Language Techniques

Alliteration

Use of repeated consonant sounds for effect

Anaphora

Repeating successive sentences or clauses with the same grammatical structure

Antithesis

A sentence encompassing two opposing ideas

Assonance

Repeating vowel sounds for effect - a form of internal rhyme

Asyndetic listing

A list in which each item is separated by a comma

Chiasmus

A rhetorical device that uses reversal for effect

Colloquial language

Vocabulary particular to a specific region or place

Direct address

Use of the 2nd person to involve the reader

Emotive language

Language designed to prompt and evoke an emotional response

Euphemism

A phrase that softens or avoids awkward subjects

Hyperbole

Exaggeration, often for comic effect

Imagery

The overall term for similes, metaphors, personification, etc.

Irony

Where the meaning is the opposite of the words used or when the situation is the opposite to that expected

Onomatopoeia

Words that sound like the noise they describe

Oxymoron

A 2 word phrase encompassing two opposite ideas

Personification

Giving inanimate objects human qualities

Polysyndetic list

A list in which each item is connected by a connective to add emphasis

Repetition

Using a word or phrase successively to emphasize its importance

Rhetorical question

A question that doesn't require an answer in order to prompt the reader to think or respond

Sibilance

Alliteration on the 's' sound for harsh or calming effect

Statistics

Use of numbers, percentages, ratios, etc to strengthen an argument

Superlative

Best or most of something

Tautology

Repeating the same thing twice for effect

Triplet

Three closely-related ideas

Zoomorphism

Giving animal qualities to inanimate objects

Declarative

A statement

Interrogative

A question

Exclamative

An exclamation

Imperative

A command

Dental Alliteration

Repetition of 'd' and 't' sounds

Plosive alliteration

Repetition of 'p' and 'b' sounds

Fricative Alliteration

Repetition of 'f' , 'ph' and 'v' sounds

Liquid alliteration

Repetition of 'l' sounds

Caesura

A natural pause or break in a line of poetry, usually near the middle of the line.

in media res

a piece of writing that begins in the middle of the action

Analepsis

flashback

Prolepsis

flash forward