Free GCSE English Language Techniques Quiz (10 Questions)

1. The wind howled through the night. Which technique is this?

simile personification alliteration onomatopoeia

Answer: The wind is given a human or animal action (howling): personification.

2. As brave as a lion is an example of …

metaphor simile hyperbole alliteration

Answer: It compares using as: a simile.

3. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers uses …

alliteration assonance rhyme personification

Answer: Repeating the same starting sound (p) is alliteration.

4. The classroom was a zoo. Which technique is this?

simile metaphor personification hyperbole

Answer: It says the classroom is a zoo, without like or as: a metaphor.

5. Words like buzz, crash and sizzle are examples of …

onomatopoeia alliteration imagery oxymoron

Answer: Words that sound like the noise they describe are onomatopoeia.

6. I've told you a million times! is an example of …

simile hyperbole personification irony

Answer: A deliberate exaggeration for effect is hyperbole.

7. Writing in the first person uses which pronoun?

he you I they

Answer: First person uses I (and we); second person uses you; third uses he, she, they.

8. A question asked for effect, not to get an answer, is called …

a rhetorical question a direct question an imperative a statement

Answer: A rhetorical question makes the reader think, e.g. Who wouldn't want a better future?

9. Which of these is a complex sentence?

Although it was raining, we went out. It was raining. It was raining and we went out. Go out now.

Answer: It has a main clause plus a subordinate clause (Although it was raining): a complex sentence.

10. What is the job of a topic sentence?

to end the essay to introduce the main idea of a paragraph to quote the text to give the title

Answer: A topic sentence introduces the main idea of a paragraph, so the examiner knows what you are arguing.

About this test

Naming a technique earns few marks on its own; explaining its effect on the reader earns most of them. Once these ten are second nature, your child can spend their exam time on analysis rather than identification.

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