Dont forget about the word 'Depicts'
Nope that's a link to essay techniques, this guy is after how to analyse a visual text (as am I) and I found it through this page. ThanksOriginally Posted by kimmeh
Other techniques (sorry if I've repeated one already said) include:
- Subversion
- Manipulation
- Appropriation
Re: Textual Techniques
Visual texts:
Does the image offer (characters looking elsewhere) or demand (characters looking out from image)?
Is the image subjective (framed, placing the viewer in a perpsective) or objective (no frame)?
Is it part of our world (front on angle) or not (oblique angle)?
Is it intimate (close up), social (beyond touching range) or public (long shot)?
Sharp focus = high modality = reality
Soft = low modality = simplifying reality = the idealised
High colour saturation = high modality
Black and white = low modality
Salient feature: who do you look at and why
What is at the top (the ideal) and how does it relate to the bottom (the real)?
What is on the left (the familiar) and how does it relate to the right (the unknown)...
Iv been looking for visual techniques myself. Around the place i've found:
* Layout (visual, written, language, font size, etc).
* Framing.
* Types of shots (long, medium, close-up etc).
* Composition (collage, layered)
* Reading paths (direction, positioning).
* Gestures (pointing, implied direction, signs).
Sorry if there's any repeats.
Here's some of the ones I've found:
a. Positioning
b. Colour
c. Contrast – eg. In size
d. Language/text
e. Angle
f. Facial expression / body language
g. Vectors
h. Tone
i. Mood
j. Layers / grounds
k. Shot – long, medium, closeup
For all those year 11 people who are soon to do the HSC or those year 7-10 people who see the HSC slowly approaching, i have some essay tips that may help you greatly, to make your essays clearer and to ensure that the markers believe you have answered the question sufficiently. I just request that people who view this keep it bumped by posting comments/questions so others can also use it. Thank you!
Essays
An essay is an opinion written in formal style and to a set formula. It has an introduction, a development/body and a conclusion.
There are several steps to writing an essay:
1/ Understanding the question
2/ Planning your answer
3/ Writing your opinion in a structured and logical way.
Discuss- Set out both sides of the argument
Contrast- Write about differences between
Describe- Write about what something or someone is like
Comment on- State your personal opinion based on experience
Compare- Write about the similarities between
Explain- Clarify the meaning of something or how it works
Do You Agree…? Write your ideas about whether the statement is totally or partly correct or incorrect.
Paragraph structure
1) Topic sentence. The topic sentence is usually the first sentence of your paragraph, and it should summarise how the paragraph relates to your thesis
2) Paragraph body
This must be focused around evidence and must support or extend your topic sentence. Here, it is necessary to include techniques and quotes that show those techniques. Simply put, you should make a POINT, provide EVIDENCE/EXAMPLES, identify the TECHNIQUE and finally, an EXPLANATION of the effect of this technique.
3) Concluding sentence
The final sentence of your paragraph should be an overview of that paragraph, and more importantly, should link back to the question.
Shown below are some techniques for english. Remember, it is imperative that you identify the technique with every quote you use and explain how the technique is used by the composer to achieve an effect on the responder or to convey a message. For example: The “fluttering films of ash,” symbolic of the movement of the persona’s mind, contrast with the silence and provide the persona with an escape from his physical, leading to “abstruser musings” about childhood. (This was adapted from my imaginative journeys essay). However, it is just as important to remember to ensure that your quote and explanation supports your overall thesis (your argument).
TECHNIQUES
Abbreviate, Abbreviation
To abbreviate means to shorten or contract eg: company- co.
Acronym
The world formed from the first letter of several letters of several words
Eg; ANZAC- Australian and New Zealand Army Corp.
Adjective
A word that describes or adds meaning to a noun. Eg: the bad cat.
Adverb
Adds meaning to a verb eg; he runs quickly.
Alliteration
A way or linking words by repeating consonant sounds at the beginning of each. It could be used to give emphasis or to set the mood.
Eg: Only the stuttering rifles’ rapid rattle (from Wilfred Owen’s “Anthem for Doomed Youth”.
Allusion
A reference to an outside person, place or event or to another literary work. Eg: a Biblical allusion.
