Fiducia TogetherAlliteration, assonance and sibilance
Repeated sounds, and the three you are most likely to be asked about.
Please note: This page explains a word or a process in education. It is general information about the system, the law and the guidance in England — not advice about your child, your school or your exam. If a decision is going against you, get advice from one of the free services we link to before you agree to anything or miss a deadline. If you are revising, check your own exam board's specification: boards word things differently and yours is the one that marks you.
What it is
Alliteration repeats initial consonant sounds. Assonance repeats vowel sounds. Sibilance repeats s and sh sounds. Onomatopoeia is a word imitating a sound.
Where it applies
Poetry and prose analysis, and descriptive writing.
How it works
Sound devices slow or speed a line and create texture. Sibilance can whisper or hiss depending on context, which is why the context has to be part of the analysis.
How to use it in your work
Never write that alliteration 'emphasises' something without saying what the SOUND does. Harsh plosives and soft sibilants have different effects.
Read the line aloud in your head. If the effect is not audible, it may not be there.
Where to get help
Your teacher, your board's mark scheme and its examiners' reports — those say exactly what separates the bands, and they are free.
Revise this with a song
These are ours. We write revision songs because a lot of people remember a tune when they cannot remember a page, and because revising out loud in the kitchen beats staring at a highlighter.
- The English Exam Survival Song How to approach the English papers under time pressure.
Where to read more
Last reviewed 2026-08-28 by Fiducia Together · Next review due 2027-08-28
Please note: This page explains a word or a process in education. It is general information about the system, the law and the guidance in England — not advice about your child, your school or your exam. If a decision is going against you, get advice from one of the free services we link to before you agree to anything or miss a deadline. If you are revising, check your own exam board's specification: boards word things differently and yours is the one that marks you.