Welcome   to   the   most   important   booklet   that   you’ll   get   all  year!!!    The  words  contained   in   this  glossary  only  provide   the  basis   for  quality  analysis.  Do  not  make  the  mistake  of  assuming  that  one  need   only   learn   a   proportion   in   order   to   grade   well   in   all  assessments   on   an   A-­‐level   English   Language   course.   All   terms  MUST  be  learnt  as  early  as  possible;   it   is  evidently  better  to  be  as  familiar  as  you  can  with  the  terms.      Read  this  over  and  over,  get  your  family  or   friends  to  test  you,  practise  attributing  these  terms  to  texts  you  read...  whatever  it  takes,  just  make  sure  you  learn  these  terms  (of  which  there  are  approximately  200…YAY!).  

Common  noun  –  a  naming  word  for  a  thing  that  is  tangible,  e.g.  chair,  penguin,  man,  arsonist,  murderer,  ghost,  crumpet,  trumpet.      Abstract  noun  –  a  naming  word  for  an  idea,  concept,  state  of  being  or  belief,  e.g.  tidiness,  sadness,  antidisestablishmentarianism,  love,  politics,  Marxism.      Proper  noun  –  a  naming  word  for  a  specific  example  of  a  common  noun  (often  are  names  of  places  or  specific  people),  e.g.  Bob,  Eiffel  Tower,  Burnley,  Wayne  Rooney.    Verb  –  a  word  that  represents  an  action  or  process:  in  simple  terms  a  ‘doing’  word.    Active  verb  –  a  word  that  represents  a  physical  action,  e.g.  jump,  run,  kill,  slap,  kiss,  make-­‐love,  wallop,  sleep.    Stative  verb  –  a  word  that  represents  a  process  that  is  often  only  mental,  e.g.  think,  love,  ponder,  believe,  (to)  fear.      Auxiliary  verb  –  a  verb  that  has  to  be  used  with  another  verb  in  order  to  create  present  participles  or  the  future  tense,  e.g.  “DID  you  go?”;  “I  AM  going”;  you  WILL  go”.    Modal  verb  –  an  auxiliary  verb  that  express  a  degree  of  either  possibility  or  necessity,  e.g.  might,  could,  must,  should,  may.      Adjective  –  a  describing  word  that  modifies  a  noun.      Adverb  –  a  describing  word  that  modifies  all  types  of  word,  excluding  nouns.    Superlative  –  an  adjective  that  displays  the  most  extreme  value  of  its  quality,  e.g.  most,  biggest,  smallest,  worst,  furthest,  farthest,  quietest,  zaniest.  Most  of  the  time  superlatives  end  with  ‘-­‐est’.    Comparative  –  an  adjective  that  relates  one  thing  in  some  way  to  another  and  usually  ends  in  ‘er’:  bigger,  smaller,  further,  farther,  quieter,  zanier.    Definite  article  –  the.    Indefinite  article  –  a  or  an.    Pronoun  –  a  word  that  takes  the  place  of  a  noun  in  a  sentence,  e.g.  him,  her,  it,  he,  she,  I,  you,  me  (self-­‐reflexive  pronoun),  they.    First  person  pronoun  –  I,  and  the  first  person  plural:  we,  our,  us.    Second  person  pronoun  –  you.  

Third  person  pronoun  –  him,  her,  he,  she,  it,  and  the  third  person  plural:  them,  those.    Possessive  pronoun  (1st,  2nd  or  3rd  person  depending)  –  my,  mine,  our,  your,  his,  hers,  theirs.    Demonstrative  pronoun  –  this,  that,  those.    Monosyllabic  lexis  –  words  of  one  syllable.    Polysyllabic  lexis  –  words  of  two  or  more  syllable.    Imperative  sentence  mood  –  when  a  sentence  is  issuing  a  command.    Declarative  sentence  mood  –  when  a  sentence  is  making  a  statement.    Interrogative  sentence  mood  –  when  a  sentence  is  asking  a  question.    Exclamatory  sentence  mood  –  when  a  sentence  conveys  a  strong  sense  of  emotion,  sense  of  alarm  or  overly  strong  emphasis.    Register  –  the  level  of  formality  of  a  text.    Tenor  –  the  tone,  or  the  relationship  between  author  and  reader  and  how  it  is  created.    Attitudes  –  The  opinions  expressed  in  the  text.    Content  –  What  the  text  is  about.    Context  –  Things  outside  the  text  which  may  shape  its  meaning,  e.g.  when  it  was  written,  who  wrote  it.    Form  –  the  structure  and  shape  of  a  text.    Themes  –  the  recurring  ideas  and  images  in  a  text.    Colloquialism  –  Informal  language  usage,  e.g.  bloke,  fella,  lass,  bog  (toilet),  arse,  bum,  grub,  scram,      Exclamation  –  a  one  word  sentence  (always  a  minor  sentence)  with  an  exclamation  mark  at  the  end.    Ellipsis  –  when  parts  of  a  written  structure  are  missing.  In  texts,  sometimes  they  are  indicated  by  three  full  stops  in  a  row,  denoting  perhaps  a  significant  pause...  Do  you  see?    

