Glossary

Key terms and definitions for 11+ exam preparation, covering literary devices, grammar, and writing terminology.

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Simile

A figure of speech that compares two unlike things using 'like' or 'as'. For example: 'Her smile was as bright as the sun.'

3 min readBeginner

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Metaphor

A figure of speech that describes something by saying it IS something else. For example: 'The world is a stage.'

3 min readBeginner

Alliteration

The repetition of the same initial consonant sound in a sequence of words. For example: 'Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.'

3 min readBeginner

Personification

Define personification in simple language a 10-year-old would understand. Give five examples from everyday speech and five from creative writing. Show how personification brings inanimate objects and abstract concepts to life. Include one example of a full paragraph that uses personification effectively, with annotations. Add a short exercise where students personify three objects: a clock, the wind, and a house.

4 min readBeginner

Onomatopoeia

Explain what onomatopoeia means with examples children will recognise: buzz, crash, whisper, sizzle, crunch. Show how onomatopoeia adds sound to writing and makes descriptions more immersive. Provide an example paragraph from a story that uses three or four onomatopoeic words naturally, then one that overuses them. Discuss the balance. Include a creative exercise where students write a short scene set in a kitchen using at least four sound words.

4 min readBeginner

Pathetic Fallacy

Define pathetic fallacy as a specific type of personification where weather or nature reflects a character's emotions. Use examples from well-known stories and films that children will recognise. Show a happy scene with sunshine and a sad scene with rain, then challenge the expectation: show a scene where bad weather accompanies a happy moment for contrast. Explain how examiners reward students who use pathetic fallacy with awareness. Include a writing exercise where students describe the same landscape in two emotional states.

4 min readBeginner

Hyperbole

Define hyperbole as deliberate, dramatic exaggeration used for emphasis or humour. Give examples from everyday speech ("I've told you a million times") and from creative writing. Explain when hyperbole strengthens writing (humorous narrators, expressing frustration) and when it weakens it (serious or emotional scenes where precision matters more). Show a paragraph that uses hyperbole effectively and one where it feels forced. Include a short exercise where students identify hyperbole in sentences and write three of their own.

4 min readBeginner

Foreshadowing

Explain foreshadowing as a technique where the writer plants hints about what will happen later in the story. Use examples from children's literature and films they might know. Show how foreshadowing creates suspense and makes endings feel satisfying rather than random. Provide three types: symbolic foreshadowing (a storm before a conflict), dialogue foreshadowing (a character says something that gains meaning later), and action foreshadowing (a character practises a skill they will need). Include a creative exercise where students add foreshadowing to a simple story outline.

4 min readBeginner

Imagery

Define imagery as language that creates pictures in the reader's mind through sensory detail. Explain the five types of imagery: visual (sight), auditory (sound), tactile (touch), olfactory (smell), and gustatory (taste). Provide two examples of each type from creative writing, showing how imagery makes writing vivid and immersive. Discuss the difference between imagery and figurative language (imagery can be literal). Include a writing exercise where students describe a familiar place using all five types of imagery.

4 min readBeginner

Juxtaposition

Explain juxtaposition as placing two contrasting ideas, words, or images side by side to highlight their differences. Use accessible examples: light and dark, rich and poor, silence after noise. Show how juxtaposition creates impact in creative writing and why examiners value it. Provide examples from children's literature and original passages. Distinguish from oxymoron (which is a specific type of juxtaposition within a single phrase). Include an exercise where students create three juxtapositions and use one in a short paragraph.

4 min readBeginner

Oxymoron

Define oxymoron as a phrase combining two contradictory words for effect: deafening silence, bittersweet, living dead, clearly confused. Explain why oxymorons are powerful in creative writing: they capture complex, mixed emotions that simple words cannot express. Show how oxymorons differ from contradictions (oxymorons are deliberate and meaningful). Provide examples in sentences and discuss when students might use them in 11+ creative writing: moments of conflict, mixed feelings, or surprise. Include an exercise where students create five original oxymorons.

4 min readBeginner

Sibilance

Define sibilance as the repetition of "s", "sh", "z", and soft "c" sounds in close succession. Explain how sibilance creates a whispering, hissing, or sinister quality. Provide examples from poetry and prose showing sibilance used to create different moods: menace, calm, secrecy. Distinguish from alliteration (which is about initial sounds). Show how students can use sibilance deliberately in their 11+ creative writing for specific atmospheric effects. Include a writing exercise where students craft a sentence using sibilance to create suspense.

4 min readBeginner

Cliffhanger

Define cliffhanger as an ending (of a chapter, section, or story) that leaves the reader in suspense, wanting to know what happens next. Explain how cliffhangers work: they interrupt the action at a moment of high tension, leaving a question unanswered. Provide examples from children's books and original writing. Discuss how students can use mini-cliffhangers at paragraph ends in their 11+ stories to keep the examiner reading with interest. Include a writing exercise where students end a paragraph on a cliffhanger.

4 min readBeginner

Emotive Language

Define emotive language as words and phrases deliberately chosen to provoke an emotional response in the reader. Distinguish from neutral language with side-by-side examples: "The child cried" (neutral) vs "The helpless child sobbed" (emotive). Explain where emotive language appears most often: persuasive writing, speeches, newspaper articles, and key moments in fiction. Show how emotive language can be subtle or dramatic and discuss the risk of over-using it. Include analysis of a short passage and a rewriting exercise where students add emotive language to a neutral text.

4 min readBeginner

Allegory

A story in which characters and events represent deeper abstract ideas or real-world issues. Animal Farm, for instance, uses farm animals to stand for political systems and power.

5 min readBeginner

Irony

The use of language or situations where the meaning is the opposite of what is said or expected. Irony adds depth, humour, and complexity to stories.

5 min readBeginner

Dramatic Irony

A technique where the reader knows something that a character in the story does not, creating tension, suspense, or humour from the gap in knowledge.

5 min readBeginner

Symbolism

The use of objects, colours, places, or weather to represent bigger ideas beyond their literal meaning. A wilted flower for loss, an open window for freedom.

5 min readBeginner

Motif

A recurring image, symbol, phrase, or idea that appears throughout a story and supports its central theme. Motifs create unity and add depth to a narrative.

5 min readBeginner

Allusion

A brief reference to a well-known person, story, place, or event that the writer expects the reader to recognise. Allusions add layers of meaning with very few words.

5 min readBeginner

Anaphora

The deliberate repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive sentences or clauses, creating rhythm, emphasis, and emotional build-up.

5 min readBeginner

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