Ambiguity
When a word or phrase has two or more meanings
Anagram
A word formed by rearranging the letters or another word eg: March is an anagram of Charm.
Analogy
A comparison between two things which are thought to be alike in some way.
Analysis
When we analyse an argument we examine it critically and deeply.
Anecdote
A short , interesting or amusing story about a particular person or event.
Anti-Hero
A main character in a work of literature who displays none of the normal qualities of a hero. Instead of being noble and courageous, the person may be cowardly.
Antithesis
The direct opposite of something. In literature it refers to a rhetorical device in which sharply contrasted ideas are set off against each other in the same sentence: eg: fools rush in where angels fear to tread.
Antonym
The opposite meaning eg Hot and cold are antonyms.
Assonance
A device used in writing (especially poetry) in which there is a similarity of vowel sounds in a sequence or words:
The crowd outside sounds loud
Atmosphere
The dominant feeling or mood of a situation or a work of literature, established by the setting, time and conditions in which the action takes place.
Audience
People listening to attending or reading.
Autobiography
The life story of a person written by her/himself.
Axiom
A statement that needs no proof or demonstration because it is self-evident.
Ballad
A narrative poem (it tells a story) in which a story of action or romance is told in a stirring and rhythmical way: eg: ‘The Man from Snowy River’ by Banjo Patterson.
Bias, Prejudice
Biased means more heavily weighted on one side that on the other. A person who is biased tends to stay on one side of an argument and not respond to arguments from the other side.
Prejudiced people have pre(before)- judged a person or an argument that is, they have made up their minds before they have considered individual cases. The most obvious example is racial prejudice.
Biography
The life story of a person written by someone else.
Black Humour
Describes events that are funny yet shocking.
Chronological
In order of time
Cliché
A common expression that has been used so often that is felt to be tired and no longer powerful eg: Easy come, easy go.
Climax
This is usually thought of as the highest or most exiting point.
Colloquial Language
Language used in casual conversation (different from formal speech).
Comedy- Black Comedy
A comedy written with a tragic theme.
Couplet
A pair of rhyming lines in a poem. (A Sonnet has 14 lines with two rhyming couplets at the end).
Dialect
The language of a particular district or class of people.
Dialogue
1. A conversation or exchange of thoughts or ideas between two or more people or groups.
2. The normal conversation of characters in a novel, short story or drama.
Direct or Indirect Speech
Direct Speech: consists of exact words spoken by a person.
Indirect Speech: words as reported
Direct: “What book are you reading, Ian?” she asked.
Indirect: She asked Ian what book he was reading.
Documentary
A non-fiction film based on real events. It may be persuasive and informative.
Editorial
It expresses the opinion of the editor on current issues.
Elaboration
A detailed working out or description of an idea.
Elegy
A mournful poem of sorrow or regret for the dead but characterised by gentle sadness rather than a passionate grief.
Emotive Language
Language that tends to stir emotions and excite feelings.
Empathy
The ability to see into another’s mind and heart and share his or her thoughts, feelings or experience.
Epic
A long narrative poem of heroic events and actions.
Epigram
A very short poem that is condensed and pointed ending with a surprise or witty turn of thought.
Epilogue
Reflections at the end of a play.
Epitaph
An inscription, usually written in verse, on a building, tomb or coin. It is often written as a short poem.
Fable
A short story with a moral, often about supernatural people. Any legend or myth.
Fallacy
A faulty or unreasonable link between two ideas.
Fiction
Something imagined or invented.
Figurative Language
The use of words not with their common, everyday meaning but with a meaning suggested by the imagination. It is used to achieve special meaning or effect. Metaphors, similes and personification are common forms of figurative language.
Simile- Two things or actions are likened to each other. Eg: The sun is like a red hot balloon (usually using “like” or “as”). Similes are used for artistic effect. They can add power and interest to writing by making the reader think about what is being described.
Metaphors- where one thing is said to be something else. Eg: The moon was a ghostly old man.
Personification- giving human qualities to a non-human thing.
Formal Language
High form of Language, not casual or slang.
