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Understanding Text # All Words

Terms in this set (24)

Alliteration
The recurrence of the same consonant sounds at the beginning of words in close succession, eg. ripe, red raspberry.
Allusion
A brief reference, either direct or indirect, to a person, place, thing, event, work of art or literary text.
Colon
A punctuation convention used to separate a general statement from one or more statements that provide additional information, explanation or illustration.
Dash
A punctuation mark that shows an interruption or a break in thought; used to highlight particular aspects of text for more emphasis
Evocative language
Words or phrases that are designed to evoke an emotional response from the reader
Extended metaphor
A metaphor that goes beyond a single phrase or sentence. There is still the same main subject, but additional subjects or metaphors are applied
Figurative language
Words or phrases used in a way that differs from the expected or everyday usage. They are used in a non-literal way for particular effect (e.g. simile, metaphor, personification)
Indirect speech
The writer reports what a person said without quoting them word for word
Inference
Drawing logical insights or conclusions based on evidence in a text
Juxtaposition
The placement of two or more ideas, characters, actions, settings, phrases or words side-by-side for a particular purpose, for example to highlight contrast or for rhetorical effect
Metaphor
When one thing is said to be something that it is not. It is not meant to be taken literally. A connection is made from one object, person, place or event to another, which can help the reader apply qualities of one to the other to provide insight or new knowledge (e.g. 'her heart of stone').
Modality
Aspects of language that suggest a particular angle on events; a speaker or writer's assessment of possibility, probability, obligation and conditionality. It is expressed linguistically in choices for modal verbs (for example can, may, must, should), modal adverbs (for example possibly, probably, certainly) and modal nouns (possibility, probability certainty)
Parody
A humorous imitation of a story, poem or song
Pun
Humorous use of a word to bring out more than one meaning; a play on words
Reading path
The way in which a reader's eye is drawn to a page either by words or an image, and then from that starting point to other items on the page
Salience
A strategy of emphasis, highlighting what is important in a text. In images, salience is created through strategies like placement of an item in the foreground, size and contrast in tone or colour. In writing, salience can occur through placing what is important at the beginning or at the end of a sentence or paragraph or through devices such as underlining or italics.
Semicolon
A punctuation mark that joins clauses that could stand alone as sentences. In this way, clauses that have a close relationship with one another may be linked together in a single sentence.
Simile
When a comparison is made between two items that have something in common (or are similar to each other) and are compared using the words 'like' or 'as'
Theme
Indicates importance both within a clause and across a text. In a clause, the theme comes in first position and indicates what the sentence is about. Theme is important at different levels of text organisation. The topic sentence serves as the theme for the points raised in a paragraph. A pattern of themes contributes to the method of development for the text as a whole
Tone
Relates to the style of a writer and indicates his or her attitude and feeling towards people, places, issues and events in their writing. In the same way as a speaker conveys feelings and attitudes through vocal tone by varying their voice, a writer conveys tone by vocabulary choices.
Visual features
Visual components of a text such as placement, salience, framing, representation of action or reaction, shot size, social distance and camera angle
Visual language choices
Choices that contribute to the meaning of an image or the visual components of a multimodal text and are selected from a range of visual features like placement, salience, framing, representation of action or reaction, shot size, social distance and camera angle
Voice
The author's style that makes his or her writing individual; reveals his or her attitudes, personality and view of the world
Wordplay
The deliberate use of words that create misunderstanding or ambiguity for humorous effects. Pun is one example.
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