Literary term
Connotation
The feelings and associations a word suggests beyond its plain meaning.
What it means
Connotation refers to the ideas, feelings and associations a word carries beyond its plain dictionary meaning. Two words can point to the same thing yet feel completely different: home and house both name a building. But home suggests warmth, safety and belonging, while house is neutral.
Writers choose words for their connotations to steer how a reader responds, colouring a description as positive, threatening, sad or comforting. Recognising connotation is central to close reading. A writer's real attitude often sits in these quiet associations, not in what is stated openly.
Why it matters in the exam
Writer's-effects questions depend on connotation. The best answers zoom in on one word and explain the associations it triggers, instead of describing the whole sentence loosely. Showing that you can weigh a word's overtones is exactly the skill the mark scheme rewards.
In your own writing, choosing words for their connotations gives your description precision and mood.
Example
Calling a crowd a mob, not a gathering, adds connotations of danger, disorder and threat. Gathering stays calm and harmless.
How to use it
Select one loaded word from a quotation and unpack what it suggests. Use phrases such as this implies or this carries a sense of. Compare it with a neutral alternative to prove the writer's choice was deliberate.
When you write, test your own word choices. Does each one carry the feeling you want the reader to take away?
Unsure how "Connotation" earns marks? A trial hour with an experienced teacher shows it in a real answer.