The devices you need to name and analyse, from simile and semantic field to modal verbs and direct address, with what each one achieves.
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1.What is a simile?
A comparison using like or as, which helps the reader picture something by linking it to something familiar.
2.What is a metaphor?
A comparison stating that something is something else, which is more direct and forceful than a simile.
3.What is personification?
Giving human qualities to something non-human, which can make a setting feel alive or threatening.
4.What is pathetic fallacy?
Using weather or nature to reflect a mood or foreshadow events.
5.What is the difference between personification and pathetic fallacy?
Personification gives human qualities to any non-human thing. Pathetic fallacy specifically uses nature or weather to mirror mood.
6.What is alliteration?
Repetition of the same sound at the start of nearby words, which draws attention to a phrase.
7.What is sibilance?
Repetition of s or sh sounds, often creating a soft, hushed or sinister effect.
8.What is onomatopoeia?
A word that imitates the sound it describes, which makes a description more vivid.
9.What is a semantic field?
A group of words in a text that all relate to the same idea, such as words of violence or of decay.
10.Why is identifying a semantic field useful?
It shows a pattern across the whole extract rather than a single technique, which is worth more than spotting one word.
11.What is connotation?
The associations a word carries beyond its literal meaning.
12.Why write about connotations?
It lets you explain why the writer chose one word over another with the same basic meaning.
13.What is hyperbole?
Deliberate exaggeration for effect.
14.What is juxtaposition?
Placing two contrasting ideas close together to highlight the difference between them.
15.What is an oxymoron?
Two contradictory words placed together, such as deafening silence.
16.What is imagery?
Descriptive language that appeals to the senses to create a picture in the readers mind.
17.What is a rhetorical question?
A question asked for effect rather than an answer, often used to make the reader think or agree.
18.What is the rule of three?
Grouping three words or ideas together, which makes a phrase memorable and emphatic.
19.What is direct address?
Speaking straight to the reader using you, which creates a personal connection.
20.What is emotive language?
Words chosen deliberately to provoke an emotional response.
21.What is a modal verb and what does it do?
A verb such as must, should or could that shows certainty or obligation, often used to sound authoritative.
22.What is an imperative?
A command verb, which makes writing forceful and urgent.
23.Why are statistics and facts used in non-fiction?
They make an argument seem credible and evidence based, even when carefully selected.
24.What is an anecdote and why use one?
A short personal story, used to make an argument relatable and to create sympathy.
25.What does a verb choice tell you?
How an action is performed. A dynamic verb such as lunged creates a very different impression from moved.
26.What is repetition used for?
To emphasise an idea and make it stick in the readers mind.
27.What is the single most important thing when writing about language?
Explaining the effect on the reader. Naming a technique without an effect scores almost nothing.
28.What is a good structure for a language analysis point?
Make a point, quote briefly, name the method, then explain the effect on the reader in detail.
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