authorial choices

Register

Level of formality of a text.

Tenor

The tone or the relationship between author and reader and how it is created.

Attitudes

The opinions expressed in the text.

Content

What the text is about.

Context

External factors that may shape a text's meaning, such as when it was written and who wrote it.

Form

The structure and shape of a text.

Themes

Recurring ideas and images in a text.

Genre

The category of fiction or text type, e.g., romance, horror, thriller.

Audience

The intended recipients of the text.

Purpose

The reason the text was produced, e.g., to entertain, inform, critique, or educate.

Tone

The writer's attitude toward a subject or audience, conveyed through word choice and writing style.

Mood

The overall feeling or atmosphere of a text, often created by imagery and word choice.

Plot

The sequence of events in a narrative.

Exposition

The part of a story that provides background information about characters and setting.

Narrator

The voice that tells a fictional story, which can be first, second, or third person.

Protagonist

The main character the reader identifies with in a story.

Anti-hero

A protagonist who lacks traditional heroic qualities but is still relatable.

Antagonist

The character who opposes the protagonist's goals.

Dialogue

The presentation of characters' speech.

Monologue

A speech delivered by one character that reveals their innermost feelings.

Soliloquy

A type of monologue where a character speaks their thoughts aloud.

Suspension of disbelief

The reader's ability to accept fantastical elements in fiction to enjoy the story.

Headline

The large title of a newspaper article, often using wordplay.

Tagline

A clarifying sentence beneath the headline of an article.

Subheading

A brief phrase that breaks up the main article and foreshadows content.

Caption

Text accompanying an image, often providing context or humor.

Grab quote

An enlarged excerpt from the text designed to attract attention.

Slogan

A catchy line that summarizes an advertisement.

Journalese

Sensationalist language typical of tabloid newspapers.

Typography

The style and appearance of printed text.

Anecdote

A short, interesting story about a real incident or person.

Polyvocal

A text featuring multiple voices or opinions to encourage diverse interpretations.

Testimonial

A written statement certifying a person's character or an organization's credibility.

Noun

A part of speech that names a person, place, thing, or idea.

Pronoun

A word that replaces a noun, e.g., he, she, it.

Adjective

A word that describes or modifies a noun or pronoun.

Verb

A word that expresses an action or state of being.

Adverb

A word that modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb.

Conjunction

A word that connects clauses or sentences.

Preposition

A word that shows the relationship between a noun and another word.

Determiner

A word that introduces a noun and clarifies its reference.

Article

A type of determiner that specifies a noun as definite or indefinite.

Participles

Verb forms used as adjectives or nouns.

Interjection

An exclamatory word expressing emotion.

Conditionals

Sentences expressing "if" scenarios.

Syntax

The arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences.

Simple sentence

A sentence with one independent clause.

Compound sentence

A sentence with two or more independent clauses.

Complex sentence

A sentence with one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses.

Faulty coordination

Joining unrelated ideas in an illogical order.

Subordination

Combining sentences to emphasize one over the other.

Inverted sentence

A sentence with reversed word order for emphasis.

Parallelism

Repetition of grammatical structure for emphasis.

Ellipsis

Omitting words for conciseness or informality.

Imperative syntax

A command or request.

Declarative syntax

A statement providing information.

Interrogative sentence

A sentence that asks a question.

Exclamatory sentence

A sentence expressing strong emotion.

Absolute phrases

Phrases providing additional information about a subject.

Run-on sentences

Incorrectly joining two or more sentences without proper punctuation.

Comma splices

Incorrectly connecting two independent clauses with only a comma.

Overlexicalisation

Excessive use of words to describe something.

Semantic field

A group of related words or expressions.

Lexical field

A set of words grouped by a common theme.

Jargon

Specialized language used in specific fields.

Proverbs

Sayings conveying universal truths.

Idiom

A phrase with a meaning not deducible from its individual words.

Patronising terms

Language that diminishes the subject.

Clipping

Shortening words for casual use.

Double entendre

A phrase with two interpretations.

Puns

Jokes exploiting word meanings or sounds.

Euphemism

A polite way of saying something socially inappropriate.

Dysphemism

An extreme way of saying something socially inappropriate.

Acronyms

Words formed from the initial letters of a phrase.

Homophones

Words that sound the same but have different meanings.

Homonyms

Words with multiple meanings.

Synonyms

Words with similar meanings.

Antonyms

Words with opposite meanings.

Archaism

A word that has fallen out of common usage.

Collocations

Words that naturally go together.

Neologism

A newly invented word.

Portmanteau

A word created by merging two existing words.

Compound words

Words formed by combining two existing words.

Taboo language

Words considered socially unacceptable.

Cliché

Overused expressions that have lost their impact.

Punctuation

Marks used to clarify meaning in writing.

Semantics

The study of meaning in language.

Connotation

The associations that words carry.

Denotation

The literal meaning of a word.

Rhetoric

The art of persuasive language.

Litotes

An understatement using double negatives.

Hyperbole

An exaggerated statement for emphasis.

Diction

The choice and use of words in writing.

Imagery

Descriptive language that appeals to the senses.

Visual imagery

Language that creates a mental picture.

Auditory imagery

Language that evokes sound.

Gustatory imagery

Language that appeals to taste.

Olfactory imagery

Language that appeals to smell.

Tactile imagery

Language that appeals to touch.

Allusion

A reference to another work or cultural element.