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Paper 1 terminology with explanations, examples and effects
Literary, stylistic and rhetorical device
Not necessarily any significant difference between them, though one could try to draw up borders.
Literary devices: A language technique that creates meaning and deepens the reader’s understanding of the ideas presented in the text.
Stylistic devices: A language technique that affects how language is experienced and delivered, without necessarily deepening the meaning. (Arguably a subset of literary devices)
Rhetorical devices: A use of language that is intended to have an effect on its audience through sentence structure, sound or pattern.
Abbreviations
Definition: A shortened form of a word or phrase
Example: etc. (et cetera), LOL (laughing out loud)
Effect:
Easier writing and reading
Though it may exclude readers unfamiliar with the abbreviation
Common in online communication
Acronyms
Definition: An abbreviation formed from the initial letters of the abbreviated words
Example: NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
Effect:
Easier writing and reading
Though it may exclude readers unfamiliar with the abbreviation
Common in online communication
Active sentence construction
Definition: A sentence where the subject performs the action of the verb
Example: '“Tom killed her last year” (as opposed to the passive ‘she was killed last year’)
Effect: More direct, easier to read, engaging
Alliteration
Definition: Repetition of a consonant at the beginning of words (do not have to be consecutive)
Example: “Elisabeth’s eloquent errors”, the content of their character”
Effect: Make sentences elegant + add impact
Allusion
Definition: Hinting at somebody or something famous, either in real life or in literature
Example: “This place is like the Garden of Eden” (biblical allusion)
Effect: Allows the writer to express more than the words themselves by playing on associations and the reader’s prior knowledge. Assumes the reader is familiar with it, if not this device is not effective.
Anaphora
Definition: A type of parallelism, repeating the same word or phrase at the BEGINNING of successive sentences
Example: “The exams may be close. The exams may be scary.”
Effect: Makes the point clear, underlines its importance + adds elegance and memorability
Anecdote
Definition: A short amusing, interesting and/or relevant story about a real incident or person (personal anecdote: about the writer’s own life)
Example: “In my first year of the IB, I almost didn’t choose English A”
Effect: Illustrates a point with a telling example + can create intimacy and trust
Antithesis
Definition: Putting two or more contrasting or opposite theses/ideas/claims together, often in parallel structures
Example: “There is not a Black America and a White America”
Effect:
To emphasize the contrast and make it more effective
Make sentences elegant
Adds impact
To make the point memorable and convincing.
Apostrophe
Definition: The narrator directly addresses something inanimate or someone who is dead/absent
Example: “O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?” (Juliet believes she is alone)
Effect: Directs the reader’s attention to something other than the speaker
Assertion
Definition: To state something in a forceful manner
Example: “We must prevail!”
Effect: Emphasizes message + creates emotion
Assonance
Definition: Repetition of similar vowels in a sentence (alliteration with vowels)
Example: Tailored the sailor
Effect: Rhythm, elegance, sometimes rhyme
Asyndeton
Definition: Leaving out conjunctions between related words and phrases
Example: “We shall get a 7 in English, we shall get a 7 in History, we shall get 45 IB points.”
Effect: Creates an impression of speed + emphasizes the relation between the words/phrases
Chiasmus (antimetabole)
Definition: A type of contrast in which one phrase is echoed in the opposite direction of the first
Example: “Let us never revise out of fear, but let us never fear to revise.”
Effect: Adds elegance and emphasis
Cohesion
Definition: Forming a united whole text
Effect:
The reader is guided through the text
Shows relation between different words, clauses and paragraphs
Colloquialism
Definition: A word or phrase that is not formal or literary, and is used in ordinator/familiar conversation.
Example: “What’s up?”
Effect:
A feeling of realism for the reader
Connection between writer and reader, in some instances
Can express the location, era, society, etc. in a text
Inappropriate for certain text types (e.g. news)
Contrast
Definition: To emphasize the difference between two or more people/elements/things/etc.
Example: “My story is one of rags to riches.”
Effect: Create emphasis (positive or negative)
Dialect
Definition: Variant of English which is particular to a specific region or social group
Example: Caribbean English, working class dialect
Effect: Can express location and identity
Diction
Definition: The choice and use of words within a text.
