English techniques

• Alliteration


  Repetition of initial consonant sounds within a group of words
• Alliteration


  • “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.”
  • “4 Best Bets for Better Business.”
  • “Clear communication is key.”
• Nonfiction Authors can use alliteration to create catchy chapter or subsection titles
• Alliteration is effective for highlighting concepts you want readers to remember
• Overusing alliteration can make a book sound like a nursery rhyme
• Onomatopoeia


  Word that imitates, suggests, or resembles the sound it’s describing
• Onomatopoeia


  • “gurgle,” “hiss,” “boom,” “whir,” “whizz”
• In storytelling, onomatopoeia draws the reader into the environment
• Foreshadowing is an advance warning about something that’s going to happen in the future
• Foreshadowing in fiction can be subtle, in nonfiction it tends to be more obvious
• Hyperbole is an exaggeration not meant to be taken literally
• Hyperbole


  • “Hey man, remember that time you ate, like, fifteen pizzas in one night?”
  • “We all know how miserable it can be to work 24/7.”
• Hyperbole is used by Authors to emphasize the power of their statements
• Authors have to be careful with hyperbole in nonfiction to maintain credibility
• Oxymoron


  Seemingly contradictory terms appearing together
• Oxymoron


  • “the dumbest genius I know.”
  • “Your unhappiest customers are often your business’ happiest accident.”
• Oxymorons create unexpected contrasts
• Flashback is a scene set in an earlier time than the main story
• Flashbacks provide important context or backstory for an event being discussed
• Point of view is the perspective used to tell a story
• First-person point of view is common in nonfiction
• Second-person point of view is occasionally used to directly address readers
• Euphemism is a polite way of describing something indirectly
• Many Authors use euphemisms to vary their language or soften the blow
• Nonfiction writers occasionally use second person (“you”) to directly address their readers
• Authors use euphemisms to vary their language or soften the blow of a difficult concept
• Euphemism


  A polite way of describing something indirectly
• Euphemisms


  • passed away
  • died
  • pregnancy termination
• Some Authors use euphemisms to keep their texts more palatable for a general audience
• Colloquialism


  A word or phrase that’s not formal or literary, used in ordinary or familiar conversation
• Colloquialism can make your book feel more relatable to readers
• Anthropomorphism


  When human traits, emotions, or intentions are given to non-human creatures or things
• In nonfiction, some Authors may want to humanize their products or services using anthropomorphism
• Anaphora


  A rhetorical device where a word or phrase is repeated at the beginning of successive clauses to draw emphasis
• Anaphora


  • “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief…”
• In grammar, anaphora is also used to replace a word with another to avoid repetition
• Anachronism


  A chronological inconsistency where people, things, or sayings from different time periods are juxtaposed
• Anachronism can be used in nonfiction to make it easier for a current audience to relate to stories
• Malapropism


  The mistaken use of a word in place of a similar-sounding one, often creating a humorous effect
• Malapropism


  • flamingo
  • flamenco