D-I-D-L-S
A strategy for annotation and style analysis.
DICTION (word choice)
The author’s choice of words and their connotations
What words appear to have been chosen specifically for their effects?
What effect do these words have on your mood as the reader?
What do they seem to indicate about the author’s tone?
IMAGERY
The use of descriptions and fully developed details
What images are especially vivid? To what sense do these appeal?
What effect do these images have on your mood as a reader?
What do they seem to indicate about the author’s tone?
DETAILS
Facts included or those missing
What details has the author specifically included? What do they imply?
What details has the author apparently left out?
(NOTE: This is only for analysis. Do not write about these omitted details in an essay.)
What effect do these included and excluded details have on your mood as a reader?
What do these included and excluded details seem to indicate about the author’s tone?
LANGUAGE
Characteristics of the words used (slang, jargon, academic language, etc.)
How could the language be described?
How does the language affect your mood as a reader?
What does the language seem to indicate about the author’s tone?
SYNTAX (sentence structure)
The way the sentences are constructed
Are the sentences simple, compound, declarative, varied, etc.?
How do these structures affect your mood as a reader?
What do these structures seem to indicate about the author’s tone?
Using DIDLS for Style Analysis
Use diction to identify tone. Analyze how imagery, details, language and syntax develop/support tone.
DICTION:
The author’s choice of words (adjectives, nouns, verbs, adverbs, negative
words, positive words, synonyms, contrast, etc.) and their connotations.
Look at the words that jump out at you and evaluate only those words to find tone.
Also look at:
Colloquial (Slang)
Old-Fashioned
Informal (Conversational)
Formal (Literary)
Connotative (Suggestive meaning)
Denotative (Exact meaning)
Concrete (Specific)
Abstract (General or Conceptual)
Euphonious (Pleasant Sounding)
Cacophonous (Harsh sounding)
Monosyllabic (One syllable)
Polysyllabic (More than one syllable)
Describe diction (choice of words) by considering the following:
1. Words can be monosyllabic (one syllable in length) or polysyllabic (more than one
syllable in length). The more polysyllabic words, the more difficult the content.
2. Words can be mainly colloquial (slang), informal (conversational), formal (literary) or
old-fashioned.
3. Words can be mainly denotative (containing an exact meaning, e.g., dress) or connotative
(containing suggested meaning, e.g., gown)
4. Words can be concrete (specific) or abstract (general or conceptual).
TONE: Author's attitude toward the subject, toward himself, or toward the audience.
Positive tone/attitude: lighthearted, hopeful, exuberant, enthusiastic, complimentary, confident,
cheery, optimistic, loving, passionate, amused, elated, sympathetic, compassionate, proud
Negative tone/attitude: angry, disgusted, outraged, accusing, condemnatory, furious, wrathful,
inflammatory, irritated, indignant, threatening
Irony/Sarcasm: scornful, disdainful, contemptuous, sarcastic, cynical, critical, facetious,
patronizing, satiric, condescending, sardonic, mock-heroic, bantering, irreverent, mockserious,
taunting, insolent, pompous, ironic, flippant, grotesque
Sorrow/Fear/Worry: somber, elegiac, melancholic, sad, disturbed, mournful, solemn, serious,
apprehensive, concerned, hopeless, staid, resigned
Neutral tone/attitude words: formal, objective, incredulous, nostalgic, ceremonial, candid,
shocked, reminiscent, restrained, clinical, baffled, sentimental, detached, objective, disbelieving,
questioning, urgent, instructive, matter-of-fact, admonitory, learned, factual, didactic,
informative, authoritative
IMAGERY: Creates a vivid picture that appeals to the senses and uses figurative language.
Alliteration
Assonance
Consonance
Onomatopoeia
Simile
Metaphor
Hyperbole
Understatement
Personification
Metonymy
Pun
Symbol
Analogy
Oxymoron
repetition of consonant sounds at the start of a word
repetition of vowel sounds in the middle of a word
repetition of consonant sounds in the middle of a word
writing sounds as words
a direct comparison of unlike things using like or as
a direct comparison of unlike things
a deliberate exaggeration for effect
represents something as less than it is
attributing human qualities to inhuman objects
word exchanged for another closely associated with it
Uses words with multiple meanings
something that represents/stands for something else
comparing two things with at least one thing in common
Use or words seemingly in contradiction to each other
The giggling girl gave gum.
Moths cough and drop wings.
The man has kin in Spain.
The clock went tick tock.
Her hair is like a rat’s nest.
The man’s suit is a rainbow.
I’d die for a piece of candy.
A million dollars is okay.
The teapot cried for water.
Uncle Sam wants you!
Shoes menders mend soles.
the American Flag
A similar thing happened…
bittersweet chocolate
DETAILS: Specifics the author includes about facts – his opinion
Details differ from images in that they don't have a strong sensory appeal.
What is missing can be as powerful as what is presented. Look for biases in the writing.
LANGUAGE:

