Year 6 English: How language and structure affect the reader
Part of the Year 6 English reading fiction and plays chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page
How language and structure affect the reader
Authors choose language and structure carefully. A simile compares two things with like or as. A personification gives human feelings to a thing. A short sentence makes the reader pause. A structure such as a quiet ending can leave the reader with a feeling.
Marta, the lighthouse keeper's daughter, keeps the lamp lit during a storm.
Every evening, Marta climbed the one hundred and twelve steps of the lighthouse to trim the lamp. Her father had done the job for thirty years, but his hands had grown stiff, and now the task belonged to her. She had watched him climb those steps since she was small, and she knew every crack in the stone. Each step was a promise that she would keep the light burning for the boats.
On the night of the storm, the sea rose like a grey wall. Marta gripped the iron rail and counted each step, because counting kept her from thinking about the waves. When she reached the top, the lamp had gone out, and the dark was thick enough to touch.
She struck a match. The wind howled through the cracked window, and the flame flickered, nearly dying. Marta cupped her hands around it, as though it were a fragile bird. The flame was small and uncertain, and the smallest draught could take it away.
Below, a ship's horn sounded, thin and desperate. Somewhere out there, sailors could not see the rocks, and the rocks waited patiently for them. Marta felt her heart thud, and she told herself that her father had never once let the light fail, not even in the worst winter of his life.
She lit the wick at last, her fingers shaking. The beam swept out across the water, pale and steady, and the horn fell silent. Only then did she sit down on the cold floor and let her shoulders shake. Outside, the rain kept falling, but the sea no longer roared.
Key ideas
- A simile compares two things, using like or as.
- A short sentence makes the reader pause, or creates tension.
- Structure is the order of events, such as a quiet ending after a danger.
Method. Name the device, then say what it makes the reader picture.
- Name the device. Like a grey wall is a simile.simile
- Say the effect. The sea is compared to a wall, so the reader pictures a huge, threatening sea.huge and threatening
- Write the answer. makes the sea seem huge and threatening
Check. The simile creates a threatening picture. ✓
Method. Look at the length of the sentence.
- Look at the length. The sentence has only four words, after a long one.four words
- Say the effect. The short sentence makes the reader pause, and builds tension.pause and tension
- Write the answer. it creates a pause and tension
Check. The short sentence creates a pause. ✓
Method. Think about the order of the events.
- Find the ending. The horn falls silent, and Marta sits down.falls silent
- Explain the structure. After the climax, the quiet ending lets the reader feel relief.relief
- Write the answer. it lets the tension drain away, and shows the relief after the danger
Check. The quiet ending shows relief. ✓
Watch out
Watch out: name the device, then explain its effect on the reader. Naming alone is not enough.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Ask your child to find a simile in a favourite book, and to say what picture it puts in their mind.
Exercise 10D Practice: language and structure
Method. Look at the words, then explain the effect on the reader.
- Find the words. The author uses this language: as though it were a fragile birdas though it were a fragile bird
- Explain the effect. The words create a picture or feeling, and the reader responds to it.It shows that Marta is careful and gentle with the flame, as if it could easily be lost
- Write the answer. It shows that Marta is careful and gentle with the flame, as if it could easily be lost
Check. The effect on the reader is explained. ✓
Watch out. Name the device, then say what it makes the reader feel or picture.
Method. Look for like or as.
- Find like. Like compares the sea to a wall.like
- Name the device. A comparison with like is a simile.simile
- Write the answer. simile
Check. like makes a simile. ✓
Method. Look for a human action given to a thing.
- Find the action. The wind howls, which is a human sound.howled
- Name the device. Giving a non-human thing a human action is personification.personification
- Write the answer. personification
Check. The wind is given a human action. ✓
Method. Look at the words, then explain the effect on the reader.
- Find the words. The author uses this language: the lamp had gone outthe lamp had gone out
- Explain the effect. The words create a picture or feeling, and the reader responds to it.It creates a shock, because the light that should guide the ships has failed
- Write the answer. It creates a shock, because the light that should guide the ships has failed
Check. The effect on the reader is explained. ✓
Watch out. Name the device, then say what it makes the reader feel or picture.
Method. Think about what the words describe, and the feeling they give.
- Find the words. Thin and desperate describe the horn.thin and desperate
- Explain the effect. The reader feels the sailors are in urgent danger.urgent danger
- Write the answer. The words show that the horn is weak and urgent, which makes the reader feel the danger.
Check. The effect is explained. ✓
Method. Check whether the words compare two things with like or as.
- Look at the phrase. As though it were a fragile bird compares the flame to a bird.as though
- Name it. Comparing with as is a simile.simile
- Write the answer. Fragile bird is not a simile; the simile is as though it were a fragile bird, which uses as
Check. A comparison with as is a simile. ✓
Method. Look at the words, then explain the effect on the reader.
- Find the words. The author uses this language: Somewhere out there, sailors could not see the rocksSomewhere out there, sailors could not see the rocks
- Explain the effect. The words create a picture or feeling, and the reader responds to it.It shows the sailors are alone in the dark, unable to see the danger
- Write the answer. It shows the sailors are alone in the dark, unable to see the danger
Check. The effect on the reader is explained. ✓
Watch out. Name the device, then say what it makes the reader feel or picture.
Method. Look at the last paragraph.
- Look at the ending. The beam is steady, the horn is silent, and Marta sits down.steady, silent
- Name the structure. A calm ending is quiet.quiet
- Write the answer. quiet
Check. The ending is calm. ✓
Method. Think about what the opening tells the reader.
- Look at the phrase. Every evening shows a routine.routine
- Explain the effect. The reader knows the job is regular and important.regular and important
- Write the answer. It sets a routine, so the reader sees that Marta has a serious job every day.
Check. The phrase shows a routine. ✓
Method. Look at the words, then explain the effect on the reader.
- Find the words. The author uses this language: the flame flickered, nearly dyingthe flame flickered, nearly dying
- Explain the effect. The words create a picture or feeling, and the reader responds to it.it creates tension, as the light is nearly lost
- Write the answer. it creates tension, as the light is nearly lost
Check. The effect on the reader is explained. ✓
Watch out. Name the device, then say what it makes the reader feel or picture.
Method. Find a short sentence, then say what it does.
- Find the sentence. She lit the wick at last is a short sentence.She lit the wick at last
- Explain the effect. It marks a turning point, from tension to relief.a turning point
- Write the answer. She lit the wick at last, which creates relief after the tension.
Check. The effect is explained. ✓