What does a child have to do to identify a sound device in the 11+?

Identify alliteration or sound imitation in a short phrase. It is one of 41 named English skills in the 11+, in the language strand, and this page carries 1 interactive exercise that practises it.

What is the trap in an 11+ identify a sound device question?

Focus on the word or words named in the question. Other parts of the sentence may show another sound pattern. The wrong answers on this skill are built out of that, not out of random numbers, so it is worth naming out loud before your child meets it under time pressure.

What is not part of identify a sound device in the 11+?

The skill map draws the line here: Excludes figurative comparison. A question past that line is testing a different named English skill, which is worth knowing before you spend a week practising the wrong one.

Which other 11+ skills should we practise alongside identify a sound device?

The language strand holds 3 skills that are tested together, and the pages next to identify a sound device are expand a common abbreviation and identify figurative language. Each has its own exercise and its own link, and none of them needs an account.

How can my child practise identify a sound device for free?

Use Sound Spotter, embedded on this page. It is the exercise the skill map attaches to identify a sound device, it runs in the browser with no account to make, these exercises are not scored and do not save learner records. The separate quiz sends answers for marking and shows a score, without saving an assessment record. It also has its own link, so you can send it to a child without sending them anywhere else first.

English · Language

Identify a sound device

Identify alliteration or sound imitation in a short phrase.

Watch the worked example

Open the video page

Hear the Sound Device

This video shows how to spot repeated starting sounds and words that imitate sounds in a short phrase. Watch an 11+ English question solved step by step.

0:00 / 2:43

Turn on captions with the CC button. Jump to any part with the chapter buttons.

Read the transcript

Keep practising with Trace Learn. Find topics to practise next

Quick quiz: Identify a sound device

10 questions, with feedback after each one. No sign-up needed.

Read the questions in this quiz

Question 1
Which sound device is shown by these words: "jacket and packet"? Read them in this sentence: "The archive listed the jacket beside the packet."
- A.rhyme
- B.onomatopoeia
- C.repetition
- D.alliteration
Question 2
Which sound device is shown by these words: "pillow and willow"? Read them in this sentence: "A notice mentioned the pillow beside the willow."
- A.repetition
- B.rhyme
- C.alliteration
- D.onomatopoeia
Question 3
Which sound device is shown by these words: "stencil and pencil"? Read them in this sentence: "The diagram labelled the stencil and the pencil."
- A.repetition
- B.onomatopoeia
- C.alliteration
- D.rhyme
Question 4
Which sound device is shown by these words: "casket and basket"? Read them in this sentence: "The picture showed the casket and the basket."
- A.rhyme
- B.alliteration
- C.repetition
- D.onomatopoeia
Question 5
Which sound device is shown by these words: "casket and basket"? Read them in this sentence: "The picture showed the casket and the basket."
- A.repetition
- B.alliteration
- C.rhyme
- D.onomatopoeia
Question 6
Which sound device is shown by these words: "pencil and stencil"? Read them in this sentence: "The label mentioned the pencil and the stencil."
- A.rhyme
- B.repetition
- C.alliteration
- D.onomatopoeia
Question 7
Which sound device is shown by these words: "riddle and middle"? Read them in this sentence: "The sheet listed the riddle after the middle."
- A.repetition
- B.rhyme
- C.alliteration
- D.onomatopoeia
Question 8
Which sound device is shown by these words: "chariot, chariot"? Read them in this sentence: "A cracked chariot lay beside a clean chariot."
- A.repetition
- B.alliteration
- C.rhyme
- D.onomatopoeia
Question 9
Which sound device is shown by these words: "thistle, thistle"? Read them in this sentence: "The picture had a thistle at the top and a thistle at the bottom."
- A.rhyme
- B.alliteration
- C.onomatopoeia
- D.repetition
Question 10
Which sound device is shown by these words: "thimble, thimble"? Read them in this sentence: "The picture had a thimble at the top and a thimble at the bottom."
- A.repetition
- B.onomatopoeia
- C.rhyme
- D.alliteration

Practise it now

This line uses ALLITERATION. Tap every word that starts with the repeated sound, and only those words.