Syntax  –  the  way  words  form  sentences  (the  ordering  of  them  to  create  meaning).    Parenthesis  –  an  aside  within  a  text  created  by  sectioning  off  extra  information  between  brackets,  dashes  or  between  two  commas.    Parenthetic  commas,  dashes  or  brackets  –  see  above.    Rhetorical  question  –  a  question  designed  not  to  be  answered,  perhaps  to  pique  interest  or  make  a  point;  a  stylistic  choice.    Hypophora  –  when  a  rhetorical  question  is  immediately  followed  by  an  answer  in  a  text,  e.g.  “Is  this  the  best  film  ever?  You  bet  it  is!”    Hyperbole  –  deliberate  over-­‐exaggeration  of  things  for  effect.    Litotes  –  deliberate  downplaying  of  things  for  effect.    Parallelism/patterning  –  the  creation  of  patterns  in  a  text,  through  repetition  of  words  or  phrases  (phonological  parallelism)  or  by  balancing  meanings  (semantic  parallelism)  for  deliberate  effect.    Repetition  –  the  repetition  of  words  or  phrases  (see  parallelism)    Tricolon/tripling  –  grouping  in  threes,  either  through  repetition  or  through  structures  (either  within  a  sentence  or  paragraph).  This  can  be  for  emphasis  or  to  add  a  sense  of  gathering  momentum  to  a  point  being  made.    Imagery  –  a  descriptive  or  metaphorical  use  of  language  to  create  a  vivid  picture.    Pre-­‐modification  –  a  descriptive  technique  where  the  descriptive  words  come  before  the  thing  they  are  describing,  e.g.  the  big,  fat  wad  of  cash  spewed  from  his  inadequate  pocket.    Post-­‐modification  -­‐  a  descriptive  technique  where  the  descriptive  words  come  after  the  thing  they  are  describing,  e.g.  the  wad  of  cash,  big  and  fat,  spewed  from  his  pocket.    Metaphor  –  a  comparison  that  states  that  something  is  actually  something  else.  “Take  a  leaf  out  of  her  book”  or  “I’m  a  demon  driver”.    Simile  –  a  comparison  that  states  that  something  is  ‘like’  or  ‘as’  something  else.  “I  drive  like  a  demon”  or  “he’s  as  big  as  a  house”.      Synecdoche  –  a  metaphor  that  states  that  something  is  only  a  small  constituent  part  of  itself,  even  though  we  commonly  understand  otherwise,  e.g.  “a  new  set  of  wheels”  (car)  or  “he’s  behind  bars”  (prison)    