The overall use of language, such as formal, clinical, jargon, etc.
Consider language to be the entire body of words used in a text, not
simply isolated bits of diction.
For example, an invitation to a wedding might use formal language, while a biology text
would use scientific and clinical language.
Artificial
Literal
Bombastic
Moralistic
Colloquial
Concrete
Obtuse
Connotative
Ordinary
Cultured
Provincial
Figurative
Scholarly
Formal
Sensuous
Grotesque
Simple
Homespun
false
apparent, word for word
pompous, ostentatious
puritanical, righteous
vernacular Obscure unclear
actual, specific, particular
dull-witted, undiscerning
alludes to; suggestive
every day, common
cultivated, refined, finished
rural, rustic, unpolished
serving as illustration
intellectual, academic
academic, conventional
passionate, luscious
hideous, deformed
clear, intelligible
folksy, homey, native, rustic
Pedantic
Detached
Plain
Emotional
Poetic
Esoteric
Precise
Euphemistic
Pretentious
Exact
Slang
Symbolic
Insipid
Trite
Jargon
Informal
Learned
Vulgar
didactic, scholastic, bookish
cut-off, removed, separated
clear, obvious
expressive of emotions
lyric, melodious, romantic
understood by a chosen few
exact, accurate, decisive
insincere, affected
pompous, gaudy, inflated
verbatim, precise
lingo, colloquialism
representative, metaphorical
uninteresting, tame, dull
common, banal, stereotyped
vocabulary for a profession
casual, relaxed, unofficial
educated, experienced
coarse, indecent, tasteless
Rhetorical Devices
Rhetorical Question
Euphemism
Aphorism
Repetition
Restatement
Irony
Allusion
Paradox
the use of language that creates a literary effect – enhance and support
food for thought; create satire/sarcasm; pose dilemma
substituting a milder or less offensive sounding word(s)
universal commends, sayings, proverbs – convey major point
also called refrain; repeated word, sentence or phrase
main point said in another way
verbal or situational – good for revealing attitude
refers to something universally known
a statement that can be true and false at the same time
SYNTAX: The way sentences are written affects audience understanding.
 Consider the following patterns and structures:
Does the sentence length fit the subject matter?
Why is the sentence length effective?
What variety of sentence lengths are present?
Sentence beginnings – Variety or Pattern?
Arrangement of ideas in sentences
Arrangement of ideas in paragraph – Pattern?

The construction of sentences is used to convey attitude.
Declarative assertive
Imperative authoritative
Interrogative
Simple Sentence
Loose Sentence
Periodic Sentence
Juxtaposition
Parallelism
Repetition
Rhetorical Question

A statement
Command
asks a question
one subject and one verb
details after the subject and verb – happening now
details before the subject and verb – reflection on a past event
normally unassociated ideas, words or phrases placed next together
show equal ideas; for emphasis; for rhythm
words, sounds, and ideas used more than once – rhythm/emphasis
a question that expects no answer
Punctuation is included in syntax
Ellipses
Dash
Semicolon
Colon
Italics
Capitalization
Exclamation Point
SHIFTS IN TONE:
a trailing off; equally etc.; going off into a dreamlike state
interruption of a thought; an interjection of a thought into another
parallel ideas; equal ideas; a piling up of detail
a list; a definition or explanation; a result
for emphasis
for emphasis
for emphasis; for emotion
The attitude change about topic/attitude about topic is
different than the attitude toward subject.
Look for changes in sentence length, paragraph division, punctuation, and diction.