HSC English Techniques Glossary

A–C

Accumulation: piling up details/examples. Use it to build intensity, scale, or persuasive weight.
Allegory: a whole story that symbolises a deeper moral/political meaning. Use it to critique ideas indirectly.
Alliteration: repeated starting consonant sounds. Use it to create rhythm, emphasis, memorability.
Allusion: a reference to a known text/person/event/idea. Use it to add layers and invite comparison.
Amplification: expanding an idea by adding detail/restatement. Use it to strengthen emphasis and clarity.
Analogy: an explanatory comparison to clarify a point. Use it to make arguments easier to accept.
Anaphora: repetition at the start of successive clauses/sentences. Use it to build momentum and stress key ideas.
Anecdote: a short story/example (often personal). Use it to humanise, hook, and support a claim.
Antistrophe: repetition at the end of successive clauses/sentences. Use it to reinforce a message rhythmically.
Antithesis: balanced contrast between opposing ideas. Use it to sharpen conflict and make a point punchier.
Antonym: a word with an opposite meaning. Use it to create contrast and clarify values/positions.
Apostrophe: direct address to an absent person/thing/idea. Use it to heighten emotion and drama.
Argument: a position supported by reasons/evidence. Use it to persuade through logic and structure.
Assonance: repeated vowel sounds. Use it to create musicality, mood, internal rhythm.
Asyndeton: removing conjunctions in a list. Use it to speed pace and intensify delivery.
Background (visual): the distant setting in an image. Use it to establish context (time/place/society).
Banner (web): large header/hero section on a webpage. Use it to grab attention and signal purpose fast.
Bias: one-sided framing/selection of info. Use it to position audiences (and analyse author agenda).
Blog: a website with regular written posts. Use it to inform/persuade while building credibility over time.
Body language: posture/gesture in visuals or performance. Use it to communicate emotion, power, relationships.
Cacophony: harsh, clashing sounds. Use it to create tension, discomfort, chaos, violence.
Caesura: a deliberate pause within a poetic line. Use it to slow pace and highlight meaning/shift.
Centrality (visual): placing a subject in the centre. Use it to signal importance and control focus.
Cliché: an overused phrase/idea. Use it to show banality or create irony (if deliberately used).
Climax: the most intense/peak moment or point. Use it to heighten tension or persuasive impact.
Classical (visual): references to classical styles/ideals (e.g., balance, harmony, tradition). Use it to evoke authority, timelessness, “high culture”.
Colloquialism: everyday informal language. Use it to create realism and connection with audiences.
Colloquial voice: conversational narrative/speaking style. Use it to sound authentic and relatable.
Colour (visual/web): a deliberate palette. Use it to create mood, symbolism, contrast, emphasis.
Connotations: implied associations of a word. Use it to shape meaning and values subtly.
Contrast (visual/language): strong differences (light/dark, ideas, tone). Use it to spotlight conflict and draw attention.
Cultural framing (visual): meaning shaped by cultural context, symbols, assumptions. Use it to explain why images “read” differently across audiences.

D–H

Diacope: repetition with words in between (e.g., “to be, or not to be”). Use it to emphasise key words with rhythm.
Emotive language: words chosen to trigger feeling. Use it to persuade by shaping audience reactions.
Epiphany: a sudden realisation/insight (character or speaker). Use it to mark transformation or theme clarity.
Euphemism: softened language for harsh topics. Use it to reduce shock, suggest avoidance, or mask reality.
Expert statistics: numerical evidence from credible authorities. Use it to add legitimacy and logical force.
Fable: a brief story with an explicit moral lesson. Use it to teach values indirectly through narrative.
Facial expressions (visual): emotion shown through face. Use it to communicate feeling, tension, relationships.
Factual (language): information presented as objective/true. Use it to build credibility and authority.
Font size (web): text scale. Use it to signal hierarchy (headings vs detail) and guide reading.
Font style (web): typography choice (serif, sans, etc.). Use it to suggest tone (formal, modern, playful).
Foreground (visual): closest part of an image. Use it to emphasise what matters most.
Gaze (visual): where a subject looks (at viewer or elsewhere). Use it to shape connection, power, invitation, distance.
Humour: language designed to amuse. Use it to build rapport, disarm resistance, or mock targets.
Hyperbole: exaggeration. Use it to intensify emotion, create humour, or emphasise stakes.
Hyperlinks (web): clickable links. Use it to guide pathways, support claims with evidence, or prompt action.
Hypophora: asking a question then answering it. Use it to control audience thinking and structure an argument.

