Language Techniques

Question 1

Adjectives

Answer 1

Describing words, usually connected to a noun. e.g. the ‘bright red’ house. It persuades by adding emphasis and creating imagery.

Question 2

Alliteration

Answer 2

Alliteration occurs when two or more nearby words begin with the same sounds. It persuades by gaining the readers’ attention, adding emphasis, reinforcing meaning and helping to set the tone.

Question 3

Assonance

Answer 3

Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds to create internal rhyming within phrases or sentences. It persuades by gaining the readers’ attention, adding emphasis, reinforcing meaning and helping to set the tone. (proud, round, cloud)

Question 4

Analogy

Answer 4

A form of comparison where two different things are compared to explain the idea or thing by comparing it to something familiar. e.g. life is like a race, the one who keeps running wins the race. It persuades by making the piece more striking and easier to understand.

Question 5

Extended Metaphors and Similes

Answer 5

Metaphors and Similes can be used to draw analogies. Therefore analogies can be referred to as extended metaphors or similes. They are used to persuade by making the piece more striking and easy to understand.

Question 6

Anecdotes

Answer 6

An anecdote is a short story that is being used to portray a particular idea or opinion. It is used to persuade the audience by engaging the audience, giving the author credibility and creating feelings of sympathy or respect.

Question 7

Emotional Appeals

Answer 7

Emotional appeals aim to make the reader feel a certain emotion to make persuade them to agree with the author. It can do this by making the audience feel connected to the issue or by making them feel the issue is important to them.

Question 8

Denigration of the Opposition

Answer 8

When a writer directly (and sometimes quite savagely) attacks an opponent or their ideas. It persuades the audience by convincing them that other opinions than the authors are wrong or even stupid.

Question 9

Bias (a type of tone)

Answer 9

Bias is a one-sided presentation of an issue or view. It positions the reader to agree with or support the writer’s point of view by only presenting one side of the issue.

Question 10

Cliche

Answer 10

An overused term or expression. They can offer a shortcut to convey an explanation. cliches give writers an opportunity to express an idea to their readers quickly.

Question 11

Colloquial Language

Answer 11

Informal, everyday language. It persuades as the familiarity and informal qualities make the readers feel equal to the author. It also makes them feel more connected to the author and their contention.

Question 12

Colourful Words (Descriptive language)

Answer 12

Words that are very descriptive. They provide intrigue and can often paint familiar issues and events in a new light.

Question 13

Connotation of words

Answer 13

The implied meaning behind words. There are both positive and negative connotations. They can be used to gain a specific response from the audience, therefore persuading them.

Question 14

Emotive Language

Answer 14

It is language that is emotionally charged. They are used to elicit a particular emotional response from the audience and can be both positive and negative.

Question 15

Contention

Answer 15

The main line of the argument in a text, the opinion of the author on the topic they’re writing about.

Question 16

Evidence

Answer 16

Used to support the author’s beliefs. It can make the writer’s opinion seem irrefutable or objective. This can also be influenced by bias.

Question 17

Formal Language

Answer 17

It is carefully constructed language that is often balanced and logical in its approach. It is the opposite of colloquial language. It can make the author seem more reliable and trustworthy.

Question 18

Generalisations

Answer 18

A general statement that infers or claims that whatever is being asserted is true for most people because it is true in some cases. It persuades people similarly to how evidence does.

Question 19

Graphs and Diagrams

Answer 19

It persuades people by making the relevant statistics look more scientific and emphasising their effect, therefore persuading the reader.

Question 20

Hyperbole

Answer 20

It is an exaggeration. It persuades by gaining attention, eliciting a strong emotional reaction (both positive and negative), and it reinforce the point.

Question 21

Humour

Answer 21

It persuades because it is funny, and when it is used we often let our guard down, making us more easily persuaded.

Question 22

Inclusive Language

Answer 22

Inclusive language ensures that the writing is identified explicitly with the audience. It aims to align the speaker or writer’s position with the audience’. It persuades by making the audience feel responsible or included.

Question 23

Irony

Answer 23

The implied meaning is different to the literal meaning. It persuades by providing a good opportunity to attack the opposition, making their opinions seem bad.

Question 24

Jargon

Answer 24

Highly specific language is associated with a specific field that the average person may not be familiar with. It persuades by making the author seem knowledgeable.

Question 25

Loaded Words

Answer 25

Words that are ‘loaded’ with associations. Loaded words generally have aggressive undertones. This tactic usually assumes the reader’s agreement with the ‘emotional baggage’ such words carry.

Question 26

Metaphor

Answer 26

A metaphor is a figurative language technique that involves making a comparison that describes one thing in terms of another. It doesn’t use like, it says it is. This persuades by making the piece more striking and easily understood. It can also raise strong emotions and add to the tone.

Question 27

Metaphor

Answer 27

A metaphor is a figurative language technique that involves making a comparison that describes one thing in terms of another. It doesn’t use like, it says it is. This persuades by making the piece more striking and easily understood. It can also raise strong emotions and add to the tone.

Question 28

Personification

Answer 28

It is where an object or idea is given human characteristics or qualities. It persuades by raising strong emotions, engaging the reader and adding humour.