Genre
A type or form of writing such as the novel (which is a genre) or the sonnet (another genre).
Other genres are science fiction, romance, biography and many more.
Hyperbole
Deliberate exaggeration for the purpose of presenting and idea in a striking way eg: The streets ran red with blood.
Hypothesis
A theory based on valid evidence.
Imagery
The use of words to suggest pictures in our minds by means of association of ideas. For example the dove is a symbol of peace. Most commonly, imagery is used to refer to figurative language, especially the use of metaphors and similes.
Informal Language
Writing or speech that is not perfectly correct. Colloquial language.
Irony
A rhetorical device which has an intended meaning opposite to the one expressed by the words that are used.
Dramatic Irony- When characters say things without recognising the significance or importance of what they say.
Jargon
The specialised terminology used by a particular group eg: computer jargon.
Maxim
A proposition expressing some general truth or priciple.
Memoir
An autobiography , a record or a person’s memories.
Narrative
Prose or verse that tells a story; a recounting of events and experiences. A narrative will include three elements not necessarily in this order:
· Setting the scene
· Relating the events that take place, usually including a gradual building to a climax
· Evaluation where the meaning or value of events is made clear.
Through narrative, writers explore events and their meaning.
Narrator
A person who is the story-teller.
Noun
A person, place or thing.
Novel
A work of fiction written in prose.
Novella
A short novel.
Objective, Subjective
To be objective is to not let your personal feelings influence your thinking or your expressions.
A subjective view is one that is influences by one’s personal interests, emotions or prejudices.
Obscenity
Language that people generally find obscene or rude such as swearing.
Onomatopoeia
Sounds words- words that sound like what they are describing eg: hiss, buzz, rattle, bang.
Oxymoron
A figure or speech in which the idea is expressed by contradictory phrases eg: an open secret.
Paradox
A statement that seems contradictory but is true eg: One must be cruel to be kind.
Paraphrase
To put something into your own words.
Parody
An imitation of something or someone done so as to criticise or highlight their faults.
Pathos
The quality in literature that highlights feeling of sadness.
Persona
The voice of the person in a novel or poem, the narrator.
Personification A form of metaphor in which human characteristics are attributed to nonhuman things. Personification offers the writer a way to give the world life and motion by assigning familiar human behaviors and emotions to animals, inanimate objects, and abstract ideas. For example, in Keats’s "Ode on a Grecian Urn," the speaker refers to the urn as an "unravished bride of quietness." See also metaphor.
Poetic Device
Poets use a range of devices to convey meanings. Some of these are rhyme, rhythm, alliteration, assonance, figurative language, simile, metaphor and personification.
Poetic Justice
Ideal justice in which all good is rewarded and all evil is punished.
Prologue
Preface or introduction to a literary work.
Pronoun
A words used in place or a noun to save the repetition of a noun
E.g.: I , she , he them, they, me, you, us.
Propaganda
Biased or false opinions use to sway people.
Prose
Any writing or speech with no formal rhythms, or patters ( different from poetry with has these).
Pun
A type of joke based on a word that can have two or more meanings.
Realism
The representation of life exactly as it is.
Repetition
When words or phrases are repeated.
Reported Speech
The same as indirect speech.
Rhetoric, Rhetorical Devices
The art of writing using words persuasively in speech or writing. This may involve such things as amusing the audience, making people laugh or cry, being on the listener’s side.
Rhetorical Question
A question that is asked for effect rather than to get an answer.
Eg: Do you think I would sit around all night waiting for you?
Rhyme
Two words that sound the same.
Rhythm
The rise and fall of language that gives it a musical quality.
Sarcasm
Harsh or bitter words intended to wound or insult, especially in an exaggerated or ironic way.
Satire
A form of writing that makes us laugh at something by exaggerating some aspects of it. It is a form of sarcasm or ridicule used to express disapproval. Eg: Animal Farm.
Science Fiction
A genre that suggests future possibilities, usually featuring scientific inventions or discoveries such as time machines or other beings in other places.
Setting
Where and when something takes place.
Slang
Words or phrases that are not accepted as standard English used mainly in speech, especially by young people. Eg: “G’day mate, howa goin’?”
