The big idea: Sound devices make words work through their sound — the repeated letters, vowels, beat and rhyme you can almost hear on the page.
You already feel this without knowing the names.
🎵 A slogan like ‘snap, crackle, pop’ sticks because of its sound, and a line that keeps a steady beat feels like a marching chant. Writers build these effects on purpose.
Here's what to listen for:
One clear example of each
Alliteration & consonance
The same consonant sound repeated. ‘The soft silk slipped’ hisses gently; ‘the black boots banged’ hits hard. The repeated sound matches the feeling.
Assonance & vowel sounds
Repeated vowel sounds inside words. ‘The lone road home’ — the long ‘o’ stretches out and sounds slow and lonely.
Rhythm & rhyme
The beat of the line and the chiming of matching end sounds. A bouncy rhyme (‘the cat sat flat on the mat’) feels playful; a steady, heavy beat feels serious or grand.
The key move: Name the sound device, quote where you hear it, and say what the sound does — soft, harsh, slow, playful — not just that it's there.
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Why it matters in the exam: Sound devices earn marks when you link the sound to a feeling. Quote the repeated sound and say what it makes the line feel like — soft, harsh, slow, bouncy — rather than only naming ‘alliteration’.
Analyse the sound: “The waves whispered and washed, then withdrew — a slow, soft hush against the sand.”
Model answer plan
See the mark-by-mark plan — for / against / judgement, with marking guidance — in study mode.
Watch out: Don't just spot ‘alliteration’ and move on. Say what the sound does — soft sounds soothe, hard sounds hit, long vowels slow the line down.