Efficient Appearance, Sound, and Meaning

Words have three levels to them and are
selected for their efficiency in these three
areas:
◦ Appearance
◦ Sound
◦ Meaning

Mono-syllabic: one syllable
◦ Ex: Sad

Poly-syllabic: multi-syllable
◦ Ex. Disconsolate, Despondent

The higher the ratio of poly-syllabic words,
the more sophisticated and complex the
sentence.
Flesch-Kincaid reading level calculation:
1.
Select a few paragraphs to use as your base
2.
Calculate the average number of words per sentence.
Multiply the result by 0.39
3.
Calculate the average number of syllables in words
(count and divide). Multiply the result by 11.8
4.
Add the two results together, and subtract 15.59

The result will be a number that equates to a grade level.
For example, a 6.5 is a sixth grade reading level result.

Euphonious: pleasant sounding
◦ Ex: pillow, ocean, mayonnaise

Cacophonous: harsh sounding
◦ Ex: awkward, vomit, crash

Denotative: exact meaning
◦ Ex: Dress, obese

Connotative: suggested, emotional meaning
(+, -)
◦ Ex: Gown, plump

Objective: impersonal, unemotional
◦ Ex: The rat acquired the cheese.

Subjective: personal, emotional
◦ Ex: The foul, disease-ridden beast pilfered my best
Gouda from right under my nose!

Active: states action
◦ Ex: The students made progress.

Passive: states being
◦ Ex: Progress was made by the students.

Passive voice is used when an author wants to
remain vague or conceal info.

(An author uses passive voice to remain vague or
conceal info.)

Concrete: specific, tangible
◦ Ex: Girl, flag

Abstract: conceptual, not quantifiable
◦ Ex: Beauty, patriotism

Concrete details usually provide support,
while abstract details fill in meaning.

Hyperbole: deliberate exaggeration of facts
◦ Ex: “The shot heard round the world”

Understatement (Litote): deliberate
misrepresenting as less
◦ Ex: “I was only doing my job” (after saving the
President’s life)

Pedestrian: plain, layman’s terms
◦ Ex: Hand me that cookie.

Pedantic: boorish, inflated language
attempting to display importance for
learning’s sake
◦ Ex: Relinquish unto me the floury morsel in your
possession.

Didactic: has an instructive purpose/tone;
often associated with a dry, pompous
presentation
◦ Ex: Most high school lectures

Vulgarity: language deficient in taste and
refinement; course, base
◦ Ex: @##!, !!%%^@#, and &$%^#

Slang: vernacular speech, sometimes
humorous, exaggerated, or shortened for
effect
◦ Ex: chick, dude, da bomb

Colloquial: regional, provincial; differs from
formal language in connotation,
pronunciation, usage; accepted in informal
conversation
◦ Ex: Ya’ll, You guys
◦ Ex: Fixin’ to
◦ Ex: Ain’t

Jargon: specialized or technical language
specific to a profession or field of study
◦ Ex: Chip, bite, byte, CPU, zip = computer field

Cliché: language used so often it has lost its
freshness and clarity (fig. lang. without the
freshness)
◦ Ex: As easy as pie
◦ Ex: Raining cats and dogs
◦ Ex: There’s no place like home

Assonance: repetition of similar vowel sounds
in closely associated words (half-rhyme)
◦ No pain, no gain.

Consonance: repetition of similar consonant
sound in closely associated words
◦ Each slow dusk is a drawing down of blinds.

Alliteration: repetition of initial consonant
sound in closely associated words
◦ The twisting trout twinkled below.

Onomatopoeia: words whose pronunciation
suggests meaning (sound words)
◦ Buzz, sizzle, hiss


Never are you allowed to say that “the author
uses a lot of diction.”
Whenever the word “diction” is used, it must
be accompanied by an adjective to describe
what kind of diction.