Technical Terms

A selection of technical terms with meanings that you will be expected to understand and use in the exam.

• Analogy - Comparing the likeness of two things.
• Irony - Expressing something by using words that mean the opposite (humorous or sarcastic). E.g. grimly gay.
• Personification - Giving an object human characteristics. E.g. the light winked.
• Alliteration - Repetition of a consonant in a phrase. E.g. fat Fred's football
• Assonance - Repetition of vowel sound or using the same constant with a different vowel in a phrase. E.g. cold, told.
• Parataxis - Use of very short, sharp sentences.
• Simile - Comparing two objects as they have something in common e.g. as white as the snow.
• Metaphor - Comparisons which don't use 'like' or 'as' but say that something 'is' something else because it is similar.
• Imagery - Using language to convey an atmosphere.
• Onomatopoeia - When spoken a word which sounds the same as its meaning e.g. plop!