Alliteration
Where two or more words begin with the same sound and occur in sequence
Allusion
A reference to something completely separate from the text in which it appears
Ambiguity
When a word or phase has a double meaning
Analogy
Illustrating the subject under discussion by making a parallel comparison
Anecdote
The recounting of a small incident to illustrate a point, sometimes humorous
Bias
Promoting one, specific, point of view in a text and deliberately excluding others
Caption
Brief text accompanying and explaining an image
Characterisation
The way a writer creates a character in order to convince the reader
Colloquial
Informal language, often specific to particular social, local, or age-related groups
Commentary
Close, detailed description of a literary or non-literary text.
This can be either written or oral and in both cases is structured as an essay
Connotation
The connotations of a word are its secondary meanings, overtones and implications
Diction
Choice of vocabulary and phrases; for instance, can be conversational, rhetorical, formal or informal
Editorial
The article in a newspaper or journal which expresses the publication’s options on the news
Figurative language
Language that is not literal
Genre
The word used to describe a literary text type
Hyperbole
An extreme exaggeration
Imagery
Words that create a picture in the reader’s mind, to make the thing being described clearer or more vivid
Irony
Saying one thing and meaning another
Layout
The way a text is presented on a page (applies to media, rather than literary, texts)
Metaphor
A comparison in which the thing being described is said to be something else to make the description more vivid
Mood
The feeling that is created in a text
Motif
A recurring idea or image in a text
Onomatopoeia
Where a word sounds like the sound it is describing
Oxymoron
A description of something which appears to be its opposite, or impossible
Pastoral
Describing a rural scene in an idealised, simple way; attributing idyllic qualities to the countryside and innocence to those who live there
Personification
Giving human characteristics to something which is not human
Protagonist
The main character in a literary work
Repetition
Saying or writing something more than once for a specific effect
Satire
The ridicule of something the writer dislikes
Sensationalise
Describing something in an exaggerated way to shock and engage the reader, frequently a characteristic of journalistic writing
Simile
A comparison in which the thing being described is said to be like another in order to make it more vivid
Stereotype
The attribution of certain characteristics to a specific group of people, often the product of prejudiced ideas
Syntax
Choice and organisation of words in sentences
