Diction
Definition: Diction refers to the author's choice of words and their usage. Diction,
as refers to word usage, is a qualitative term. It refers to the effectiveness of the
author's word choices. As it refers to word choice it is more stylistic, referring to
the level of the language employed by the author.
There are at least two levels of diction, that is, formal and informal. Some would
add to these another level, colloquial. Some would take this one more step and
add slang, though slang is often included in colloquial speech.
Formal diction refers to the language used by educated people when writing
scholarly articles or are engaged in some form of elevated discourse. Formal
diction consists of sophisticated, often technical, language. It often makes
allusions to books, events, or ideas that are rarely understood by those who have
not had advanced schooling. It is writing that employs what is often called in
colloquial speech "big words," though not all obscure words are large.
Formal diction is rarely used in conversation and when it is it usually reflects
badly on the person using it. Informal speech refers to the language of educated
people as they engage in every day conversation. Cicero, the great Roman
orator, is said to have employed formal diction when at the Senate and informal
diction when at the dinner table.
Informal diction is also the language of most journalism and other forms of
writing intended for mass consumption. Those who recognize two levels of
diction would include colloquial speech in this definition. Colloquial speech is the
language associated with those with little education. Educated people probably
use colloquial speech in certain social situations, as those with little or no formal
education may on occasion use informal diction.
An example of formal diction would be the science textbook on meteorology. An
example of informal diction would be the weathercaster on the evening news.
An example of colloquial diction might be the street corner discussions of the
weather. Those who include slang as a level of diction are referring to those
words that are newly invented and not formally recognized by society at large.
They are often short lived, but not always. (Cool, for example keeps finding its
way back into the slang vocabulary.) The difficulty with slang as a level of
language is that it lacks a complete vocabulary. To express complete thoughts
slang terms must surround themselves with words that have been formally
inducted into the language. In practice slang as a level of diction is usually
colloquial speech with slang terms mixed in.
Questions to ask yourself about the diction used in a given piece:

What is the level of language used in the writing? Why did the author
choose this level of language?
 What does the level of language tell me about the
character/speaker using it? (For example, if a character uses
formal diction at a party it may be a clue we are to see him as
pompous. This is an especially important question to ask when
reading fiction.)
 What does the level of language reveal about the author's intended
audience and his attitude toward this audience? (For example,
formal diction implies a certain amount of education on the part of
the reader, where an informal diction may imply less educated
reader. A diction that is overly simplistic may reveal an attitude of
superiority on the part of the author.)

What do specific word choices reveal about what is happening in the
work? (For example, a room could be described as cluttered or
claustrophobic. It is possible for both words to describe a single room, that
is, a claustrophobic room is in all likelihood a cluttered one. But "cluttered"
is a less emotionally charged word than "claustrophobic." If an author
chooses to describe a room as claustrophobic, what is the significance of
that word choice? )
 How effective are the author's word choices?
 If they appear to be poor choices does this reflect on the
quality of the writing or is the author deliberately using a poor
word choice to tell us something? For example, W. H. Auden
in his poem "As I Walked Out One Evening" uses inept and
skillful word choices to reveal different things about the
different voices that are heard in the poem. The poor word
choices are a clue to the immaturity of the individual
speaking them, while the more sophisticated word choices of
the second voice in the poem are a clue to that speaker's
maturity and experience.2
 What kinds of words tend to predominate in the writing? (Does the
writer, for example, use more verbs than adjectives? Does he seem
to prefer shorter words to longer ones?)
 Are the characters' word choices consistent with what we know
about them? If they are not what is the purpose of this
inconsistency? (A character may want to conceal from another
character that he is well educated. As a result he may deliberately
use colloquial speech when we know his normal speech is very
sophisticated and refined, or informal speech bordering on formal.)

A Checklist of Things to Consider When Analyzing Diction:
Diction (word choice)
Describe diction by considering the following:

Words may be monosyllabic (one syllable in length) or polysyllabic (more than
one syllable in length). The higher the ratio of polysyllabic words, the more
difficult the content.

Words may be colloquial (regional/local language), slang, dialect, informal
(conversational), formal (literary), neutral, old-fashioned.

Words may be mainly denotative (containing an exact dictionary meaning) or
connotative (containing a suggested/implicit meaning).

Words may be concrete (specific; describe physical qualities or conditions) or
abstract (denotes ideas, emotions, conditions, or concepts that are intangible). \

Words may be euphonious (pleasant sounding), e.g. lovely, or cacophonous
(harsh sounding), e.g., grizzled.
Words That Describe Language
Different from tone, these words describe the force or quality of the diction, images, and
details. These words qualify how the work is written, not the attitude or tone. You may
want to use these words to describe diction.
jargon
pedantic
poetic
vulgar
euphemistic
moralistic
scholarly
pretentious
slang
insipid
sensuous
idiomatic
precise
exact
concrete
esoteric
learned
cultured
connotative
symbolic
picturesque
plain
simple
homespun
literal
figurative
provincial
colloquial
bombastic
trite
artificial
abstruse
obscure
detached
grotesque
precise
emotional
concrete
exact
Connotation
The implied overtones of a word, the coloration or shade of meaning the word
suggests, the emotional and tonal qualities that come to be associated with
words.
When words are used for their connotations in an argument you might ask
yourself the following questions:

Does the author of the essay select words for what they suggest rather
than for their literal meanings?

Why does the author choose to shade her or his meanings?

How far from the literal meaning of the word do the connotations take the
reader?
a. Does the author suggest a meaning that is nearly opposite from what
the literal meaning of the words would be or is it fairly close?
b. If the suggested meaning is far from the literal meaning what purpose is
served by this irony?
(1) Marc Antony in his famous "Friends, Romans, Countrymen" speech
begins by saying Brutus is an honorable man and he wants his audience
to believe he is sincere because the audience likes Brutus and he does
not want to offend them. Once he has won the audience to his side, his
references to Brutus as an honorable man become ironic, dripping with
sarcasm, because his ultimate goal is to convince the audience to rebel
against Brutus and his fellow conspirators.
c. If the suggested meaning is fairly close to the literal meaning, what is
suggested by the subtle nuance that the writer or speaker is giving to the
word or words?

How do these "overtones" strengthen or weaken the argument?

Because the majority of words in an essay will be selected for their literal
meanings, what, if anything, can be inferred by the author's choice of
words for what they suggest as opposed to what they literally mean? Is
there a relationship, for example, between words selected for their
denotations and those selected for their connotations?
Denotation
Denotation is the literal or dictionary meaning of a word.
When words are used for their literal meanings in an argument you might ask
yourself the following questions:

Does the author choose words precisely for their literal meanings?

What appears to be the author's purpose in using words in this way?
Explain.

How is the argument strengthened or weakened by this literal use of
language? Explain.

What does the use of language in this way suggest about the author's
view of her or his audience? Explain.

If words have been selected for what they suggest, as opposed to what
they literally mean (for their connotations) do any relationships exist
between these words and those selected for their literal meaning?