Soliloquy
In drama a speech that allows a character to think out aloud. Used a lot by Shakespeare.
Sonnet
A short poem always composed of 14 lines, each containing 10 syllables. The last two lines are usually a rhyming couplet.
Stanza
Paragraph of a poem.
Style
An author’s choice of words or phrases.
Synonym
A word with the same or similar meaning to another.
Testimonial
An open letter which describes the good qualities of a person.
Theme
Central topic in a literary work.
Tone
Range of feelings and attitudes in a literary work.
Tragedy A story that presents courageous individuals who confront powerful forces within or outside themselves with a dignity that reveals the breadth and depth of the human spirit in the face of failure, defeat, and even death. Tragedies recount an individual’s downfall; they usually begin high and end low. Shakespeare is known for his tragedies, including Macbeth, King Lear, Othello, and Hamlet. The revenge tragedy is a well-established type of drama that can be traced back to Greek and Roman plays, particularly through the Roman playwright Seneca (c. 3 b.c.–a.d. 63). Revenge tragedies basically consist of a murder that has to be avenged by a relative of the victim. Typically, the victim’s ghost appears to demand revenge, and invariably madness of some sort is worked into subsequent events, which ultimately end in the deaths of the murderer, the avenger, and a number of other characters. Shakespeare’s Hamlet subscribes to the basic ingredients of revenge tragedy, but it also transcends these conventions because Hamlet contemplates not merely revenge but suicide and the meaning of life itself. A tragic flaw is an error or defect in the tragic hero that leads to his downfall, such as greed, pride, or ambition. This flaw may be a result of bad character, bad judgment, an inherited weakness, or any other defect of character. Tragic irony is a form of dramatic irony found in tragedies such as Oedipus the King, in which Oedipus ironically ends up hunting himself. See also comedy, drama
Wit
Cleverness or humour.
Finally, after the HSC experience, i would like to say a few things. NEVER give up, remember that even if you are doing badly in school, you have the HSC exams, which make up 50% of your total mark. The best way to study for the HSC is to create a timetable, where you set out what you are going to do at a particular time everyday. Write down the subject you will be working on, the number of hours you will be working and try to be specific. Furthermore, use the resources of past papers, they are very useful in all subjects. Remember, hard work will pay off in the end. I mean, just work hard and try your best, there's nothing more you can do. However, there is less you can do and by that i mean, you bludging and procrastinating, meaning you don't work to your full potential. Trust me, that is not a good feeling at all, so enjoy your HSC experience and remember to always be true to yourself by putting in all the effort you can!
For tutoring: email yiwentm@hotmail.com
$25/hour. Will travel if long enough lessons are requested.
Eng: 95/100
Eng ext.1: 47/50
Eco: 95/100
Mathematices (advanced): 94/100
Mathematices Extension 1: 48/50
Modern History: 93/100
Physics: 92/100
UAI: 99.40
intimate (synonym of insinuate), postulate (synonym of suggest), depicts, express, impart, describe, tells us...
also try to vary your sentence structures so your not always relying on using a synonym of "demonstrates" etc..., because as u sed it gets repetitive and also when u say these kind of words all the time, often the sentences all begin with "this" or "the"... changing it around so ur starting with "Skrzynecki does this..." and "Repetition evokes this..." makes it sound heaps better
good luck!
Glossary of Literary Concepts in English
ALLITERATION
is the repetition of consonant sounds in a series of words. If the consonants are the same but the sounds are different they do not alliterate.
eg. "...the grease that kisses the onions with a hiss."
from WILLIAM STREET by Kenneth Slessor
ALLUSION
is the reference to well-known figures and/or other texts
eg. "And thrice I heard the Cock crow thinking I knew it's meaning well."
from COCK CROW by Rosemary Dobson The reference here is to the denial of Jesus after his arrest by one of his disciples.
APPROPRIATED TEXT
A text which has been taken from one context and translated The process of translation allows new insights into the original text and emphasises contextual differences between the two.
