Language Techniques

Technique: is the manner and ability with which an artist, writer, dancer, athlete, and so on, employs the technical skills of a particular art or field of endeavour.

 

1 The student needs to practice essay writing in order to improve his or her  technique. 2 The dancer displays excellent technique.

 Language techniques or strategies are also sometimes confused with organisational strategies. They should not be. For instance, you should organise your expository essay to compare or contrast, or to identify cause and effect and so on. These are organisational strategies.
In order to achieve your organisational goal, however, you employ certain language techniques (or strategies). For the purpose of this exercise we will use the term ‘language techniques’. The list of language techniques seems inexhaustible. Nevertheless, there are some key points that are worth remembering:
 
1 There are some techniques that are considered to be most helpful and desirable for particular genres/modes (see Chapter 2).
 
2 There are techniques that can be used for more than one genre.
 
3 A genre may be used as a language technique when the dominant genre is different.
 
 
Table 3 provides samples of how it works.
 

EXAMPLES OF GENRE
WRITING GENRE (OR MODE)	LANGUAGE TECHNIQUE
Exposition	The use of: illustration, examples or evidence, anecdote, description, analogy, technical/scientific discourse (jargon), facts, objective discourse, analysis, definition, point of view, transition words, comparison/contrast
Description	The use of: spatial words (above, below, around and so on), sense words (sight, hearing smell, taste, touch), adjectives, literary devices (metaphor, simile, personification), illustration, facts (in exposition), comparison
Narrative	The use of: sequence words, description, imagery, mood tone, irony, flashback, satire, humour, point of view, third person narrative, repetition, suspense, foreshadowing, plot twist, stream-of-consciousness, contrast, comparison
Argument	The use of: logic, supporting facts, anecdote, evidence, illustration, repetition, appeal to emotion, rhetorical questions, transition words, conceding then refuting the point, definitions
Persuasion	The use of: logical fallacies, repetition, rhetorical questions, emotive language, comparison/contrast

Table 3
 
Although it would be impossible to illustrate every technique, it is important for you to understand:
 
1. The ways in which the same language techniques work in different genres
 
2. The ways in which language techniques can be used to enhance writing in particular genres.