Useful Terminology for Analysis of Unfamiliar Text
Purpose means the reason why the text has been created. This can relate to themes or messages. It can
show that the text is informative, persuasive, educational or entertaining.
Target Audience means who the text is intended for as its main audience.
Style means the way the text has been created. This can relate to language features used, sentence
structure, layout, and the viewpoint of the author/producer.
Verbal Features are the language features used.
Example means a quote or specific detail.
Verbal Features (Language/Vocabulary)
abbreviation
the shortening of a word
St (street); bike
acronym
forming a new word by using the abbreviated letters
of other words
ANZAC
alliteration
repetition of consonant sounds at the start of words
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled
peppers.
allusion
reference, sometimes indirect, to a person place or
object
analogy
presenting a parallel case to help the reader’s
understanding
assonance
repeated vowel sounds within words
two blue tubes
cliché
a trite or overused saying
That’s as good as gold
colloquialism
comparative
adjectives
informal, everyday language
adjectives used to compare two things
mates
better
compound words
combining two separate words into one new word.
Greenpeace
connotation
Slim, thin , skinny
contraction
implication, refers to qualities,; can be positive or
negative
shortened form of the verb
conversion
emotive language
using a word as a different part of speech
language used to stir the emotions of the audience
iron, to iron
slaughtered (not killed)
euphemism
hyperbole
a more pleasant way of saying something
uncomfortable or to hide the truth
gross exaggeration
passed away (not died);
restructuring, collateral damage
I’ve got tonnes of homework
idiom
phrases with an understood meaning
imperative verbs
Command form of the verb
on the wagon
watch your tongue
buy now
intensifier
Increases the meaning of the following word
very, rather
irony
jargon
when statement is contradicted by the tone, voice or
context
words specific to a particular area
litotes
statement using a negative to express a positive idea
can’t
The computer’s hard drive could not
handle the software.
he’s not a bad guy
metaphor
A comparison without using like/as where something
is compared to something it is not
The sun blazed in the sky.
onomatopoeia
words that sound like their meaning
buzz, tinkle, murmur
oxymoron
deliberate use of contradictory words in juxtaposition
‘bitter sweet’
paradox
deep down he’s really shallow
personal pronouns
a statement which seems contradictory but makes
sense
Used in place of a person’s name
personification
giving inanimate objects human qualities
The wind danced through the trees.
phrasal verbs
fly off tomorrow
pun
Verbs which are made up of a phrase
a play on the double meanings of words
rhyme
The echo effect of sounds between words
When the lights went out, the
students were delighted.
Ball, fall, tall
rhetorical question
A question asked for effect, not requiring an answer
How many times have we heard that?
sibilance
simile
repetition of ‘s’ sounds usually at the beginning of
words
a comparison of two unlike things using like or as
The sleek snake slithered, hissing its
way through the soft grass.
The sun was like a blazing fire.
slang
words particular to a social group
rad, gnarly
superlative
adjectives
tag questions
Adjectives used to compare more than two things
best
Added to the end of a sentence
he’s a bit of alright, isn’t he?
‘you can count on us’
Verbal Features (Structure Syntax)
anacoluthon
antithesis
complex sentence
compound sentence
ellipsis
inversion
a speaker changing the structure of a sentence
part way
a balanced contrast
Two or more clauses joined by a subordinating
conjunction
Two or more clauses joined by a coordinating
conjunction
leaving out of part of a sentence
I want…would you do this please?
the spirit is willing, but the flesh is
weak
Nero fiddled while Rome burned.
The All Blacks lost the rugby and the
silver ferns lost the netball.
…coming? (not Are you coming?)
Little did I dream
incomplete sentence
inverting the normal order of words in a
sentence.
An unfinished sentence
interrogative sentences
Sentences which ask questions
‘are you always tired?’
juxtaposition
two, often contrasting, things placed side by
side for effect
a list used for effect
a sensitive product with powerful
performance
combining breath-taking views,
affordability, adventure activities…
I took the bus and got off at the park
and waited for my friend.
picked for freshness
listing
loosely coordinated
sentence
minor sentence
would you…?
parallel structures
sentences that ramble often with a number of
conjunctions
a sentence in which either the subject or verb is
missing
placing a noun or noun equivalent alongside
another noun to add explanation
repeated sentence structures or patterns
repetition
repetition used for effect
alone, alone, all all alone
simple sentence
group of words with one finite verb making
complete sense.
The dog was barking for hours in its
kennel.
nouns in apposition
Mrs Taylor, the principal, jumped out
of a cake.
A dream where…A dream where…