It covers most of this skill rather than all of it.

Loading the interactive exercise. Nothing you do here is saved or scored.

A worked example

One question of the kind this skill is tested with, worked all the way through: the reasoning, and what the wrong answers are there to catch.

Worked example: Which sound pattern is it?

Worked example: Which sound device is shown by these words: "mutton and button"? Read them in this sentence: "The diagram labelled the mutton and the button."

repetition
alliteration
rhyme
onomatopoeia

Answer: rhyme

How you get there

"mutton" and "button" end with the same sound, and two different words ending alike is rhyme. The question asks about the sounds in these two words, not about other words in the sentence.

Why the other answers tempt

Focus on the word or words named in the question. Other parts of the sentence may show another sound pattern.

If they are stuck, say this

Four things to test for: do several words in a row begin with the same sound, do two words end with the same sound, does one word actually sound like the noise it names, or is one word used again?

Now do it live in Sound Spotter

Kitchen-table script for parents

Try this together

A friendly mini script for the breakfast table, school run or a quiet two minutes. Read it aloud as written, or make it your own.

Ready? Let's try Identify a sound device together. Here comes the question: Worked example: Which sound device is shown by these words: "mutton and button"? Read them in this sentence: "The diagram labelled the mutton and the button." A handy clue is: Four things to test for: do several words in a row begin with the same sound, do two words end with the same sound, does one word actually sound like the noise it names, or is one word used again? Nice work. Here is the thinking: "mutton" and "button" end with the same sound, and two different words ending alike is rhyme. The question asks about the sounds in these two words, not about other words in the sentence. So our answer is: rhyme. One sneaky trap is: Focus on the word or words named in the question. Other parts of the sentence may show another sound pattern. Can you show me the first move in your own words? No rush; one calm step is enough.

What this exercise is doing

Sound Spotter

This line uses ALLITERATION. Tap every word that starts with the repeated sound, and only those words.

The repeated sound here is "c", and it lives in "clever", "crabs", "crept" and "cold". Alliteration is a sound that repeats at the START of words that sit close together, which is why the little joining words are never part of it however they are spelled. Writers use alliteration to make a phrase stick in your head, which is why you find it in adverts and headlines as often as in poems.

What to say if they get stuck

Say the line out loud and listen to the very start of each word. Alliteration is a sound that comes back, not a letter that comes back.
Little joining words like "the", "and" and "of" never count, however they start. Look only at the words carrying the meaning.
4 words share the sound "c" here.

Open Sound Spotter on its own page to share it

Related english skills

Expand a common abbreviationReplace one common abbreviation with its conventional full form in context.
Identify figurative languageDistinguish a simile, metaphor, or personification from literal language.

All english 11+ skills

Questions parents ask about identify a sound device

What this skill involves, common mistakes and ways to practise it at home.

: Identify alliteration or sound imitation in a short phrase. It is one of 41 named English skills in the 11+, in the language strand, and this page carries 1 interactive exercise that practises it.
: Focus on the word or words named in the question. Other parts of the sentence may show another sound pattern. The wrong answers on this skill are built out of that, not out of random numbers, so it is worth naming out loud before your child meets it under time pressure.
: Point at the next move rather than explaining the whole rule. Four things to test for: do several words in a row begin with the same sound, do two words end with the same sound, does one word actually sound like the noise it names, or is one word used again?
: The skill map draws the line here: Excludes figurative comparison. A question past that line is testing a different named English skill, which is worth knowing before you spend a week practising the wrong one.
: The language strand holds 3 skills that are tested together, and the pages next to identify a sound device are expand a common abbreviation and identify figurative language. Each has its own exercise and its own link, and none of them needs an account.
: Use Sound Spotter, embedded on this page. It is the exercise the skill map attaches to identify a sound device, it runs in the browser with no account to make, these exercises are not scored and do not save learner records. The separate quiz sends answers for marking and shows a score, without saving an assessment record. It also has its own link, so you can send it to a child without sending them anywhere else first.

Comprehension, vocabulary, grammar and punctuation are four different problems

A free diagnostic separates them, so practice goes where the gap actually is rather than on whichever one is easiest to set.