Most 11+ comprehension passages contain at least one piece of figurative language — and at least one question testing whether your child can recognise it, name it, or explain the effect it creates. Figurative language is when a writer says something that is not literally true in order to paint a vivid picture: the wind does not really whisper, but the word makes us imagine a soft, secret sound. In the GL Assessment English paper (now the dominant 11+ format across most grammar regions), these questions reward a child who can slow down, spot the technique, and say why the writer used it. This guide gives you the terms, the tell-tale question stems, worked examples and a printable-style reference table so your child can walk into the exam recognising every device on sight.
Why figurative language matters in the 11+ English paper
A typical GL English paper runs for around 50 minutes and includes one or two passages — usually a fiction extract, sometimes a non-fiction article or a poem — followed by roughly 18 to 30 multiple-choice questions, plus shorter spelling, punctuation, grammar and vocabulary sections. Figurative-language questions sit inside the comprehension block. Poetry passages in particular are packed with imagery, so if your child is sitting an independent school's ISEB Common Pre-Test or the Essex CSSE exam (which includes free-response writing), the same skill of naming and explaining devices carries straight across. Marks are converted to a Standardised Age Score (SAS, mean 100), so recognising two or three device questions can be the difference between a 108 and a 112 on results day.
The reference table: every device your child needs
Learn these eight thoroughly and the trickier ones will follow. Each has a child-friendly definition and a short example.
| Device | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Simile | A comparison using like or as | "The lake was as smooth as glass." |
| Metaphor | Says one thing is another (no "like"/"as") | "Her heart was a lonely island." |
| Personification | Gives human qualities to objects, animals or ideas | "The wind whispered through the trees." |
| Alliteration | Repeating the same first sound in nearby words | "Slippery, slithering snakes." |
| Onomatopoeia | A word that sounds like the noise it names | "The bacon sizzled." |
| Hyperbole | Deliberate, obvious exaggeration | "I've told you a million times." |
| Oxymoron | Two opposite words placed together | "A deafening silence." |
| Idiom | A saying whose meaning is not literal | "Bite the bullet." |
Print this out, stick it on the fridge, and pair it with the timed drills in our revision hub so recognition becomes automatic rather than something to puzzle over in the exam.
What examiners actually ask
The paper rarely stops at "what type is this?" — more often it asks why the writer chose the technique, because that tests comprehension as well as labelling. Learning to read the question stem is half the battle. Here are the shapes you will meet.
| Question type | Tell-tale stem |
|---|---|
| Identify the device | "Which of these is a metaphor?" / "The phrase 'smooth as glass' is an example of…" |
| Explain the effect | "Why does the writer describe the lake as 'smooth as glass'?" |
| Word meaning in context | "The word 'whispered' most nearly means…" |
| Inference from imagery | "What does the image suggest about the character's mood?" |
| Purpose and effect | "The writer uses personification here in order to…" |
A worked example
Read this short extract, then look at how each answer is found in the text rather than guessed:
"By the time Nadia reached the summit, the mist had wrapped its cold arms around the mountain. The path behind her had vanished. Somewhere below, a stream chattered on, careless of her fear."
- Q1 (identify): "The mist had wrapped its cold arms" is an example of — personification. Mist cannot have arms, so a human action is given to a natural thing.
- Q2 (effect): Why "wrapped its cold arms"? Because it makes the mist feel like something that traps and threatens Nadia — it builds a tense, uneasy atmosphere, matching that the path had "vanished".
- Q3 (word-in-context): The stream "chattered on, careless" — here careless most nearly means unconcerned, not "clumsy". The clue is "careless of her fear": the stream simply does not notice her.
Notice the method: name the device, then point to the evidence and say what feeling it creates. A child who writes "it makes it more interesting" earns nothing; a child who links the image to mood earns the mark.
The trickier types and how to spot them
Beyond the big three, examiners like to slip in the following. They are usually — but not always — flagged in the question, so your child should still be able to name them cold:
- Oxymoron: two clashing words, e.g. "fierce comfort", "bittersweet". Spot the contradiction.
- Hyperbole: exaggeration nobody takes literally, e.g. "a bag as heavy as an elephant".
- Idiom: a fixed saying, e.g. "under the weather", "the ball is in your court". If the literal meaning makes no sense, it is probably an idiom.
- Onomatopoeia: listen for the sound — "crash", "buzz", "murmur".
- Alliteration: read it aloud in your head; repeated opening sounds jump out.
A simple three-step method for device questions
- Locate the exact words the question quotes and underline them (in the answer booklet you cannot, but train the eye to fix on them).
- Label the device using your fridge table — is it a comparison? With "like"/"as" it is a simile; without, a metaphor. A human action? Personification.
- Link the image to a feeling or idea from the surrounding text, then pick the multiple-choice option that matches — and eliminate any distractor that names the wrong device or an effect the passage never supports.
Practise this on real passages with our free worksheets and then prove it under the clock with a timed mock paper. If your child is aiming at a specific school, a centre-specific mock mirrors the exact paper style they will face.
Common mistakes and examiner pet-hates
- Confusing simile and metaphor. The only reliable test: does it contain "like" or "as"? If yes, simile.
- Naming the device but not the effect. Effect questions want mood, character or meaning, not "it makes it descriptive".
- Ignoring the word "not". Stems such as "Which is NOT an example of…" catch out rushers.
- Taking idioms literally. "Bite the bullet" is about courage, not teeth.
- Choosing the fanciest-sounding option. The right answer is the one the text supports, not the one with the longest word.
For a wider view of how these questions fit the whole paper, our exam guides and the GL paper breakdown show the full section-by-section format.
Frequently asked questions
Is figurative language on every 11+ paper?
Very nearly. Almost every fiction or poetry comprehension passage uses at least one device, and examiners routinely ask a question about it. Non-fiction passages use fewer, but idioms and the occasional metaphor still appear, so it is a skill worth mastering whatever region your child sits in.
How many figurative-language questions come up?
Usually two to four within a comprehension section, mixed among retrieval, inference and vocabulary questions. That may sound small, but on an age-standardised score every mark counts, and these are among the most learnable of the lot.
What is the best way to practise at home?
Read fiction and poetry together and pause to name any images you meet — "is that a simile or a metaphor?" Ten minutes a day beats an hour once a week. Then reinforce it with self-marking drills and timed mocks so recognition becomes fast and confident. You can build a daily habit around our free revision hub and track progress on the leaderboard.