Question 29

Pun

Answer 29

Puns are clever or humorous plays on words that sound or look similar. Puns draw the readers attention and they may entice the audience to continue reading.

Question 30

Reason and Logic

Answer 30

The use of an argument developed step-by-step with reasoning and evidence to support each main point. It is used to make the author seem more reliable and trustworthy.

Question 31

Repetition

Answer 31

The use of repeated words, phrases, sentence patterns and ideas. It gives emphasis to important ideas and can make the point more interesting.

Question 32

Rhetorical Questions

Answer 32

Questions that have the answer embedded in them. They sometimes employ irony. It is used to manipulate the audience to agree because it assumes the answer is obvious and positions the reader in such a way that to disagree would be to dismiss some point that clearly commands agreement.

Question 33

Sarcasm

Answer 33

Sarcasm is an extreme form of irony. It is usually intended to be deliberately scornful. It persuades due to it being highly effective at denigrating the opposition.

Question 34

Satire

Answer 34

The primary purpose of satire is to criticise, usually through the use of humour. It is persuasive due how good it is at denigrating the opposition and encouraging the readers to re-consider their views.

Question 35

Sensationalism

Answer 35

To exaggerate or over-dramatise an issue or point so that it assumes great importance in the publics mind. It persuades by bringing forth strong emotions that may not really be warranted.

Question 36

Simile

Answer 36

A simile is a form of figurative language that ios used to show how one thing is similar to another. It makes ideas easier to understand and persuade by helping to get the authors contention across. They can also provoke emotions and they engage the reader.

Question 37

Appeal to sense of security

Answer 37

Appeal to peoples want to feel safe andd free from unexpected attacj, Writers may try to exploit existing fears from or make new fears in order to push their point.

Question 38

Appeal to being modern and up to date

Answer 38

Appeals to being moderrn play on people’s desires to be a part of the in-crowd, seen to be a source of popularity and acceptance. Being up to date is something that is a common pressure and people emphasise it to make readers insecure or secure in their stance, agreeing with the author.

Question 39

Appeal to sense of justice

Answer 39

Appeal to sense of justice often shows the audience something unjust to provoke them to feel guilt or outrage and then agree with the audiences contention. It also can sway the audience by making them feel guilty.

Question 40

Appeal to family values

Answer 40

Appeal to family values argues in favour of traditional family life and it is generally used to persuade people by threatening the security of their family. It is a strong appeal because familial love is common and threats to family also correspond to threats to society to most people.

Question 41

Appeal to fear

Answer 41

This is similar to appeal to security. It appeals to peoples sense of fear and is effective because people tend to respond emotionally when safety, of themselves or others, is threatened. These trigger the feeling that it is imperitive that a solution must be found and this allows readers to be easily swayed to the authors contention, which is presented as a viable solution.

Question 42

Appeal to fear of change

Answer 42

Most people resist change and using this technique of appealing to this brings out peoples insecurities and desire to cling to what they know. Writers play on the human desire for comfort to make people feel uneasy about contentions in opposition to theirs.

Question 43

Appeal to freedom

Answer 43

Appeals to freedom tap into people’s desires tfor a sensse of unrestricted possibilities. Everyone yerns for freedom in some way so this is an effective technique. This technique can be used to make people feel cheated at the lack of freedom or amazed at the amount, whichever serves to support the authors contention.

Question 44

Appeal to group loyalty

Answer 44

This appeal uses group loyalty to inspire people to take action or to play on their guilt. It can also make people feel obliged to support the authors contention because of their membership of a group.

Question 45

Appeal to hip-pocket nerve

Answer 45

Appeal to hip-pocket nerve, or appeal to money, persuades readers to be concerned for their financial wellbeing. This is often used in terms of public spending. This convinces people of the authors cause by making them worry or be proud of money spending.

Question 46

Appeal to patriotism

Answer 46

Appeal to patriotism exploits people’s loyalty to their country by suggesting it is under some kind of attack. Writers often use the emotions it illicits from the reader to convince them of their cause.

Question 47

Appeal to self

Answer 47

Appeal to self interest refers ti tge way we put our own needs before the needs of others. Appeals to self interest usually provoke an immediate strong emotional outrage to convince the audience of the author’s cause.

Question 48

Appeal to traditions and customs

Answer 48

Appeals to traditions and customs is similar to the appeal to fear of change. It provokes the reader into thinking their culture or traditions are under attack and they must protect them. This also provokes pride and a want to protect something that is valueable to you, so it isnt just to do with fear.

Question 49

Appeal to value of technology

Answer 49

This is an appeal to the value of technology. It is powerful because it plays on a fear to embrace new developments, like the appeal to being modern, but it can also make the audience seem unintelligent. These negative emotions can be used to convince the reader of the author’s contention.

Question 50

Appeal to guilt

Answer 50

Appeals to guilt provoke powerful emotions of guilt to convince the audience to side with the authors contention.

Question 51

Tone

Answer 51

The writers tone is an accumulation of the connotation of their words and the other techniques they use. It can be both biased and made to seem unbiased. It often sets the audience up to think a certain way or feel a certain way about a topic, helping to convince them of the author’s contention.