Analogy  –  explaining  something  in  terms  of  something  else.      Allusion  –  to  refer  to  something  indirectly  or  metaphorically.    Pathetic  Fallacy  –  when  the  environment  or  weather  mirrors  emotions.    Personification  –  a  device  in  which  the  non-­‐human  is  given  personal  and  human  qualities,  e.g.  the  trees  danced  in  the  wind.    Extended  metaphor  –  when  a  metaphor  continues  throughout  a  text  with  recurring  references  to  the  compared  item.    Homeric/epic  simile  –  see  extended  metaphor  and  apply  to  simile.  The  ‘Homeric’  part  refers  to  Homer’s  Odyssey  to  connote  length  and  recurrence.        Symbolism  –  using  figurative  and  metaphoric  language,  items  or  incident  in  a  way  that  means  that  certain  things  represent  other  things,  e.g.  a  colour  could  represent  the  sadness  of  a  character  or  a  volcano  erupting  could  symbolise  the  political  infighting  of  the  townspeople  beneath  the  volcano.      Lexis  –  another  word  for  the  word  ‘word’!!!    Field  specific  lexis  –  the  language  of  a  certain  area  (be  it  vocation,  activity  or  subject  etc),  e.g.  field  specific  lexis  for  computing  would  include  mouse,  monitor,  RAM,  gigabyte  etc;  field  specific  lexis  for  English  Language  would  include  everything  in  this  glossary.    Lexical  set  –  the  selection  of  relative  lexemes  from  a  text.  One  can  take  a  lexical  set  of  field  specific  lexis,  modifiers,  proper  nouns…  or  whatever  would  support  a  statement  an  English  student  would  like  to  make  about  a  text.      Lexical  bundle  –  a  recurrent  sequence  of  words  or  a  collection  of  words  that,  through  repetition  of  use,  just  naturally  go  together,  e.g.  “I  don’t  think…”,  “would  you  mind…”,  “I  don’t  want  to.”      Semantics  –  the  meaning  of  words.    Acronym  –  words  created  by  the  initials  of  other  grouped  words,  e.g.  the  UN,  NATO,  RSPCA.    Synonym  –  an  alternative  word  choice  that  has  the  same  or  a  very  similar  meaning,  e.g.  a  synonym  of  horror  is  fright.    Homophone  –  different  words  that  sound  exactly  the  same  when  said  out  loud  (be  very  careful  of  these  with  regards  to  your  spelling),  e.g.  they’re,  their,  there;  new,  knew,  no,  know;  need,  knead,  kneed;  led,  lead.    

Homonym  –  when  one  word  has  multiple  meanings,  e.g.  great  can  mean  both  size  and  positivity;  cool  can  mean  both  coldness  and  a  ‘cool  dude’;  heavy  can  mean  physical  weight  or  the  seriousness  of  a  situation.    Archaism  –  a  word  that,  over  time,  has  fallen  out  of  common  usage.  Older  ones  include  zounds,  thus,  betwixt  etc,  however  slang  can  become  archaic  as  new  generations  opt  to  choose  new  terms  for  things:  dig  it,  bodacious  and  radical  are  perhaps  examples  of  this.    Juxtaposition  –  the  placing  together  of  elements  (whether  text,  image  etc)  for  some  conscious  effect,  whether  that  be  complimentary  or  contrasting.        Antithesis  –  when  ideas  contrast  or  oppose  one  another;  a  semantic  contrast  in  a  text.  Often  used  in  reasoned  arguments  or  to  create  emphasised  contrast.    Binary  opposites  –  elements  of  a  text  that  hold  opposite  ends  of  a  notional  scale  e.g.  hot/cold,  big/small,  loud/quiet.    Oxymoron  –  The  use  of  apparently  contradictory  words  in  a  phrase,  e.g.  peaceful  war,  hot  ice.    Collocations  –  words  that,  through  usage  just  naturally  go  together.  We  collectively  understand  they  are  inextricably  linked,  e.g.  Laurel  and  Hardy,  fish  and  chips,  salt  and  vinegar,  John,  Paul,  George  and  Ringo,  fire  and  ice,  broad  grin,  broad  backed.    Asyndetic  Listing  –  the  listing  of  elements  that  excludes  any  form  of  co-­‐ordinating  conjunction.  The  prefix  ‘a’  basically  means  ‘absence  of’.      Syndetic  listing  –  the  listing  of  elements  that  features  a  co-­‐ordinating  conjunction.    Phonological  features  –  any  devices  used  that  relate  to  sound,  e.g.  alliteration,  repetition.    Onomatopoeia  –  when  a  word  is  spelled  exactly  as  the  same  as  the  sound  it  describes…  kaboom,  drip,  plop,  quack,  miaow.      Consonance  –  the  repetition  of  double  consonants  in  the  middle  of  words,  e.g.  I’d  better  buy  more  butter  before  I  go  out  and  post  these  letters.      Assonance  –  the  repetition  of  vowel  sounds,  e.g.  you  should  wear  a  hood  while  you  chop  the  wood  good.  Assonance  can  create  rhyme.      Alliteration  (guttural,  lateral,  sibilant,  bilabial/plosive,  dental,  aspirant,  fricative)  –  the  repetition  of  consonant  sounds  in  a  text,  often  at  the  beginning  of  words.  You  must  always  correctly  label  the  exact  type  of  alliteration  as  listed  above.      