ASSONANCE
is the repetition of vowel sounds. The vowels themselves may be different but the sound has to be the same.
eg. "If I should die, think this only of me"
from THE SOLDIER by Rupert Brooke
CLICHÉ
is a time-worn phrase used to explain thought or feeling. They are usually images that have lost their power to surprise because of over-use.
eg. like a bat out of hell or as old as the hills or he's a cold fish.
CONNOTATION
is an idea or feeling associated with a word. Some words have richer associations than others eg 'house' may be the building in which you live but 'home' refers to the same object and has associations of warmth, family, security.
CONTEXT
The range of personal, social, historical, cultural and workplace conditions in which a text is responded to and composed.
CONVENTIONS
Accepted practices or features which help define forms of texts and meaning (see genre). We recognise a genre (type of text) through its conventions eg. Conventions of a Western include such stock characters as hero (white hat), villain (black hat), school marm, bar girl, themes such as tension between the settled life of the town and the freedom of the frontier which resolves as hero rides into the sunset with his best pal, his horse.
FIGURE OF SPEECH
(or figurative language) is another term used for imagery and generally refers to such devices as metaphor, simile and personification.
GENRE
A category or type of text that can be recognised by specific aspects of its subject matter, form and language eg. Teenflic - usually set in a high school with stock characters such as the cool kids, sport jocks, nerds. There is often a romantic interest but the central problem is usually social or ethical and problems tend to be resolved in the end with some degree of justice.
ELLIPSIS
refers to the omitting words from a sentence/paragraph. It is common in transcripts of conversations and is sometimes indicated by ...
EUPHEMISM
is an acceptable or mild expression which replaces an unpleasant or hurtful one. For example, some people find it too distressing to speak of death and so soften the effect by such terms as: he has passed on; she has gone to a better place etc.
IMAGE
is a term that is has a range of meanings that are used in the study of English. It can refer to
• a real or ideal resemblance eg. He moulds himself in the image of his father
• a projection of light or arrangement of pixels on a screen
• a public impression eg. a politician's image
IMAGERY
refers to the mental representations of pictures, sounds, smells textures and tastes that are created through powerful or interesting use of language. Imagery can often refer to figures of speech such as metaphor, simile and personification.
INTERTEXTUALITY
is the ways texts make reference to other texts. These references may be
• explicit such as an allusion
• implied by the many different ways a composer can draw our attention to other texts (such as parallel situations, sameness of genre, satire, parody etc.)
• inferred from your own reading. This refers to the way that you draw on your own experience of texts. These references need not have occurred to the composer and can in fact be drawn from texts composed at a later period. For example, our reading of the original Emma by Jane Austen is affected by the fact that we have seen the film Clueless.
JARGON
refers to the language or technical terms specific to a particular subject.
HYPERBOLE
a deliberate exaggeration for dramatic effect and not intended to be taken literally
eg. "...the endless cry of death and pain."
from GALLIPOLI by Mary Gilmore
LANGUAGE MODES
Listening, speaking, reading, writing, viewing and representing.
These modes are often integrated and interdependent activities used in responding to and composing texts. It is important to realise that:
• any combination of the modes may be involved in responding to or composing print, sound, visual or multimedia texts; and
• the refinement of the skills of any one of the modes develops skills in the others.
MEDIUM
The physical form in which the text exists or through which the text is conveyed.
METAPHOR
is a comparison where one thing is said to be another eg. The crimson rose of passion (Passion= crimson rose)
ONOMATOPOEIA
is the use of words whose sound echoes their sense
eg. "... the boom of shells"
from THE REAR- GUARD by Siegfried Sassoon
OXYMORON
is a contradiction in two words placed next to each other to heighten the contrast
eg. "Parting is such sweet sorrow."
from ROMEO AND JULIET by William Shakespeare
PERSPECTIVE
A way of looking at situations, facts and texts and evaluating their meaning or value.
PARADOX
is a contradiction which at first seems irreconcilable, but with deeper reflection proves to be a truth. A paradox that is frequent in literature is birth in death which refers to the nature of the life cycle.
PARODY
is a conscious imitation of another work usually for a satiric purpose
eg. "I love a sunburnt country a land of open drains..."