Effect: Type of diction can affect the reader’s view of the writer or subject.
Direct address
Definition: When the writer communicates a message directly to another individual or the reader
Example: Addressed by name, nickname, pronoun, expression, etc.
Effect: Creates closeness
Emotive diction
Definition: Words or phrases that are positively or negatively loaded/charged
Example: United vs divided, happiness vs despair
Effect:
Creates emotions (involves the audience emotionally)
Indicates the writer’s view in a non-fictional text
Epiphora (epistrophe)
Definition: A type of parallelism, repeating the same word or phrase at the END of successive sentences
Example: “I want the best, and we need the best, and we deserve the best.”
Effect:
Makes the point clear, underlines its importance
Adds elegance and memorability
Euphemism
Definition: Substituting a term considered offensive or taboo with an inoffensive one.
Example: He passed away (instead of: he died)
Effect: Avoids alienating or offending readers + shows respect
Figurative language
Definition: Language that is not meant literally, using figures of speech to express something outside the exact meaning.
Examples: Euphemism, metaphor, simile, etc.
Effect:
Effect depends on how the figurative language is used.
Overall, though, it creates indirect meanings and feelings in the reader.
Aids in a flowery and beautiful language.
Formality level
Definition: Describing how formal a text is, ranging from informal to formal
Example: hey bestie (informal) vs. hello (neutral) vs. greetings (formal)
Effect:
Different genres and types of texts demand different formality levels
Blog: relatively informal
News article: neutral or formal
Presidential speech: formal
Humor
Definition: Something absurd or comic which amuses the reader.
Example: Sarcasm, irony, and puns can all be forms of humor.
Effect: Appeals to feelings + create intimacy between writer and reader
Hyperbole
Definition: Exaggeration, clarifying a point by overstating it
Example: “The exams will kill me.”
Effect: Adds emphasis + could be humourous
Hypophora
Definition: The speaker asks a question and then answers it themselves
Example: “What do I want? To make it through the IB”
Effect: Engages and includes the reader
Imagery
Definition: A description that produces a mental sensory image
Example: “The edging ticking of the clock resonated through the room”
Effect:
Appeals to feelings
Creates a sense of immediacy
Helps the reader envision and imagine
Types of imagery
Vision = visual imagery
Touch = tactile imagery
Hearing = auditory imagery
Smell = olfactory imagery
Taste = gustatory imagery
Movement = kinesthetic imagery
Bodily experiences (e.g. hunger, thirst, fatigue, pain) = organic imagery
Inclusive diction
Definition: Words that create a bond between writer and reader and/or include the reader
Example: Personal pronouns such as “we”, “us” and “our”
Effect:
Creates a feeling of intimacy or unity
Reduces the feeling of distance between writer and reader
May make the reader more inclined to take in the writer’s argument
Informal spelling
Definition: Misspelling words purposefully to make the language more informal and colloquial
Example: Gonna (going to), nite (night)
Effect: Shows how the words sound
Irony
Definition: Verbal irony is saying the opposite of what one means. It
Example: Telling a tall person that they are short
Effect:
Irony is context dependent
Humorous + entertaining
Adds extra meaning
Jargon
Definition: Special words or expressions used by a profession or group
Example: “Olfactory imagery” in literary analysis
Effect:
Affects how precise a text is
Affects how trustworthy the writer seems
May be difficult for others to understand
Juxtaposition
Definition: Placing opposites or extremes beside each other (literally means positioned side by side)
Example: “From the trenches of the IB to the sunlit summer break”
Effect:
Highlights differences (compares and contrasts)
Creates emphasis/impact
Literal language
Definition: Directly saying what is meant, as opposed to figurative language
Example: “He died” or “I’m in love”
Effect: Clear communication, no flowery language, some say it is more formal
Metaphor
Definition: A type of figurative language, a comparison without the words “like” or “as”
Example: “Teacher’s pet”
Effect: Adds extra meaning beyond the words, arguably makes the language more beautiful and complex
Meter
Definition: A form of rhythm in text. A regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables within a line.
