Descriptive Composition: Question 6
Syllabus W3
A rusting bicycle has been left leaning against a fence in tall grass. Which of these sentences about it uses personification? [1]
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Worked solution
Assessment focus
This tests the ability to distinguish personification from other figurative devices (simile, metaphor and plain literal detail) by identifying where a non-human thing is given a specifically human behaviour or emotion.
Why C is correct
In option C, the spokes do not just make a sound, they “complained,” a verb that only makes sense as a human reaction. Attributing a human emotion (complaining) to an inanimate object’s noise is personification.
Why the other options are wrong
- A uses “as…as” to make an explicit comparison between the frame and an anchor. This is a simile, not personification, since it compares two things rather than giving the bicycle a human trait.
- B states that the bicycle “was a skeleton,” an implicit comparison with no “like” or “as”. This is a metaphor, not personification, because a skeleton is not a human behaviour or emotion being attributed to the bike.
- D gives only literal, physical detail (flat tyres, a snapped chain) with no figurative language at all.
Mark scheme
1 mark for selecting C; 0 marks for any other option, as this is a discrete single-answer selection question.