Plot  –  the  structured  cause  and  effect  of  incidents  experienced  by  a  protagonist  that  makes  a  story  interesting:  the  exposition,  the  complication  and  the  resolution.      Exposition  –  the  parts  of  a  story  (usually  early  on)  where  the  writer  gets  across  all  the  information  about  the  situation  of  a  character,  who  they  are,  where  they  are  and  what  the  ‘status  quo’  is  before  the  plot  begins  in  earnest.  It  should  always  be  as  subtle  as  possible,  which  usually  means  avoiding  expressing  exposition  through  dialogue.        Narrator  –  the  ‘voice’  that  tells  a  fictional  story.  Can  be  a  first,  second  or  third  person  narrator  (see  personal  pronouns  to  find  out  more).    Protagonist  –  the  character  the  reader  is  meant  to  identify  with  the  most  and  follow  through  the  story.  The  hero  (or  anti-­‐hero).    Anti-­‐hero  –  a  protagonist  who  isn’t  always  morally  virtuous  but  has  enough  qualities  to  endear  themselves  to  a  reader.      Antagonist  –  the  character  who  opposes  the  goals  of  the  protagonist.      Dialogue  –  the  presentation  of  character’s  speech.      Monologue  -­‐  a  type  of  poem  or  a  prolonged  piece  of  drama  where  one  ‘character’  delivers  a  speech  that  reveals  their  innermost  feelings.  Dramatic  monologues  can  infer  an  addressee  or  audience  who  the  speaking  character  is  relating  to.    Soliloquy  –  see  monologue.    Dramatic  irony  –  When  the  audience  is  aware  of  more  than  one  of  the  characters  in  either  a  play  or  a  piece  of  fiction  to  create  a  dramatic  effect.    Ambiguity  –  when  there  can  be  more  than  one  possible  meanings  or  outcomes  in  a  story,  creating  a  sense  of  intrigue.    Anthropomorphism  –  when  an  animal  takes  on  the  characteristics  of  a  human  being,  e.g.  wearing  clothes,  buying  cakes  and  talking.      Suspension  of  disbelief  –  the  reader’s  ability  to  take  for  granted  fantastical  aspects  of  fiction  in  order  to  enjoy  the  story.    Genre  –  category  of  fiction  or  type  of  text,  e.g.  romance,  horror,  thriller,  magazines,  etc.      Audience  –  who  the  text  is  aimed  at.    Purpose  –  the  reason  the  text  has  been  produced,  e.g.  to  entertain,  inform  etc.    

Foreshadowing  –  the  hinting  at  things  to  come  through  early  elements  of  a  story.    Mimesis  –  mimicry.  A  story,  for  example,  may  mimic  the  gasping  breath  of  a  pursued  protagonist  by  using  short,  sharp,  sentences  and  lots  of  aspirant  alliteration.    Pastiche  –  a  piece  of  art  or  writing  that  imitates  a  form  or  genre  to  generate  humour.    Satire  –  a  piece  of  writing  or  art  that  pokes  fun  at  the  societal  establishment.      Neologism  –  a  newly  invented  word.    Portmanteau  –  a  newly  invented  word,  created  by  merging  two  words  together,  for  example  snozcumber  (from  schnoz  and  cucumber)  or  chillax  (from  ‘chill  out’  and  ‘relax’).      Compound  words  –  a  word  created  by  utilising  two  existing  words  separated  by  a  hyphen,  e.g.  global-­‐village,  bone-­‐headed,  to  go-­‐straight.  There  are  compound  versions  of  nouns,  adjective,  adverbs,  verbs.    Clipping  –  colloquial  omission  of  parts  of  words  to  create  a  more  casual  alternative,  e.g.  ‘cause,  bra,  pram.      Rhetoric  –  an  example  of  persuasive  language,  arguably  including  advertising.    Stereotype  –  a  label  for  a  social  group,  utilising  certain  characteristics  of  group  members  and  applying  it  to  everyone  within  the  grouping.    Taboo  language  –  words  that  are  considered  socially  unacceptable  to  say  in  polite,  civilised  society,  e.g.  swear  words  or  words  that  are  politically  incorrect.      Connotation  –  the  associations  that  can  be  gleaned  from  words.    Denotation  –  the  literal  meaning  of  the  words.    Irony  –  language  that  conveys  a  meaning  other  to  than  that  literally  expressed  by  the  words,  usually  for  humorous  effect.      Sarcasm  –  the  use  of  language  in  an  ironic  way  with  the  express  purpose  of  offending  or  wounding  the  recipient  in  some  way.    Euphemism  –  the  polite  way  to  say  something  not  normally  considered  socially  appropriate,  usually  to  refer  to  going  to  the  toilet,  death  etc.  I  need  a  tinkle,  I  need  the  little  boys’  room,  he’s  pushing  up  daisies,  she’s  gone  to  meet  her  maker.    Dysphemism  –  an  unnecessarily  extreme  way  of  saying  something,  not  normally  socially  appropriate.  It  could  incorporate  taboo  language  or  contain  too  much  