Example: IAMBIC pentameter (5 iambs in a line)
Effect. Beauty, creates rhythm, can indicate meaning
Metonymy
Definition: Substituting a word or phrase with another it is closely associated with (describing something indirectly by referring to a related object)
Example: “The crown is less powerful today than in the 16th century” (the crown represents the monarchy
Effect:
Elegance and poetic color
Adds meaning by playing upon associations
Mood
Definition: The general atmosphere or feeling the text creates in the reader. Created by diction, connotations and the combination of devices and scenes in a text.
Effect: The mood usually supports the writer’s purpose with the text. (Aids them in achieving it)
Onomatopoeia
Definition: Words imitating the sounds they describe
Examples: Bank, beep, rattle, crack
Effect: Appeals to feelings, creates a sense of immediacy and drama
Oxymoron
Definition: Two opposites are joined to create an effect. A paradox that seems self-contradictory.
Examples: Sweet sorrow, shared secrets, living dead
Effect:
Can add elegance/beauty
Makes the meaning more profound
Passive sentence construction
Definition: Formed through ‘to be’ + ‘-ed’
Example: She was killed last year (as opposed to the active: Tom killed her last year)
Effect:
Sounds more formal
Hides the agent (creates tension/excitement)
Paradox
Definition: A statement which seems to contradict itself and yet might be true.
Example: “It is awfully hard work doing nothing.”
Effect: Can be humorous, but also make the reader think.
Parallelism
Definition: Words, phrases, or clauses that are similar in length, structure, and grammatical form placed next to each other creating a syntactic repetition
Example: “The rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer”
Effect:
Emphasize the meaning
Creates contrast
Creates rhythm and elegance in the language
Build imagery
Personal appeal
Definition: The use of personal pronouns like “I”, “you”, “we” and “us”. This can be a direct appeal or trying to include the whole audience.
Example: “I urge you to”, “it is high time we”
Effect:
Creates a connection between the speaker and the audience
Can make the speaker seem respectful of others
Personification
Definition: A type of figurative language where human qualities are given to animals, objects, and concepts
Example: “The smiling sun”, “the evil exams”
Effect: Adds extra meaning beyond the words
Polysyndeton
Definition: The use of several (unnecessary) conjunctions between words or phrases.
Example: “You need so much for the exams; a pen and a ruler and a brain and a need to live…”
Effect:
Emphasize that many things are listed
Creates rhythm
Affects the speed (slows down or speeds up, depending)
Point of view / narrative perspective
Definition: The narrator’s position in relation to a story being told. Has a unique voice perspective and style.
Examples and effects:
First person
Pronouns: I, me, myself
Central
The narrator is also the main character
Peripheral
The narrator is another character in the story, who witnesses the main character
Frame
The narrator is a character in an outside story
Second person
Pronouns: You, your
Immersive experience as if they were the first person
Third-person
Pronouns: He, she, they
Omniscient
The narrator know everything about the story and its characters, including inner thoughts and feelings
Limited
The narrator sticks closely to one character
It can remain with one character or switch
Objective
Neutral narrator that is not privy to characters’ thoughts or feelings
Mostly observational tone
Pronouns
Definition: A word that is used instead of a noun or noun phrase
Examples: you, me, us, we, she, him, they
Effect: More efficient language, can involve the reader
Power line
Definition: Memorable catch-phrases
Example: “Yes, we can!”
Effect: Underline the main message + memorable
Pun (or double entendre)
Definition: Amusing plan on the double meaning of a word
Example: “They shot a whole in his head and the police are looking into it”
Effect: Intriguing, entertaining (humorous)
Punctuation
Comma: ,
Period: .
Question mark: ?
Exclamation mark: !
Dash: – (not the same as a hyphen)
Colon: :
Semi-colon: ;
Parenthesis: ()
Register
Definition: Particular varieties or styles of language, varies in different purposes and contexts depending on the receiving audience
Example: Legal register, register of a weather forecasting. Difference in register when hanging out with friends and when at work.
