TOP 10 SIMILES for PSLE English Syllabus 2015
eduKate Tuition Centre English class material for Tampines and Punggol Primary English Tutorial classes. This is the go-to list of widely used similes intended for ease of use in SEAB PSLE MOE Examination.
Simile –a figure of speech in which two unlike things are explicitly compared, as in “she is like a rose.”. (dictionary.com)
Similes are used in speech and composition to enhance an idea and give a colourful vivid imagination to the listener/reader. It adds depth and vibrancy to the language. Similes give a rich graphical visual, striking energy or contrasting anchor to a simple idea/word, painting a deeper, richer textural canvas.
Similes usually starts with the words “like” or “as” to compare these ideas, and here’s the top 10 go-to PSLE similes that can be used in almost all PSLE compositions:
- As brave as a lion
- As innocent as a lamb
- As cool as a cucumber
- As easy as ABC
- As tall as a giraffe
- as thin as a rake
- as stubborn as a mule
- works like a dream
- sleep like a log
- eat like a pig
As you can see, similes helps to give a better depth and visual by combining key words with the general knowledge of people. For example, everyone knows that giraffes are tall, a universal general knowledge, of course. So when we write, “The basketball player walked out, as tall as a giraffe,” we imagine that the basketball player has the physical/character traits of a giraffe.
We match the knowledge and perception that we already have of giraffes and superimpose this knowledge onto that of the basketball player, giving an instant picture in our head in the most efficient way possible. It is a powerful illustrational tool that can express an idea richer than if we just described the basketball player as tall, and left it as that.
Similes puts into play our cognitive skills, ignites our preconceived ideas and marries it to words that appears ordinary and changes it to extraordinary.
And that is the beauty in similes, when we turn an ordinary PSLE composition and make it exciting, interesting, and richly explosive in the minds of the reader.