information  than  necessary.  You’re  husband  had  his  head  blown  off  and  there  was  blood  everywhere.      Headline  –  the  large  text/title  of  a  newspaper  article.  Often  these  can  incorporate  word  play  and  alliteration.      Tagline  –  beneath  the  headline,  there  may  be  a  slightly  smaller  sentence,  designed  to  clarify  the  gist  of  the  story.      Subheading  –  usually  a  one  or  two  word,  emboldened  phrase  that  breaks  up  the  main  article,  often  foreshadowing  what  is  to  come  later  in  the  story.      Caption  –  part  of  a  multi-­‐modal  text,  these  will  be  juxtaposed  with  an  image.  Often  they  are  used  to  say  something  witty  or  humorous,  maybe  punning  or  taking  out  of  context  the  image  in  question.      Grab  quote  –  an  enlarged  example  taken  from  the  text,  usually  a  sensationalised  piece.  It  attempts  to  draw  the  reader’s  eye,  engender  curiosity,  and  thus  make  the  reader  read  the  story.      Slogan  –  a  catchy  line,  often  a  minor  sentence,  that  sums  up  an  advert,  sticks  in  the  mind,  and  makes  the  product,  ultimately,  seem  more  appealing.      Pun  –  a  play  on  words:  “SupercallygoballisticCelticareatrocious”  Caledonian  Thistle  beat  Celtic  5-­‐0;  “Celebrity  Big  Blubber”  Wally  the  Whale  dies  in  the  Thames,  right  by  the  Celebrity  Big  Brother  house.    Journalese  –  the  sensationalised  language  that  is  particular  to  tabloid  newspapers,  e.g.  slam,  probe,  spat  (as  in  fight),  shocker.    Multiple  modifiers  –  doubling  and  trebling  up  of  adjectives  is  used  frequently  in  tabloid  newspapers  and  also  other  genres  of  text.      Cliché  –  when  language  is  used  over  and  over  until  it  becomes  so  well  known  that  it  loses  its  original  potency,  e.g.  at  the  end  of  the  day,  I’m  over  the  moon,  he  was  as  quiet  as  a  mouse.      Idiom  –  a  saying,  often  a  cliché  where  the  words  that  make  up  the  saying  do  not  have  the  same  meaning  as  the  overall  semantic  effect,  e.g.  I’m  over  the  moon;  you’re  taking  the  Mickey;  he’s  pushing  up  daisies;  you’re  having  a  laugh.      Malapropism  –  when  a  speaker  accidentally  uses  the  wrong  word  that  sounds  the  same,  or  like  it  should  belong  in  their  sentence/utterance:  The  world’s  my  lobster;  I  will  illiterate  you  from  my  memory.    Text  speak  –  the  phonetic  spelling  of  text  too  long  to  type  out  in  full  on  a  mobile  phone.    

