Language Techniques

• Alliteration - the repetition of the same sound at the beginning of the words in a sentence. It creates rhythm and emphasis. 
• Anaphora - The repetition of a phrase or word at the beginning of multiple sentences
• Anecdote - a personal story, often used in persuasive or discursive writing, to give insight into the composer and evoke pathos (pity/sadness)
• Assonance - The repetition of vowel sounds in a sentence. It creates a soft resonance or "a bad rhyme"
• Atmosphere - the mood of a piece, it is described using words of feeling, and is created by other techniques including sensory imagery
• Characterisation - The qualities and actions of the characters in a text and how they are made to be fleshed out drivers of action. Created with a variety of techniques including internal dialogue and dialogue
• Collective Pronouns - The use of “we”, “us”, to create a sense of unity between author and audience and/or represent a collective
• Connotations (negative/positive) - The associations with a word, what we think of outside of its literal definition. This can be employed for specific audiences, but also broken down into negative and positive connotations.
• Contrast - Putting two things side by side to reinforce their differences
• Cumulative listing - The use of three or more verbs, nouns or adjectives in a row – creates a list that emphasises or shows diversity
• Derogatory - Language that is used to hurt and abuse. Usually phrases directed at a particular group or person intending to cause harm
• Dialogue - The exchange between two or more people spoken aloud, represented by quotation marks and dialogue tags (said, whispered, yelled, etc). The effect is a quick way to represent relationships, character and/or launch into action.
• Diction - “Word choice”: this is created through a variety of techniques not limited to but including connotations, slang, jargon, and tone
• Direct Address - Use of second person pronouns “you” to speak directly to the audience. Creates a sense of immediate connection which can be used to influence, especially in persuasive pieces. 
• Emotive Language - Words that capture emotions – they are often used in connection to pathos
• Enjambment - A poetic technique, running a sentence over two lines so a break occurs mid sentence. It keeps the sentence running and breaks the rhythm of a regular clause.
• Ethos - a rhetorical appeal, used in persuasive texts, that establishes the credibility or trustworthiness of the author. This creates a bond between composer and audience. 
• Flashback and Flashforward - A shift in time to the past, to provide more context to a character or situation, or create a nuanced form. A flashforward is a shift in time to the future, often used to create suspense for the audience by revealing part of the plot’s outcome
• Foreshadowing - When a text preempts what will happen through inferences, atmosphere and tone. Foreshadowing is often ambiguous and so creates feelings of suspense and investment in the reader to discover the plot’s details
• Hyperbole - Exaggeration that emphasises the impact, or feeling of a situation by taking it beyond realty. Often created with metaphor.
• Internal Dialogue - The thoughts inside a character’s head. It gives perspective and characterisation into the way in which they think and what they feel. Can be created with techniques including diction, slang and modality.
• Jargon - Words specific to a profession, skillset or field of work. It creates specificity and can denote knowledge specific to characters and/or the target audience, it is similar to slang.
• Juxtaposition - The same as contrast, placing two things side by side to emphasise their differences. 
• Logos - a rhetorical appeal, used in persuasive texts, that establishes the logic of an argument. It evokes trust in audiences and clarity of understanding. 
• Metaphor - comparing two things saying one thing is another – similar effect to a simile but with greater abstraction
• Modality (high/low) - The confidence of language used. High modality is very forward and strong, low modality is less certain. 
• Motif - When a symbol is repeated throughout a text, reinforcing the ideas it represents and is exploring.
• Natural imagery - Similar to sensory by using the sense to describe the natural world. It evokes location, tone and can symbolise key ideas. 
• Onomatopeia - words that represent the sounds they are making – they build interest and quickly convey noise in the written form.
• Oxymoron - When two words directly contradict each other to create a new meaning that doesn’t make complete logical sense. 
• Pathos - a rhetorical appeal, often used in persuasive texts, pathos evokes the emotion of the audience. Often created with emotive language, sensory imagery and symbolism.
• Paradox - The connecting of two ideas that are inherently contradictory. It creates a cognitive dissonance to arrive at a new idea. 
• Personification - Giving an object or animal human qualities – the effect is to gather human empathy by making it more relatable. 
• Plosives - Explosive consonant sounds made by the rapid release of air – “p”, “b” “d” “k” “ch” “g” are all plosives. The effect is short and sharp. 
• Pun - A play on words where one word has a double meaning in the context of the sentence. Often used to create humour and layers of meaning. 
• Repetition - Repeating a word or phrase two or more times to provide emphasis. 
• Rhetorical Questions - Often used in persuasive pieces, a question asked of the audience without the expectation of an answer. Effect is to provoke thought without needing the form of a discussion. 
• Sensory Imagery (auditory, visual, olfactory, gustatory, and tactile) - Description using five senses. Auditory imagery is hearing, gustatory imagery is taste, olfactory imagery is smell, visual imagery is sight, and tactile imagery is touch. The effect of using these creates a better understanding of the world we are building or reading about.
• Sibilance - repetition of the ‘s’ consonant in a sentence. It creates a smooth sound as ‘s’ is a fricative sound (a slow release of air between the tongue and roof of the mouth) and so elongated. 
• Simile - Comparing two things using “like” or “as” – the effect links two images/ideas/things – mostly for descriptive effect.