Technique
Definition
Examples
Adjectives
A word that describes a noun.
Adorable, Attractive, Beautiful, Awful,
Aggressive, Cruel, Clever, Tasty
Verbs
A word that conveys an action.
Run, dance, jump, think, do
Adverbs
A word that modifies a verb, adjective or
another adverb.
Quickly, slowly, yesterday, last week,
there, today, daily, never, rarely,
extremely
Metaphor
Figure of speech when one thing is compared
to something else.
The circus was a magnet for the
children
Simile
Figure of speech when one thing is compared
to something else using ‘like’ or ‘as.’
As slow as a sloth
Onomatopoeia
The use of words that imitate the sounds
associated with the objects or actions they
refer to.
The autumn leaves and twigs cracked
and crunched underfoot.
Personification
A metaphor attributing human feelings to an
object.
The light danced on the surface of the
water
Hyperbole
A use of obvious exaggeration for rhetorical
effect.
The teacher gave us a ton of
homework
Emotive
language
Language intended to create an emotional
response.
A heart-breaking aroma of death filled
the air as he surveyed the devastation
and destruction that had befallen them
all
Dialogue
A written form to show that two or more
characters are having a conversation.
“Where did you meet Miss Lawson”
“At a dinner party a couple months
ago”
Alliteration
When two or more words are linked that share Go and gather the green leaves on the
the same first consonant sound
grass
Idiom
Words or phrases that aren't meant to be
taken literally
Imagery
using language to paint a picture for the
reader. Imagery assists a reader in imagining
the smell, taste, touch, sight and sound of the
scene that the author is describing.
Pathetic Fallacy
human emotions given to inanimate objects.
Used as a reflection or representation of how
certain characters are feeling.
The sun beamed down on Mary’s face
and warmed her body from head to toe.
Symbolism
Use of symbols to represent ideas or
qualities. Examples of symbols include
colours, places, sounds and objects.
Red is often a symbol of danger, so if a
building is painted red in a text, we get
the sense that it is not a safe place.
It’s raining cats and dogs
Anaphora
Anaphora is the name given to the repetition
of a word or phrase at the beginning of a
sentence or sentences. This can be used to
create a dramatic effect and a great sense of
rhythm within a piece of writing.
I wish you didn’t have to go. I wish you
wanted to stay. I wish things didn’t
have to change.
Tone
used to create a specific mood or feeling in a
text. This mood can be anything from shock,
happiness, anxiety, inspiration and sorrow.
Many of the techniques listed here, in addition
to structural devices like short or long
sentences, can be used to create tone. Read
the example below, what tone do you think it
is setting?
The hot sun beat down on the sand.
Each footstep hit the ground with a
thud. The girl was tired. The girl was
thirsty. The girl was running out of time.
Foreshadowing
when the writer hints about something earlier
on in a text that will become important or
meaningful later on in the story. This is a
really fun English language technique that can
often go unnoticed on a first reading, but
becomes clear upon closer analysis.
In the Harry Potter books, early on we
learn that Harry can speak to snakes,
just like Voldemort. So people think that
they are similar. This foreshadows what
happens later in the books when we
learn that Harry has a literal piece of
Voldemort's soul in him. So they are
not just similar, but Voldemort is a part
of Harry
Oxymoron
An oxymoron is where two words that are
typically not associated with one another are
used together.
Robin Hood was an honest thief.
The ending of the movie was
bitter-sweet.
Anecdote
An engaging, personal story or tale that is
often used to develop certain ideas in a text or
add depth and personality to characters.
Anecdotes can also be used as clues in a text
to hint toward certain elements of a
character’s story or life in a covert way