcement, a colon that holds the sentence back before delivering two words, three descriptions placed before the main clause so a man's sitting down reads as surrender, and a word whose sound does the work. The wrong options are the mistakes that are actually made — taking a figurative verb literally, describing what the sentence says instead of what it does, and naming the right technique while describing the wrong effect. Zestly is an independent study tool. It is not affiliated with any exam board and it is not an exam centre.

• Explain what a chosen word suggests, rather than what it denotes
• Analyse a metaphor by saying what the comparison carries across
• Say what personification adds beyond description
• Explain what a contrast sets against what, and what that implies
• Say what repetition makes a reader feel, rather than counting the repetitions
• Explain the effect of a short sentence following a long one
• Say what dashes, a colon, and a fronted description each do to a sentence
• Analyse a word chosen for its sound

"The council — which had promised a full consultation — announced the decision on a Friday afternoon." What do the dashes do? — They drop the broken promise into the middle of the announcement, so the two sit together and the sentence reads as an accusation.