Most students who get stuck on language questions try to cover everything. They mention six words and say a tiny bit about each. Examiners prefer the opposite.
Go deep, not wide
Pick one word. Then spend your answer on it.
- What does the word mean?
- What else does it suggest? Words carry extra feelings.
- How does that make the reader feel?
Words carry extra feelings
Take the word home. It means where you live. But it also suggests safety, warmth, family and belonging. When a writer uses "home", they are borrowing all of those feelings.
Now take cage. It means a box with bars. It also suggests trapped, no escape and frustration. If a writer says "the classroom felt like a cage", you get all of that in one word.
A quick way to practise
Look at any sentence and ask: which one word is doing the most work? Then say three things about it. You can do this on the bus, in your head, in under a minute.
Try it now
One line, one word
The rain was lashing down.
What does 'lashing' suggest here?