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English•SHS English and Literature

Literary devices

Senior High 5 questions
AI-drafted from platform data — specialist review scheduledBy DigiTransact Mastermind editorial teamLast updated
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What literary devices means

You learn how writers make language more vivid by comparing ideas, giving human actions to non-human things, and creating meanings that are not literal. This helps you read poems and prose with more care and answer literature questions more accurately.

What you will practise

  • Spot comparisons that use like or as in a sentence.
  • Pick out direct comparisons without like or as.
  • Notice when non-human things are given human actions.
  • Work out when words mean the opposite of the surface meaning.

Before you start

You should already read simple sentences well and understand the basic meaning of words in context. It also helps to know the difference between literal and non-literal language.

Worked example

One question from this skill's own question bank, shown with its full working.

Question

The classroom was a zoo is an example of:

  • Simile
  • Metaphor
  • Personification
  • Onomatopoeia
Answer: Metaphor

Working: A metaphor compares directly without using like or as.

Common mistakes to avoid

  • Treating every comparison as a simile, even when it is direct.
  • Missing personification because you focus only on the noun, not the action.
  • Calling irony a joke without checking the hidden meaning in the situation.
  • Choosing the obvious word meaning instead of the writer's intended meaning.

Curriculum and exam alignment

Ghana GES SHS syllabusWASSCE

In SHS 1 to SHS 3, this topic usually appears within reading and literature lessons that build close reading skills. It also supports WASSCE-style comprehension and literature questions where you identify how language creates effect.

Curriculum notes are a general guide to where this work normally sits. Always check the syllabus your school or examination body is currently using.

Related skills

Other SHS English and Literature skills in English, at the same point in the course.

Other English topics

Letters and SoundsEarly Reading and WritingAcademic and Professional WritingGrammarVocabularyReading Comprehension

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Exams that assess literary devices

Senior High work on this skill feeds directly into these exam papers. Each page lists the English topics that appear on it.

WASSCEWASSCE practice questionsFree WASSCE practice across the subjects at this stage, with worked answers.GESGES practice questionsFree GES practice across the subjects at this stage, with worked answers.BECEBECE practice questionsListed as a related subject on the BECE practice page.

How this page was produced

This text was drafted with AI assistance from the questions and topics already stored on the platform. A subject-specialist review is scheduled but has not yet been recorded, so we do not claim it here.

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5 questions with a worked answer after every attempt, and a SmartScore that tracks how close you are to mastery.

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