Effect: Creates formality level and associations
Repetition
Definition: Said again, repeating key words, motifs phrases, or sentences
Example: “I have a dream” speech
Effect: Emphasizes and hammers home the point, draws attention
Rhetorical question
Definition: A question asked for effect with no answer expected
Example: Maybe it doesn’t matter after all?
Effect: Involves the audience, gets them to think for themselves
Rhyme
Definition: The repetition of identical or similar sounds (words starting or ending with the same sound). May occur at different points of a sentence. Different rhyme schemes can be used.
Examples: Here and there. A-B-B-A.
Effect: Creates rhythm and beauty, might draw connections
Sarcasm
Definition: Harsh irony aiming to be unpleasant
Example: "You sure have your priorities straight”
Effect: Criticizes, creates a bitter tone
Sentence types
Simple sentence
Subject and verb, one clause
“I am hungry”
Compound sentence
Two main clauses
Conjunction between them
“I am hungry and thirsty”
Complex sentence
Subordinate clauses and subordinating conjunctions
“Since I haven’t eaten, I am hungry”
Similie
Definition: A type of figurative language, an explicit comparison using the words “like” or “as”
Example: “The exams are like an oncoming train”
Effect: Adds extra meaning beyond the words
Symbol
Definition: Something which represents something other than itself, added meaning
Example: Rose = symbol of love
Effect: Adds extra meaning beyond the words
Synecdoche
Definition: A part is used to represent the whole, or the whole is used to represent a part
Example: “All hands on deck” (hands = workers)
Effect:
Adds elegance and poetic color
Adds to the meaning and associations
Synthetic personalization
Definition: The process of the speaker addressing mass audiences as if they were familiar individuals through inclusive language.
Effect:
Makes the listener feel close to the speaker
Creates a sense of intimacy
Makes the speaker seem trustwrothy
Tense
Definition: A set of forms taken by a verb to indicate the time of the action in relation to the time in which it is described.
Example: Present tense (happening currently), historical present tense, past tense
Effect:
Present tense makes the story come alive
Historical present tense creates immediacy in the past
Past tense can feel more distant for the reader
Tone
Definition: The writer’s attitude to the topic or to the reader. Tone is created through an interplay of different language features and literary devices.
Example: “We are invincible” = nationalistic tone
Effect: Different tones will affect the mood and the reader of a text in different ways, often connected to the purpose of the text
Tricolon
Definition: A type of parallelism. A series of consecutive three parallel words, phrases, or clauses that are similar in length and grammatical form
Example: “We can make it through the semester. We can make it through May. We can make it through the IB.”
Effect: Emphasizes ideas and points by “piling up” evidence supporting them
Understatement (litotes)
Definition: A type of irony, describing something as less important than it actually is.
Example: “It was OK” about the best night of your life
Effect: Emphasizes through contrast to reality + entertains
Varied sentence length
Definition: A variation of long and short sentences for specific effect
Example: A short sentence will stand out after a succession of long ones
Effect: Depends. In this example, it emphasizes the short sentence.
Vocabulary
Definition: The body of words, artistic and stylistic forms, and techniques utilized in the language.
Example: A broad vocabulary
Effect: Depends on the type of vocabulary.
Broad vocabulary = seems intellectual, trustworthy
Limited vocabulary = seems younger and/or less educated
Word class
Definition: A group of words that have the same basic behavior and function.
Examples and effects:
Nouns: specific
Adjectives: describes, flowery language
Verbs: active, movement
Adverbs: Describes a verb, adjective, or another adverb
Examples: loudly, slowly, daily
Modal verbs: express the speaker’s attitude towards truth, and possibility, show obligation, indicate ability or give permission
Examples: should, must, will, might
Modal adverbs: A specific group of adverbs that add additional meaning to modal verbs
Examples: Actually, allegedly, clearly, doubtlessly
Determiners: A word that modifies, describes, or introduces a noun
Examples: my, your, his, its, that, this, some
Prepositions: Indicate direction, time, place, location, spatial relationships, etc.
Examples: in, at, on, of, to
Interjection: Used to express a feeling, request, or demand something
Alas, hurray, oh dear
Note
Flashcard