Understand and use idioms and figurative language (metaphor, simile, personification) accurately and for effect

What this dot point is asking

This dot point is about non-literal language: idioms and figures of speech whose meaning is not the plain sum of their words. An idiom is a fixed expression with a meaning you cannot work out literally ("a piece of cake" has nothing to do with cake). Figurative language uses comparison and imagery, mainly metaphor, simile and personification, to create a picture or feeling. You need to do two things: understand these expressions when you read them (a comprehension skill) and use them accurately and for effect in your own writing (a writing skill). Both reward a reader who can move beyond the literal.

The answer

Idioms have a fixed, non-literal meaning

An idiom is a set phrase whose meaning is agreed by convention and cannot be deduced word by word. "It is raining cats and dogs" means it is raining heavily; "to hit the books" means to study hard; "to be in hot water" means to be in trouble. Because the meaning is fixed and not literal, idioms must be learned as whole units, and in comprehension you must give the agreed meaning, not a literal reading. A candidate who explains "a piece of cake" as "a slice of dessert" has read it literally and missed the point.

Metaphor and simile compare

The two most common figures of speech both work by comparison:

• Simile compares using "like" or "as": "as brave as a lion", "her smile was like sunshine". The signal words "like" or "as" make it a simile.
• Metaphor says one thing is another, without "like" or "as": "he is a lion in battle", "the classroom was a zoo". It states the comparison directly, and we understand it figuratively.

Both create a vivid image by linking the thing described to something with a strong, shared quality (bravery, chaos, warmth). When you read one, ask what quality the comparison transfers; when you write one, choose a comparison that fits the quality you want to convey.

Personification gives human qualities to things

Personification describes something non-human as if it had human or animal qualities or actions: "the wind howled", "the waves clawed at the shore", "the old house groaned". It makes description vivid and can create atmosphere, often suggesting threat, life or mood. In comprehension, name it as personification and explain the effect (here, that the sea seems violent or alive); in writing, use it to bring a scene to life.

Use figures of speech for effect, not decoration

In your own writing, figurative language earns marks when it is fresh, fits the moment and adds a clear image, especially in descriptive and narrative work. But it backfires when it is overdone or clumsy. Too many similes in a row clutter the writing; tired clichés ("as cold as ice", "every cloud has a silver lining") add nothing because the reader has met them a thousand times; and a comparison that does not fit ("the gentle breeze roared like a lion") confuses. Use figurative language sparingly and purposefully, choosing images that genuinely sharpen the picture.

Examples in context

Example 1. The same idea, literal versus figurative. A writer could state plainly, "The soldiers were very tired but kept marching." Using figurative language, the same idea becomes, "The soldiers were on their last legs, yet they dragged themselves onward like sleepwalkers." The idiom "on their last legs" and the simile "like sleepwalkers" turn a flat statement into a vivid one, helping the reader feel the exhaustion. In comprehension, a candidate must read "on their last legs" as utterly exhausted, not as a comment on their actual legs, which is the test the question is built around.

Example 2. Personification creating atmosphere. In a descriptive piece, "the storm arrived" is plain, but "the storm prowled over the hills, snarling and tearing at the rooftops" personifies the storm as a wild animal. The human-and-animal verbs ("prowled", "snarling", "tearing") create a menacing atmosphere and make the storm feel alive and dangerous. This is figurative language doing real work: a single well-chosen image conveys threat far more powerfully than the adjective "scary", which is why examiners reward purposeful figures of speech over plain or clichéd description.

Try this

• Cue. Explain the idiom in "After breaking the vase, he was in hot water with his parents." It is non-literal: "in hot water" means in trouble, so the sentence says he was in trouble with his parents for breaking the vase, not literally in hot water.

• Cue. Identify and explain the device in "The autumn leaves danced across the playground." This is personification: leaves cannot literally dance, so the writer gives them a human action to suggest light, lively, swirling movement, making the scene vivid.

• Cue. Turn the plain sentence "She was very nervous before the speech" into writing that uses one figure of speech for effect. Choose a fitting image, for example the simile "Her stomach churned like a washing machine before the speech", which conveys the nervousness more vividly than the adjective alone.