E

  • Eye Contact - Important in oral presentations. It makes the audience feel they are involved in, and interacting with, the speech.

  • Expression - Orally, a technique that involves speaking in a manner and tone which reinforces the message of the text ie infusing emotion into the words. By varying expression and tone, the speaker is able to maintain the interest of the audience. Written expression, is the use of powerful language to reveal or represent certain emotions.

    G

  • Gestures - A technique in the oral presentation of text that involves making actions or movements which reinforce speech. Gestures make a narrative visually appealing to the audience.
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    A

  • Antithesis - contrast and opposites.

  • Alliteration - repetition of an initial consonant sound, such as pied piper. It emphasises the sound and is pleasing to the ear, making a point more memorable.

  • Assonance - the repetition of an initial vowel sound, or vowel rhyming eg. the brown cow cowered.
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    C

  • Colloquialism - A regionally bound word formation and sounding, specific to particular areas within any given country. Many colloquialisms are now found in dictionaries, having been widely accepted as formal language.
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    H

  • Hyperbole - A dramatic exaggeration of a point highlighting its importance. The audience is able to remember and identify the point because it is presented as a dramatic situation or issue.
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    I

  • Imperative - A direct command or instruction that is not a request. It urges, pushes and possibly forces action, showing that action is essential and that the point being made is important.

  • Incomplete sentence - A minor or incomplete sentence is a sentence that doesn't follow writing conventions. It doesn't have all the parts of speech needed to be a true sentence, but gets straight to the point. Information is given quickly, so the audience does not have to wait long to find out anything. Incomplete sentences, though technically improper, are very common in modern society, particularly in advertisements. The use of incomplete sentences within any form of written study or exam is not advised, unless specifically called for.
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    M

  • Metaphor - A direct comparison saying something is actually something else. The comparison is figurative and not literal, meaning it is simply intended to build up an image in the mind. Metaphors are very effective and used frequently in fictional texts. The audience is provided with a very accurate visualisation of an abstract or physical thing they may never have encountered.
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    O

  • Onomatopoeia - A word that sounds like what it means or echoes its meanings. Words like splash, crash, pop, etc. give an aural, visual or emotional image of what they mean. Such words are dramatic, effective and exciting for the audience.
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    P

  • Pause - Brief stop. Pausing after or before writing or saying something important is effective in highlighting the importance of what has been written or said. Pauses are essential in all forms of literature and are often recognised by punctuation marks such as a period (".") or a comma (",").

  • Personal pronouns - Words specifically identifiying oneself or another, such as; I, me, my, mine, you, your, he, his, she, her, we, our. This technique can be effective in involving the writer or speaker, reader or audience; personalising their experience. It also increases the authority of an individual writer or speaker. Collective terms such as 'we' and 'our' are called inclusive or direct personal pronouns.

  • Personification - The giving of human characteristics or personality to an inanimate object or animal. This is a figurative language technique used to describe an inaminate object or animal behaving or looking like a human might.

  • Pitch - The level and tone of a sound, be it speech or noise; in speech pitch is directly linked with emotion and the impartation of feeling to an audience. Variance in the pitch of a speakers voice, makes the narrative more interesting and easier to follow.

  • Pun - A clever comical technique, that uses ambiguity (words with double meaning) to add humor. A pun is a word or phrase that can often have several meanings or interpretations. It makes a point more memorable because it is thoughtful and humorous.
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    Q

  • Quotation(s) - A quotation is an effective literary technique because it adds weight to an argument and provides reference to a similar opinion. To quote someone is to include their exact speech or writing in a text, often used as evidence towards a point of view. Using quotations can show a speaker or writer to be knowledgeable and authoritative.
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    R

  • Repetition - Writing, saying or showing something again. Selective use of repetition makes the audience remember, highlighting a key point in a text.

  • Rhetorical question - Asking a question that does not require an answer. The answer is often so obvious that it proves a point. It stimulates the audience and makes them think, making them more interested in the text.
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    S

  • Simile A comparison using "like" or "as". It is an indirect comparison, because it is not actually saying that something is something else, but rather it is similar to something else. A simile is a form of figurative language that allows the audience to visualise the abstract or physical object being described, and enables them to produce a mental image based on other experiences.

  • Sibilance - Sibilance, refers to the 'hissing' sound of the oral repetition of the "s" or "z" sound. A minor form of alliteration, it emphasises and draws out the word, which can make a point more memorable.

  • Statistics - Quoting statistics is an effective technique, when compiled correctly, in qualifying a point in a text. Statistical details are solid proof that add weight to an argument. It must be noted that incomplete statistics are often used within advertising, for example :- Company 'X' quotes "Our olive oil is 99% pure". Without defining the purity, the statistic in unfinished. The use of statistics should be carefully undertaken.

  • Sentence Structure This is the correct formation and sequence of parts of a sentence. Every language has its own rules about formation sentences. The use, and order, in the sentence of a noun, pronoun, adjective, verb, adverb, clause et al being particular to any given language.
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