REPETITION
of words is used to add emphasis
eg. "Alone, alone, all, all alone
Alone on a wide, wide sea"
from THE RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
PERSONIFICATION
is the figure of speech which gives human qualities to non-human things
eg. "The Kind old Sun will know"
from FUTILITY by Wilfred Owen
SARCASM
is the use of sharp direct and intentionally cutting words. Literally means flesh tearing
eg. "He has so many faults and defects it will be hard to replace him in the job."
SATIRE
is composition which holds up to ridicule human vice or frailty in a scornful and amusing way
SIMILE
is the figure of speech which compares two things using 'like' or 'as'
eg. "The bomb burst like a flower."
from HIROSHIMA by Angela M. Clifton
TONE
is the writer's attitude to his or her subject matter or readers. You can often decide the tone by imagining the tone of voice a writer might be using if speaking the text.
Source: http://www.englishteacher.com.au/glossary.php
English Texts, Devices, Elements and Techniques
I am in a good mood so I am going to post up the longest list of english techniques and other things ever created.
Feel free to post up too and make the list more comprehensive!
Starting it off -
metaphor
simile
personification
allusion
multi-sensory imagery
imagery
first person narration
second person narration
third person narration
tautology
punctuation
repetition
characterisation
music (and its various techniques) - pitch, tone colour, dynamics, expressive techniques, duration, structure, texture
tone
dialogue
monologue
symbolism
motif
rhetorical question
question
command
statement
exclaimation
focal point
background
foreground
camera shot sizes
camera angles
clothing
setting (??)
jargon
colloquiallism
slang
analogy
pastiche (where elements of various other texts and different mediums are integrated into one)
primary source
secondary source
interview
humour
voice over
animation
cartoon imaging
satire
video-imaging
irony
rhyming couplet
special effects
delayed entrance
adjectives
verbs
nouns
pronouns
capitalisation
soliloquy
photograph
size
layout
pace
rhythm
rhyme
antithesis
juxtaposition
hyperbole
direct speech
accumulative detail
syntax - structure and types of sentences
conjunctions
persuasive language
emotive lang.
didactic lang.
propaganda
antecdote
homophone
homonym
asotrophe
cliche
onomatopoeia
adverbs
prepositions
synonyms
polar opposites
tragic flaw
tradegy
comedy
history
paradox
oxymoron
iambic pentameter
iambic tetrameter
foreshadowing
figurative lang.
conflict
climax
blank verse
anthropomorphism
allegory
character
theme
context
composer
responder
exemplify
represent
implies
explicit
connotative
poem
exposition
discussion
visual texts
description
facial expressions
body language
that's all i could think of and find on the net
actually - this site http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_literary_terms has a hell of alot of terms so everything I just posted is irrelevant
:burn:
Words such as; imply, states, shows, represents, insinuates, argues, demonstrates, reveals, proves, provides evidence, symbolises, suggests, specifys, signifys
You are beyond all help
Dancing into the void
We are almost there
i never have to see any fo that shi* again, thankfully - NO MORE ENGLISH!!!!
PS narrative techniques was the best Q ever asked - i did cloudstreet and u just ahd to mention a couple,. and tehre were a heap - bird motif, blackfella as a recurrring motif, symbolism of the house, symbolism of teh river, CHARACTERISATION (Big Technique), Cyclic structure, use of poetic descriptions of settings and place, mix of Aus vernacular with biblical metaphor, omniscient narrator that changes from 3rd to 2nd to 1st person, personification of the house, use of laconic Aus humour
a coupel of the above would have been suffice on monday
PS the above lists of narrative techniques are AWESOME and will help u, suggest 09er's get familiar with them ASAP and incorporate when u can
The application of human traits to a non-human physical or metaphysical entity.anthropomorphism??
Minus the jargon, and you should know this by now. Either way, it's a good one to learn. Markers love this kind of technical language.
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There are six main things to look for, and you expand the techniques from there:
Colour
Vectors
Text
Background/foreground
Positioning
Salience
would using "past tense narration" and "first person narration" count as a technique when answering a question? or did i just screw my assessment over..
Yes, as it is part of the language construct.