           Orthography  –  the  method  of  spelling/correct  spelling  –  we  would  refer  to  the  ‘non-­‐standard  orthography’  of  words  from  the  past  in  comparison  to  how  we  write  them  today.    Etymology  –  the  origin  of  a  word  or  the  history  of  how  it  came  to  be.      Ampersand  –  the  symbol  “&”,  arguably  more  prominent  in  the  past.    Non  standard  capitalisation  –  you  may  see  in  very  old  texts,  capital  letters  being  allocated  mid-­‐sentence  to  words  other  than  proper  nouns,  perhaps  for  emphasis,  or  perhaps  arbitrarily.  Look  at  the  specific  text  in  question  and  put  forward  your  own  reasoning  for  it.    Archaism/archaic  language  –  a  word  that  has  fallen  out  of  common  usage  or  is  old  fashioned.  These  can  also  include  slang  words  that  have  fallen  out  of  the  youth  lexicon.      Anachronistic  language  –  language  that  seems  ‘out  of  time’.  For  example,  something  may  be  written  in  a  very  old  fashioned  way  for  stylistic  reasons,  say  a  fantasy  style  novel,  yet  it  may  contain  dialogue  that  would  appeal  to  a  modern  young  audience,  using  slang  etc.  It’s  like  when  you  spot  an  extra  wearing  a  digital  watch  in  a  historical  movie.      Semantic  shift  –  the  shift  in  a  word’s  meaning  over  time,  e.g.  ‘sick’  evolves  to  become  something  other  than  illness  but  a  slang  reference  to  something  positive..      Inverted  syntax  –  when  the  ordering  of  words  is  rearranged  to  create  an  alternative  weighting  to  a  sentence.  Think  of  Yoda  on  Star  Wars  –  “Good  with  the  force,  he  is.”    Slang  –  colloquial  language,  often  coined  by  the  younger  generations  to  imprint  their  own  social  identity  on  the  language  and  differentiate  themselves  from  the  perceived  establishment.    Globalised  vocabulary  –  in  the  20th  Century,  in  the  advent  of  mass-­‐media,  social  mobilization  and  international  travel,  there  have  been  an  influx  of  new  words  and  phrases  that  we  now  take  for  granted,  e.g.  kebab,  cab,  sushi,  karaoke,  knish,  talk  to  the  hand,  zombie,  savoir-­‐faire.                

   Discourse  –  the  study  of  spoken  language.    Mode  –  the  mode  of  the  text  is  how  it  is  presented.  Is  it  in  the  written  or  spoken  mode?  Whichever  mode  it  is,  it  will  be  governed  by  differing  rules  and  structures.      Vocabulary  –  the  amount  of  words  available  to  an  individual.    Paralinguistic  features  –  literally  ‘beyond  language’.  The  things  that  aid  communication  but  don’t  literally  constitute  language,  e.g.  body  language,  facial  expressions,  laughter,  sighs,  whispering.    Prosodic  features  –  the  ‘sound  effects’  of  spoken  language.  Things  like  stress,  intonation  and  pitch.      Stress  –  the  emphasis  placed  on  certain  words,  through  volume,  significant  pauses  beforehand,  or  inflexion.      Intonation  –  the  rise  and  fall  of  an  individual’s  natural  speaking  voice  or  the  variation  or  ‘tune’  to  keep  listeners  interested.  These  naturally  differ  from  nation  to  nation  as  different  languages  have  different  intonation  qualities.      Pitch  –  the  rise  or  fall  of  the  voice.  High  pitch  is  squeaky  and  low  pitch  is  deep.    Turn  taking  –  co-­‐ordinated  and  rule  governed  co-­‐operation  between  two  or  more  participants  of  a  conversation.    Adjacency  pair  –  a  moment  in  turn  taking  where  one  utterance  constrains  the  response  in  some  way,  e.g.  a  question  leads  to  an  answer;  a  suggestion  leads  to  an  acceptance  or  declination.    Back  channelling  –  the  process  of  giving  feedback  through  encouraging  noises  and  positive  comments  when  a  speaker  is  talking  to  encourage  them.      Running  repair  –  the  process  of  socially  organising  a  conversation  if  two  people  find  that  they  have  been  talking  simultaneously.      Topic  marker  –  an  utterance  that  establishes  the  topic  of  a  conversation.    Topic  shifter  –  an  utterance  that  moves  a  conversation  on  to  another  topic,  e.g.  “Anyway...  “    Interrupted  construction  –  the  breakdown  of  an  utterance  where  half  way  through  the  speaker  will  completely  change  tact,  focus  or  even  topic  and  move  onto  something  else,  sometimes  abandoning  the  original  utterance  mid  word.  Explain  in  detail  how  these  have  occurred.    

