Language and Structural Techniques Vocabulary

Flashcards defining language techniques, structural techniques, and word classes directly from the lecture notes.

Alliteration

The first letter of a word repeated in words that follow.

Anecdote

A short, interesting story about a real incident.

Contrast/Juxtaposition

2 things placed close together with contrasting effect.

Colloquial

Informal, everyday language.

Dialogue

A conversation between 2 or more people

Direct Speech

The speech of a character in ""

Exclamatory sentence

Expresses strong emotions (!)

Direct Address

The speaker communicates directly to another individual.

Emotive Language

Language that appeals to your emotions to make you feel.

Facts

Known to be true.

Hyperbole

Exaggerating for effect

Metaphor

A word or phrase inferring non-literal resemblance.

Onomatopoeia

word that sounds like the noise it is describing.

Opinion

A view or judgement formed.

Oxymoron

2 contrasting words put together (bittersweet).

Pathetic Fallacy

Giving human emotion to objects, nature, or animals

Personification

Giving human characteristics to a non-human object

Repetition

A word or phrase repeated to achieve a particular effect.

Sensory Language

Used in creative writing that involves the 5 senses.

Sibilance

A hissing sound made with the letter 'S', throughout words.

Simile

Showing similarity between two things using 'like' or 'as'.

Semantic field

A group of words that all link to the same topic.

Chronological Order

Arranged in time order

Circular structure

A story that ends in the same place it began.

Flashbacks/Flash-forwards

Set earlier or later than the main narrative

Foreshadowing

A hint of what is to come later

Lists

Connected items written one after the other.

Openings

The start of a text must interest the reader.

Pace

The feeling of speed in the writing

Paragraph Lengths

Varying lengths make writing interesting.

Reported Speech

What someone said without using the person's words

Rhetorical Questions

Obvious questions that don't need an answer

Rule of Three

3 adjectives or phrases to describe something.

Sentence Types

Simple, Complex, Compound, Exclamatory, Declarative etc.

Sentence Moods

Factual, commanding, expressive, descriptive.

Shifts

Changes in ideas / perspectives, eg outside to inside.

Zooming in and out

The narrowing or widening of the narrative focus.

Noun

The name of an object or place.

Adjective

Describes a noun (red, warm, metal, soft)

Verb

An action word (to sing, to walk, to read)

Adverb

Describes a verb (loudly, joyfully, quietly)