What do language techniques do

The sun smiled at the hills, ready to begin a new day. Pathetic fallacy - a type of personification where emotions are given to a setting, an object or the weather.

The clouds crowded together suspiciously overhead as the sky darkened. Onomatopoeia - words that sound a little like they mean. The autumn leaves and twigs cracked and crunched underfoot.

Oxymoron - a phrase combining two or more contradictory terms. There was a deafening silence. English writing techniques You can use several different writing techniques to make your writing more engaging and exciting— and keep your audience reading until the end of your piece. Alliteration and assonance Loved by writers and readers, alliteration and assonance are classic writing techniques in your toolbox.

Metaphors For writers, finding a way to compare two things is sometimes a battle. Personification Engaging text jumps off the page and ensnares readers. Foreshadowing Many great authors have used foreshadowing, a writing technique in which a writer includes hints in the text letting readers know what will happen at the end of the story. Read more Best practice content writing Resources Proofreading Expert proofreading online Proofreading services Copy-editing services.

Plosive consonants Harsh sounds in a sentence or phrase. While this can be used to draw attention to specific things in the sentence, more often than not it is purely an aesthetic device. Use this technique with caution.

Pun A pun is formed by exploiting two different meanings of the same sound. Reference Reference is a very broad term. It simply means mentioning, usually clearly and unambiguously, something else, whether it is a historical event, another author, another text, or even a set of ideas.

Alfred Prufrock. The rejet is the disjunction between the appearance of a poem flowing between lines on a page and the pause that speakers unconsciously insert between lines when first reading a poem aloud.

See enjambment. Repetition The repetition of words or syntax order of words for emphasis or persuasion. Repetition does matter, but it is an extremely easy technique to identify, so you should refer to it sparingly, and always analyse it further.

Never point out that repetition of a term emphasises the term. Instead, think critically about what the repetition actually suggests. A famous example of repetition comes at the end of T.

To begin with, what is the idea? Repetition here has to be interpreted in the context of the central themes of the poem. You could begin by thinking about how this repetition relates to the cycles of revolution alluded to elsewhere in the poem, or to the scientific theories, including the theory of entropy, Eliot appears to explore. You can read more about how repetition works here.

Representation How a composer conveys meaning through textual features. This is a key concept in works of art. You can read more about processes of representation here. Rhyme Rhyme is one of the most familiar techniques, and there is little to be said about it. Rhyme is often more of an organising feature and used to please aesthetically rather than to create meaning. Be careful in attributing meaning to rhyme in verse.

In satire, common human behaviours, beliefs, and vices are held up to shame and scorn. Satire is often considered a high form of comedy. Satire is often employed for biting social or political commentary. Queen Elizabeth I banned satire in to curb criticism of her reign in print. Many critics argue that the character of Falstaff is a satirical representation of Sir John Oldcastle, a Lollard the pre-cursor to protestants who was executed for treason and heresy.

Setting Location of a story — internal and external. This is often used to create a sinister or sensuous tone or mood. Symbolism is a very important technique, and in some texts, it is the central technique. A symbol is any visual object that by convention signifies something else, whether it be another object, an idea, a process, or an emotion.

The letters of the alphabet are therefore symbols, in that they represent speech sounds. Numbers are symbols. Although all language is symbolic, literary symbolism usually refers more specifically to the use of objects to represent ideas and emotions. The Eliot poems set for study in Module B are all heavily symbolic. A first step in interpreting the symbolism is to think about the ideas the objects conventionally imply.

This suggests the poem might be concerned with decline and decay. Syntax — sentence structure Syntax is one of the main components of language. It refers to the organisation of words and phrases in a sentence, as well as their structural relations. Some strategies you can take to assess this are:.

Textual Integrity The organic unit of a text. Its use of universal themes. This is an essential part of Year 11 and Year 12 Module B. You can find a detailed explanation of Textual Integrity in this post. Theme Message or moral of a story — makes us ponder bigger issues in life. Tone The way composer or character feels — conveyed by word choice. Tone is a very common technique and useful to discuss in your responses.

There are many different ways to describe the tone of a text. Here is an extensive list of tones employed in texts. Ask yourself, which technique will best convey the message at this time? Make sure that you do not overuse certain techniques. Using a variety and on specific occasions will stimulate the recipient. Which technique will make a lasting impression on the reader or audience? Making deliberate decisions in your writing will help you to produce a successfully engaging piece.

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