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First person narration is definitely fine; i think past tense narration is ok as well but i think you'd probably be best of referring to the tone or something of the like. For example, if it's a journal entry then it would be written in the past tense which you can imply by examining the 'reflective tone'. That said, i don't think there should be a problem with using 'past tense narration'. Just my two cents...
Past tense narration is a good one to note if it is the telling of a story. If in past tense from a first person perspective, it shows that the character makes it through the story alive. Or, its being told by an astral ghost.
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F- framing
A- angle
L- lighting
S- shutter speed
E- editing
S- setting
C- colour
O- object
B- body language
F- Fashion
Then there are additional acronyms that cover vectors, dialogue, salience, juxtapositioning etc. Many more techniques exist however, off the top of my head I can't recall them all. Also, there are already numerous forums created on this topic that you can look at which will help.
Last edited by Kat92; 7 Jun 2010 at 8:49 AM. Reason: Typing error.
i know this is late, but it might help somebody else
this was the best site i came across
http://tutortales.wordpress.com/2010...ques-an-index/
Here is a list of literary techniques that can be used for essays and/or short answers. I know there are thousands of other techniques but I've just picked out the important ones which can be used for the HSC. Enjoy!
Allegory: A narrative that serves as an extended metaphor. Allegories are often written in the form of fables, parables, poems, stories and almost any other style or genre. The main purpose of an allegory is to tell a story that has both literal and figurative meanings.
Alliteration: The repetition of similar sounds, usually consonants, at the beginning of words. For example, Robert Frost’s poem “Out, out—” contains the alliterative phrase “sweet-scented stuff.”
Allusion: A reference within a literary work to a historical, literary, or biblical character, place, or event. For example, the title of William Faulkner’s novel The Sound and the Fury alludes to a line from Shakespeare’s Macbeth.
Assonance: The repetition of vowel sounds in a sequence of nearby words. For example, the line “The monster spoke in a low mellow tone” (from Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s poem “The Lotos-Eaters”) contains assonance in its repetition of the “o” sound.
Caricature: A description or characterization that exaggerates or distorts a character’s prominent features, usually for purposes of mockery. For example, a cartoon of a gaunt Abraham Lincoln with a giant top hat, a very scraggly beard, and sunken eyes could be considered a caricature.
Cliché: An expression, such as “turn over a new leaf,” that has been used and reused so many times that it has lost its expressive power.
Connotation: As association that comes along with a particular word. Connotations relate not to a word’s actual meaning, or denotation, but rather to the ideas or qualities that are implied by that word. For e.g. ‘gold’ – greed, luxury or avarice, or high value, such as in ‘worth her weight in gold’.
Contrast: When the difference between aspects within a text are emphasized to make a point.
Direct speech: Dialogue or extracts of conversation that are placed within a prose text.
Ellipses: A punctuation device that uses three full stops (…) at the end of a line to suggest a continuation of a thought or idea to create ambiguity.
Enjambment: The continuation of a sentence or clause over a line-break in poetry as to continue meaning and sense from one line to the next without pause.
Euphemism: The use of a word or phrase to replace another word or phrase that may be considered inappropriate or over-explicit in a particular context.
Epiphany: A sudden, powerful, and often spiritual or life changing realization that a character experiences in an otherwise ordinary moment. For example, the main character in James Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man has an epiphany during a walk by the sea.
Figurative language: A type of language that varies from the norms of literal language, in which words mean exactly what they say. Figurative language does not mean exactly what it says, but instead forces the reader to make an imaginative leap in order to comprehend an author’s point. It usually involves a comparison between two things that may not, at first, seem to relate to one another. For e.g. simile, metaphor, symbolism, personification etc.
Flashback: A narrative technique that allows a writer to present past events during current events, in order to provide background for the current narration. By giving material that occurred prior the present event, the writer provides the reader with insight into a character’s motivation and/or the background to a conflict. This is done by various methods such as narration, dream sequences and memories.
Foreshadowing: An author’s deliberate use of hints or suggestions to give a preview of events or themes that do not develop until later in the narrative. Images such as a storm brewing or a crow landing on a fence post often foreshadow ominous developments in a story.
Hyperbole: An excessive overstatement or conscious exaggeration of fact. “I’ve told you that a million times already” is a hyperbolic statement.
