Success Homeschool

Primary 5 English · Persuasive devices

Name: ______________________

Date: ____________

1. Which sentence is a rhetorical question?
- ☐ (a) What time does the shop open?
- ☐ (b) Who wants to live in a town with no trees?
- ☐ (c) Where did you put my shoes?
- ☐ (d) How many people are coming to dinner?
2. Which word has the highest modality?
- ☐ (a) might
- ☐ (b) perhaps
- ☐ (c) must
- ☐ (d) could
3. Which sentence uses the most emotive language?
- ☐ (a) The old tree was cut down.
- ☐ (b) The tree was removed on Tuesday.
- ☐ (c) Workers took the tree away.
- ☐ (d) The magnificent old tree was brutally chopped down.
4. Why do persuasive writers use repetition?
- ☐ (a) To make the text longer
- ☐ (b) To help the main idea stick in the reader's mind
- ☐ (c) Because they forgot what they wrote
- ☐ (d) To ask the reader a question
5. Which version of the sentence is most persuasive?
- ☐ (a) Perhaps dogs could be allowed at the beach.
- ☐ (b) Dogs might be allowed at the beach one day.
- ☐ (c) Dogs must be allowed at the beach.
- ☐ (d) Some people think dogs could go to the beach.
6. Name the device: 'Do you want your street covered in litter?'
7. Which word in this sentence is a high-modality word? 'Our school must plant more trees.'
8. 'Save our pool. Save our summer. Save our town.' Which word is repeated?

Answer sheet

1. Who wants to live in a town with no trees? — The writer does not expect an answer; they want the reader to think 'Nobody!' and agree that trees are important.
2. must — 'Must' sounds certain and forceful. The others sound unsure.
3. The magnificent old tree was brutally chopped down. — 'Magnificent' and 'brutally' are chosen to make the reader feel sad and angry.
4. To help the main idea stick in the reader's mind — Repeating a key idea makes it memorable and sound important.
5. Dogs must be allowed at the beach. — The high-modality word 'must' makes the opinion sound certain.
6. rhetorical question — It is a question asked for effect. The obvious answer is 'no'.
7. must — 'Must' shows the writer is certain and forceful.
8. save — 'Save' (with 'our') is repeated three times to build a strong, memorable message.