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Year 10
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Considering and using personification in persuasive letter writing

I can identify and analyse the use of personification in persuasive letter writing and emulate it in my own writing.

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Year 10
Eduqas

Considering and using personification in persuasive letter writing

I can identify and analyse the use of personification in persuasive letter writing and emulate it in my own writing.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Personification can be effective in persuasive writing because it evokes an emotional connection to the reader.
  2. Arguably, personification makes the subject of your writing more relatable.
  3. When deciding how to use personification, you should think about what emotional reaction you want to evoke.

Keywords

  • Personification - the attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something non-human

  • Persuade - convince (someone) to do something through reasoning or argument

  • Sentience - the quality of being able to experience feelings

  • Relatable - that someone can understand or feel sympathy for

  • Evocative - bringing strong images, memories, or feelings to mind

Common misconception

Any use of personification will be effective in your writing.

In order to be effective, personification has to evoke a response that will make the reader feel persuaded by your argument.


To help you plan your year 10 english lesson on: Considering and using personification in persuasive letter writing, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

It might be useful to remind pupils around the conventions of a formal letter concerning the salutation and sign off if necessary.
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This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
'The attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something non-human' is the definition of which word beginning with 'p'?
Correct Answer: personification, personify
Q2.
Which of the following sentences contains personification?
The forest floor was a luscious, green, woven tapestry of leaves.
Correct answer: The vines reached out towards us as if to tap us on the shoulder.
The musky, damp smell of the forest floor felt overpowering.
Q3.
'To convince (someone) to do something through reasoning or argument' is the definition of which word beginning with 'p'?
Correct Answer: persuade
Q4.
In a formal letter, which of the following salutations would you use if you know the name of the recipient?
Dear Sir or Madam
Correct answer: Dear Mr. Smith
Correct answer: Dear Ian Smith
Q5.
'Bringing strong images, memories or feelings to mind' is the definition of which word beginning with 'e'?
Correct Answer: evocative, evoke
Q6.
In a formal letter, which sign off should you use if you don't know the name of the recipient?
Kind regards
Yours sincerely
Correct answer: Yours faithfully

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Arguably, personification creates an connection between the non-human thing being personified and the reader.
Correct Answer: emotional
Q2.
Which of the following personification examples arguably evokes a negative emotion?
Its eyes were glancing at me.
Correct answer: Its eyes were watching me.
Its eyes were smiling at me.
Q3.
In a formal letter, the sender's address goes ...
Correct answer: in the top right-hand corner
on the left-hand side
in the middle
Q4.
In a formal letter, the date goes ...
under the salutation
under the recipient's address
Correct answer: under the sender's address
Q5.
'That someone can understand or feel sympathy for' is the definition of which word beginning with 'r'?
Correct Answer: relatable
Q6.
'The quality of being able to experience feelings' is the definition of which word beginning with 's'?
Correct Answer: sentience, sentient