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WorksheetYear 9Level 2 · Standard

Free Year 9 Language Features: Imagery, Tone and Mood Worksheet

Students read an original prose extract and examine how imagery, figurative language, sensory detail and word choice build mood, and how the author's tone differs from the mood the reader feels. They identify similes and contrasts, explain the effect of carefully chosen details, and finish by analysing the passage and rewriting it to create a different mood. These skills underpin every close-reading task in senior English.

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Year
Year 9
Subject
English
Topic
Text Analysis & Essays
Difficulty
Level 2 · Standard
Estimated time
25 minutes
Curriculum
Australian Curriculum
Questions
15
Answers
Included, with working
Format
PDF (A4) + print

Students will practise

  • identifying figurative language and sensory imagery
  • distinguishing tone from mood
  • explaining how word choice creates mood
  • analysing contrast in a literary text
  • rewriting a passage to change its mood

Curriculum: Australian Curriculum. We show specific outcome codes only where they have been verified against the official curriculum document.

What's next?

Completed: Language Features: Imagery, Tone and Mood

Ready for more? Move on to Year 10 English.

How to use this worksheet

  1. Print the PDF or complete it on screen. Write the student's name and date at the top.
  2. Read the instructions for each part together before starting. Encourage working to be shown.
  3. Mark with the answer sheet. Use the model answers and success criteria as a guide rather than a single right answer.
  4. Record the score, celebrate what went well, then follow the "What's next" suggestion.

Common questions

Who is this worksheet for?

Year 9 students (typically ages 14–15) working on text analysis & essays. It is pitched at level 2 · standard.

Are the answers included?

Yes. The PDF includes a full answer sheet with model answers and success criteria where there is more than one good answer. You can also view the answers online.

How long does it take?

About 25 minutes for 15 questions. Short, regular sessions work best: two or three a week beats one long one.

Do I need to sign up to download?

No. Click Download Free PDF and it opens immediately. It is free for personal, classroom and homeschool use.

What should we do next?

Explore more Year 9 english resources.

Preview

Year 9 · English · Text Analysis & Essays

Language Features: Imagery, Tone and Mood

Success Tutoring

Student name:

Date:

Score: /

Close reading means slowing down. Underline any word that makes you feel something, then ask why the author chose it.

Part A — Reading the language

Read the passage twice, then circle the best answer.

The last train had gone by the time Ellie reached the platform. The station lights buzzed like trapped insects, throwing a thin yellow film over the empty benches. Somewhere beyond the car park, a dog barked twice and gave up. She sat. The cold came up through the metal seat and settled in her bones, patient as a debt collector.

On the far wall, a poster for a summer festival peeled at one corner: laughing faces, a blue sky, the words 'You belong here' in letters the colour of mangoes. Ellie looked at it for a long time. Then she pulled her sleeves down over her hands, checked her phone (eleven per cent, no messages) and watched the timetable click over to tomorrow.

(Original passage written for this worksheet.)

1.'The station lights buzzed like trapped insects' is an example of:
  1. Ametaphor
  2. Bsimile
  3. Chyperbole
  4. Dirony
2.'patient as a debt collector' suggests the cold is:
  1. Agentle and brief
  2. Brelentless and impossible to escape
  3. Cwarm and comforting
  4. Dsudden and violent
3.The mood of the passage is best described as:
  1. Ajoyful and energetic
  2. Blonely and bleak
  3. Ctense and terrifying
  4. Dcalm and content
4.The author's tone towards Ellie is best described as:
  1. Amocking
  2. Bquietly sympathetic and observant
  3. Cangry
  4. Dcelebratory
5.Which sense does this detail appeal to? 'The cold came up through the metal seat and settled in her bones.'
  1. Asight
  2. Btouch
  3. Chearing
  4. Dsmell
6.'a dog barked twice and gave up' contributes to the mood by:
  1. Aadding humour
  2. Bsuggesting resignation and emptiness
  3. Cbuilding suspense towards danger
  4. Dshowing that Ellie is in a busy place

Part B — Explain the effect

Answer in full sentences. Quote the text to support your ideas.

7.Quote two phrases that create visual imagery of light or colour.
8.Explain the irony of the poster's slogan, 'You belong here'.
9.Why might the author have included the detail 'eleven per cent, no messages'?
10.In your own words, explain the difference between tone and mood, using this passage as an example.
11.What does the final clause, 'watched the timetable click over to tomorrow', suggest about Ellie's situation?
12.Identify one example of contrast in the passage and explain its effect.

Part C — Key terms

13.Match each term to its definition.
  • imagery
  • simile
  • tone
  • mood
  • contrast
  • placing two different things side by side to highlight their difference
  • the atmosphere or feeling created in the reader
  • the author's attitude towards the subject or audience
  • language that appeals to the senses to create a picture or feeling
  • a comparison using 'like' or 'as'
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Preview — the PDF contains the full resource and answer sheet.

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About this resource

Created by
Success Tutoring
Last reviewed
1 October 2026
How it was made
Written by our team

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