 False  starts  –  The  speaker  realises  the  beginning  of  an  utterance  isn’t  working  and  so  effectively  re-­‐starts  by  rephrasing.    Hesitation  indicators  –  moments  in  discourse  that  indicate  that  the  speaker  is  in  some  way  playing  for  time.  This  can  be  seen  in  certain  forms  of  stuttering  and  in  fillers  such  as  um,  err  and  ahh  when  the  speaker  is  thinking  of  the  next  thing  to  say.    Fillers  –  the  insertion  of  words,  phrases  or  noises  into  a  speaker’s  discourse,  e.g.  like,  y’know,  sort  of,  right.  These  can  be  due  to  the  individual’s  own  idiolect  or  convey  some  subliminal  conversational  purpose,  depending  on  the  context.        Latch-­‐ons  –  when  a  speaker  takes  their  turn  immediately  after  the  preceding  speaker  has  finished  speaking  leaving  no,  or  little,  pause.  This  can  be  due  to  an  attempt  for  conversational  dominance  or  a  degree  of  familiarity  between  the  speakers,  among  other  reasons.    Overlaps  –  when  one  speaker  speaks  over  another.    Glottal  stops  –  the  omission  of  (usually)  dental  sounds  in  the  middle  of  words  like  butter,  letter,  better  etc,  in  pronunciation.  Occasionally  these  can  occur  at  the  ends  of  words  like  ‘what’.        Non-­‐fluency  features  –  any  feature  which  would  indicate  that  the  speaker  is  not  speaking  with  fluency  for  whatever  reason,  e.g.  someone  might  stammer  if  they  are  under  severe  pressure,  or  a  foreign  speaker  may  invert  syntax  or  elide  certain  words  from  their  utterances.      Tag  question  –  a  question  tagged  onto  the  end  of  an  statement,  e.g  ‘It’s  cold,  isn’t  it?’    Vocative  –  a  direct  reference  to  another  speaker  in  discourse,  e.g.  “Bob,  can  you...”    Elision  –  the  omission  of  a  vowel  or  syllable  in  the  pronunciation  of  a  word…  OR  the  omission  of  a  vowel  at  the  end  of  a  word  when  the  subsequent  word  begins  with  a  vowel  (as  apparent  in  northern  pronunciation),  e.g.  “it’s  either  one  or  t’other.”    Code  switching  –  the  ability  of  a  speaker  to  alter  the  register  or  clarity  of  their  speech  to  suit  a  different  social  situation.      Received  Pronunciation  –  the  typical  pronunciation  associated  with  the  social  elite  of  Britain.  The  Queen’s  English  etc.      Accent  –  The  manner  of  pronunciation  particular  to  a  certain  geographical  region.    Regional  Dialect  –  the  actual  words  used  and  the  spoken  grammar  which  is  particular  to  a  certain  geographical  region.    

 Sociolect  –  the  vocabulary  and  spoken  grammar  which  is  particular  to  a  certain  social  group.      Idiolect  –  the  speech  patterns  of  an  individual.    

   Alternate  rhyme   Lines  of  poetry  where  the  rhyme  is  on  every  other  line  

(abab)  Caesura   A  mid-­‐line  pause  Couplet   A  two  line  verse  (often  rhyming)  End-­‐focus   A  change  in  the  structure  of  the  sentence  to  place  emphasis  

on  a  closing  sentence  element.  Enjambment   Run-­‐on  lines  Eye  rhyme   Where  the  rhyme  looks  like  it  should  rhyme  but  the  sound  

is  not  exactly  the  same.  foregrounding   A  change  in  the  structure  of  the  sentence  to  place  emphasis  

on  an  opening  sentence  element  Form   The  structure  and  shape  of  the  text  Iambic   A  unit  of  poetic  meter  containing  one  unstressed  syllable  

followed  by  one  stressed  syllable  -­‐/  Internal  rhyme   Where  the  rhyming  sound  occurs  within  a  line  of  verse  Octet   An  eight  line  verse  Pentameter   A  unit  of  poetic  meter  containing  five  feet  (10  syllables  in  

total)  Petrarchan  or  Italian  sonnet  

A  poem  of  14  lines,  divided  into  an  octet  and  a  sestet,  written  in  iambic  pentameter,  rhyming  abbaabbba  cdecde  (sestet  may  vary)  

Quatrain   A  four-­‐line  verse  Rhythm   The  pattern  of  syllables  and  stresses  within  poetry  Sestet   A  six-­‐line  verse  Shakespearean  or  English  sonnet  

A  poem  of  14  lines,  divided  into  three  quatrains  and  a  couplet,  written  in  iambic  pentameter,  rhyming  abab  cdcd  efef  gg  

Stanza   The  division  of  lines  in  a  poem,  also  called  a  verse  Verse  Type   The  type  of  poem  e.g.  sonnet,  lyric,  ballad,  ode,  narrative  

poem  etc.  Volta   The  turning  point  in  a  sonnet  

When analysing a text, the worst thing you could possibly do is dive straight in and start analysing. There are things you need to consider before you start writing in order for you to successfully structure your work and analyse in sufficient depth to succeed on this course to the required level.

