Language techniques

Cards (19)

  • Literary techniques add flavour to a piece of writing, enhancing the meaning and stimulating logical thinking.
  • Writers use various devices to make their writing more engaging, including metaphor, alliteration, threes/list, and personification.
  • Metaphor is a figure of speech that gives meaning through a comparison which is not literal, for example, "The Headmaster is a dragon".
  • Alliteration involves using a succession of words that begin with the same letter, for example, "Timid Trevor tried to navigate".
  • Threes/List is a group of nouns, adjectives or verbs, for example, "Bold, courageous, gallant King".
  • Emotive Language stirs emotion in the reader through specific choices in vocabulary, for example, "The grieving, pot-bellied orphans were destitute".
  • Personification is a literary device where an object is given human characteristics, for example, "The trees danced gracefully in the tender sunshine".
  • Offering your ideas and thoughts on a matter, such as Homework is a waste of time, mentally engages the recipient, as they decide whether they agree or disagree with the statements being made.
  • Improving exam confidence on this content can be done through Adapt Assessment, which provides exam-specific revision content for every subject, unlimited past paper questions on every topic, and personalised, examiner feedback on your answers.
  • Rhetorical Question evokes a reasoning response from the reader by asking a question that doesn’t require an answer, making the recipient feel like they are participating in a conversation, as they mentally formulate an answer to the question.
  • Effective use of language techniques should stimulate the senses, add meaning, and improve the flavour of the text.
  • Exaggeration is a technique of magnification or understatement about a matter, allowing the comparison to be made and the intended meaning of the statement to be discerned.
  • Onomatopeia are words that imitate the sound when spoken, appealing to the auditory sense.
  • Direct Address is a technique of talking directly to the audience, making the recipient feel included in the rhetoric and mentally engage with the speaker.
  • Techniques that encourage the reader to participate in the discourse include Rhetorical Questions, Direct Address, and Opinions.
  • Facts and figures, such as T_wo men walked down the street, 72% of the population…, offer logical information, making the recipient accept the reasoning as more authentic and plausible.
  • A quick method of remembering 14 language techniques is Mates, Proof, Read.
  • Repetition is a technique that heightens the importance of words and makes them memorable.
  • Allusion is a figure of speech that makes reference to a place, event, literary work, myth, art, etc., but it must be recognised by the intended audience, mentally engaging the recipient with the text.