Language Analysis Worksheet and
Extension Task
Key Words to Know
Match with definitions or use these in your writing:
• Imagery – language that appeals to our senses or paints a picture
• Tone – the writer’s attitude or feeling (e.g., angry, calm, humorous)
• Simile – comparing using like or as
• Metaphor – saying something is something else
• Personification – giving human qualities to non-human things
• Emotive language – words that make us feel a strong emotion
• Effect on the reader – what the writer makes us think, feel or imagine
• Onomatopoeia – sound words
• Alliteration – words beginning with the same letter
• Repetition/Rhetorical question – intentionally repeated words or language devices/a
question that is asked in order to create a dramatic effect or to make a point than to get an
answer.
A good way to remember descriptive devices is with: APROMISE!
Language Techniques and How to Spot Them
Technique What it looks like What it does
Simile “like a ghost” Creates a vivid or emotional
image
Metaphor “the sky was a blanket” Makes a strong comparison
Personification “the wind whispered” Brings the scene to life
Emotive language “ugly beyond redemption” Creates strong feelings in