I–P

Icon images (web): small symbolic visuals (buttons, symbols). Use it to communicate quickly and aid navigation.
Intertextuality: meaning shaped by connections to other texts. Use it to deepen ideas and invite comparison.
Interview: Q-and-A format or quoted responses. Use it to add voices, authority, and “real world” perspective.
Irony: contrast between expectation and reality (or what’s said vs meant). Use it to criticise, reveal hypocrisy, add complexity.
Jargon: specialised technical language. Use it to signal expertise (or exclude/confuse, depending on context).
Juxtaposition: placing things side by side for contrast. Use it to highlight difference, tension, theme.
Layout (web/visual): arrangement of elements on a page/screen. Use it to guide attention and meaning-making.
Lighting (visual): use of light/shadow. Use it to create mood, symbolism, realism, or tension.
Menu bar (web): navigation strip with sections/links. Use it to structure user movement and priorities.
Metaphor: saying one thing is another. Use it to create vivid meaning and thematic depth.
Midground (visual): middle-distance area in an image. Use it to connect focal subject to context and depth.
Motif: a recurring image/idea. Use it to reinforce themes across a text.
Multilayering (visual): multiple elements/levels of meaning in one image. Use it to create complexity and invite interpretation.
Navigation tools (web): buttons, menus, site structure cues. Use it to direct reading paths and shape what users notice.
Objective language: neutral, non-emotional phrasing. Use it to appear credible, fair, authoritative.
Oxymoron: two opposite terms paired (e.g., “deafening silence”). Use it to express complexity or tension.
Paradox: a seeming contradiction that reveals truth. Use it to challenge assumptions and deepen meaning.
Parody: imitation for humour or critique. Use it to mock, expose flaws, or subvert conventions.
Pathos: appeal to emotion. Use it to move audiences to agree/act.
Painterly qualities (visual): brushwork/texture/style choices. Use it to create mood, realism/abstraction, symbolism.
Perspective (visual): viewpoint/angle or depth cues. Use it to position audiences (power, intimacy, distance).
Personification: giving human qualities to non-human things. Use it to create emotion, vivid imagery, symbolism.
Podcasts (web/media): audio content. Use it to inform/persuade through voice, tone, storytelling.
Point of view: the perspective a text is told from (or stance taken). Use it to shape bias, intimacy, reliability.
Polysyndeton: repeated conjunctions (e.g., “and… and… and…”). Use it to slow pace and add weight/scale.

Q–Z

Quotation: direct words taken from a source. Use it to add authority, evidence, or intertextual links.
Referencing: acknowledging sources (names, works, evidence). Use it to strengthen credibility and trace ideas.
Repetition: repeating words/phrases/structures. Use it to reinforce ideas, rhythm, and emphasis.
Resolution: the ending where conflict settles (or intentionally doesn’t). Use it to clarify meaning or leave ambiguity.
Rhetorical questions: questions not meant to be answered. Use it to provoke thought and steer agreement.
Rhyme scheme: the pattern of end rhymes. Use it to create cohesion, rhythm, emphasis, tone.
Rhythm: beat/pattern of sounds and stresses. Use it to shape mood, pace, and emotional impact.
Rule of thirds (visual/web): placing key elements along thirds lines. Use it to create balance and draw focus naturally.
Salience (visual): what stands out most (size, colour, placement, contrast). Use it to direct attention to key meaning.
Satire: humour used to criticise society/people/ideas. Use it to expose flaws and provoke change.
Sensory imagery: language appealing to senses. Use it to create vivid experiences and emotion.
Sensory language: words that evoke sight/sound/touch/taste/smell. Use it to immerse audiences and intensify tone.
Sequencing of discussion/argument: deliberate order of points. Use it to build logic, momentum, and persuasion.
Sibilance: repeated “s/sh” sounds. Use it to create softness, menace, tension, or atmosphere.
Simile: comparison using “like/as”. Use it to clarify imagery and make ideas concrete.
Slang: informal, group-specific vocabulary. Use it to create voice, realism, belonging, or rebellion.
Slogan (web/persuasion): short memorable phrase. Use it to brand an idea and make it stick.
Structural framing (visual): literal framing lines/borders/composition that “box” elements. Use it to include/exclude meaning and guide reading.
Subjective language: opinionated, value-laden phrasing. Use it to reveal attitude and persuade emotionally.
Symbolism: an object/image representing a bigger idea. Use it to build theme and deeper meaning.
Synecdoche: a part stands for a whole (or vice versa). Use it to compress meaning and emphasise key aspects.
Thesis: the central contention/argument. Use it to anchor paragraphs and control direction.
Tone: the writer/speaker’s attitude. Use it to shape audience response and meaning.
Tonal shift: a change in tone. Use it to signal turning points, conflict, or new insight.
Understatement: deliberately downplaying something. Use it to create irony, restraint, or subtle emphasis.
Vectors (visual): lines/directions that guide the eye (gaze, arms, roads). Use it to lead attention and imply relationships/action.
Vlog (web/media): video blog content. Use it to build persona, voice, and persuasive storytelling.
Vodcast (web/media): video podcast format. Use it to combine authority of speech with visuals.