First, you must GASP at the text, whatever it may be. You’ve probably guessed that GASP is one of those horrible acronyms, but it should help you remember the process of initial consideration. G – Genre – what type of text is it? Is it a leaflet, advertisement, piece of rhetoric, transcript of somebody singing in the bath, shopping list, or maybe a piece of high literature… what is it? Once, you’ve answered this question, you should begin thinking about the general linguistic conventions of such a text. A – Audience – who is it written for (specifically)? So, it’s an advert for chocolate, for example, but who is the target audience? Is the text trying to appeal to men and women, old or young, rich or poor? S – Subject – what is the text about? If it is an article, what is the subject and will that have an effect on the language used? P – Purpose – what is it trying to do overall? So imagine if you were confronted with, say, an introduction to a Jamie Oliver cook book - you may be able to make the following statement:

(G) The text is the introduction to a cookbook by Jamie Oliver where he directly addresses the reader and welcomes them in a friendly tone. (A) It is written for people with a direct interest in cooking and, because of his informal and approachable manner on television, it could be assumed that a lot of people would read this who might be initially intimidated by the notion of cooking. (S) The text details the contents of the book and what the reader can expect from the overall publication. (P) Overall it is attempting to entice perhaps browsers in bookshops to make a purchase, or for people who have bought the book to take a chance on some of the more difficult recipes within.

After thinking about the GASP you need to write your analytical essay. To do this you will need to apply the CLIPO framework. CLIPO is not a hard and fast rule that must be applied; however you must include all its elements in some form within your analytical work. C – CONTEXT – you need to begin your essay with a rundown of the contextual factors that will shape the thrust of your discussion. Who has written the text, when was it written etc? In essence, you can make this opening to the essay something resembling the GASP paragraph. L – LEXIS – or the ‘language’ used. Make analytical comments on grammar, syntax, imagery, lexical choices etc. I – INTERACTIONAL FEATURES - how does the text interact with the audience. Look at the graphology. Are there any typographical features. Does it address the audience directly using first person pronouns? Does it utilise images? Are modal elements juxtaposed for effect? P – PHONOLOGICAL FEATURES – are there any sound effects utilised by the text? Is there alliteration, assonance, consonance, onomatopoeia, phonetic spelling etc? O – OVERVIEW – sum up your findings and perhaps evaluate the effectiveness of all the features that you have analysed in relation to the points you made in the CONTEXT section, referring once again to GASP.

In theory, now you have the makings of a decent essay.

However, there is one last framework that you have to now apply to this ‘skeleton’ in order to flesh it out and proclaim

‘I’m a top notch essay!’

This is how you write a good essay. This is how you get the top grades. This booklet is just about the best thing ever…remember…love it, hug it…and it’ll

just hug you right back.

At school, you will probably have been told to use POINT, EVIDENCE & EVALUATION when analysing texts. We’re going to be a little bit more grown up here at College (well, a bit anyway) so from now on we’ll use CQA. Once, you’ve GASP(ed) and planned your analytical essay with CLIPO, every single point you make must follow thusly: C – COMMENT – okay, so you’ve spotted a feature of language so now you need to mention it. Go on – write a declarative sentence. That’s all you need to do. Just come out and say it! Q – QUOTE – oh? Does the text really utilise synecdoche to create a parallel image to the central notion that the concept of robots symbolise a whole totalitarian society of emotionless drudgery. What an excellent comment. Although an examiner will always want proof that you know what you’re talking about and that you aren’t trying to merely create a good impression with waffled terms. Prove it! Follow up your comment with a direct quote from the text to support your astute claims. A – ANALYSIS – Going good so far. You’ve commented well and proved it with a quote. Now analyse the quote in depth. Discuss the effect of the notion you’ve outlaid in the comment and relate it to GASP. For example, why is it using metaphor? How does the metaphor work? Why will the intended audience appreciate this particular metaphor? Is it a cliché? If it is a rather commonly understood metaphor, used in wider circles, then what effect does this have on the audience? Is it usual for this type of text to utilise imagery like this?