The big idea: A writer uses a metaphor or a simile to make you see one thing through another.
You do this every day.
When you say a room was ‘a fridge’ or your phone battery is ‘dead’, you're comparing one thing to another to make a point fast. Writers do the same — on purpose.
Here are the two kinds, each with an example:
One clear example of each
Metaphor
Says one thing is another, with no ‘like’ or ‘as’: ‘the classroom was a zoo.’ The room isn't really a zoo — the comparison makes the chaos vivid.
Simile
Compares using ‘like’ or ‘as’: ‘the hall went quiet as a held breath.’ The ‘as’ signals it's a comparison, not a fact.
How they differ
Simile keeps the two things apart (‘X is like Y’); metaphor presses them together (‘X is Y’), so it hits harder and faster.
The key move: Name the comparison (metaphor or simile), say the two things being compared, and explain what feeling or picture the link creates.
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Why it matters in the exam: Metaphor and simile are the comparisons most worth unpacking. Name the two things compared and the picture or feeling the link builds — don't stop at writing ‘the writer uses a metaphor’.
Analyse the comparisons: “Her voice was a blade. Every word landed like a slap, and the room went cold.”
Model answer plan
See the mark-by-mark plan — for / against / judgement, with marking guidance — in study mode.
Watch out: Don't just spot ‘a metaphor’. Say the two things being compared and what the link makes you picture or feel — that's what matters most.