Idiom: A common expression that has acquired a meaning that differs from its literal meaning, such as “It’s raining cats and dogs” or “That cost me an arm and a leg.”
Imagery: Language that brings to mind sensory impressions. For example, in the Odyssey, Homer creates a powerful image with his description of “rosy-fingered dawn.”
Intertextuality: the shaping of texts’ meanings by other texts. Most simply, any relationship between two texts such that the meaning of text is enriched by, or is even dependent upon, its relationship to the other text.
Irony: Broadly speaking, irony is a device that emphasizes the contrast between the way things are expected to be and the way they actually are. A historical example of irony might be the fact that people in medieval Europe believed bathing would harm them when in fact not bathing led to the unsanitary conditions that caused the bubonic plague.
Juxtaposition: When two images, objects or ideas are placed together for effect.
Metaphor: The comparison of one thing to another that does not use the terms “like” or “as.” A metaphor from Shakespeare’s Macbeth: “Life is but a walking shadow.”
Motif: A recurring structure, contrast, or other device that develops a literary work’s major themes (see below). For example, shadows and darkness are a motif in Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities, a novel that contains many gloomy scenes and settings.
Narrative perspective (1st, 2nd or 3rd): A way that events of a story are conveyed to the reader, this is the ‘vantage’ point from which the narrative is passed from author to reader. The point of view can vary from work to work. An objective third point of view can be presented, where a ‘non-participant’ serves as the narrator and has no insight into the characters’ minds (pronouns – he, it, and they). The first person point of view occurs when the main character conveys the incident they encounter, as well as giving the reader insight into themself as he reveals his thoughts, feelings and intentions (pronoun I).
Onomatopoeia: The use of words like pop, hiss, or boing, in which the spoken sound resembles the actual sound.
Oxymoron: The association of two terms that seem to contradict each other, such as “same difference” or “wise fool.”
Paradox: A statement that seems contradictory on the surface but often expresses a deeper truth. One example is the line “All men destroy the things they love” from Oscar Wilde’s “The Ballad of Reading Gaol.”
Personification: The use of human characteristics to describe animals, things, or ideas. Carl Sandburg’s poem “Chicago” describes the city as “Stormy, husky, brawling / City of the Big Shoulders.”
Pun: A play on words that uses the similarity in sound between two words with distinctly different meanings. For example, the title of Oscar Wilde’s play The Importance of Being Earnest is a pun on the word earnest, which means serious or sober, and the name “Ernest.”
Repetition: Use of a word, sound or phrase more than once in close proximity for effect or emphasis.
Rhetorical question: A question asked not to elicit an actual response but to make an impact or call attention to something. “Will the world ever see the end of war?” is an example of a rhetorical question.
Sarcasm: A form of verbal irony (see above) in which it is obvious from context and tone that the speaker means the opposite of what he or she says. Saying “That was graceful” when someone trips and falls is an example of sarcasm.
Satire: The use of language which holds up human weaknesses to ridicule. The satirist aims to tell us something that is wrong and often uses humour. In satire, humour is used to criticize.
Simile: A comparison of two things through the use of the words like or as. The title of Robert Burns’s poem “My Love Is Like a Red, Red Rose” is a simile.
Symbol: An object, character, figure, place, or color used to represent an abstract idea or concept. For example, the two roads in Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken” symbolize the choice between two paths in life.
Theme: A fundamental, universal idea explored in a literary work. The struggle to achieve the American Dream, for example, is a common theme in 20th-century American literature.
Thesis: The central argument that an author makes in a work. For example, the thesis of Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle is that Chicago meat packing plants subject poor immigrants to horrible and unjust working conditions, and that the government must do something to address the problem.
Tone: The general atmosphere created in a story, or the author’s or narrator’s attitude toward the story or the subject. For example, the tone of the Declaration of Independence is determined and confident.
Vector: Paths of reading in a visual text; lines along which our eyes are drawn.
Last edited by Absolutezero; 22 May 2012 at 5:51 PM.
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I imagine it's because euphemism and juxtaposition have more accurate descriptors, and binary opposites do not exist in this context.
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