Glossary of Language Features for Grade 9

This resource has numerous examples of language features for you to teach your students how to both recognise the writer’s craft, and use them in their own writing.

Here is a sample:

Juxtaposition: two things that are put close together in order to emphasise the difference between them.
• “Give us a pound, mister,” said the beggar, scrolling through the internet on his phone.
• The mother, tortured with pain, now smiled beatifically, while the baby, newly released, screamed incessantly.
• While the battle raged, the generals sat behind the front lines, drinking beers and stuffing three course meals.

Repetition: repeating a word, phrase, or idea. This can be done to emphasise, to create a rhythm or tone, or to reveal a contrast or comparison.

Register: In linguistics, a register is a variety of a language used for a particular purpose or in a particular setting.

What words give this the register of colloquial, American teenage language?
“(Candace runs out to the backyard, she stares in shock upon seeing the rollercoaster, along with horror music)
Candace: Phineas, what is this?!
Phineas: Do you like it?
Candace: Ooh, I’m gonna tell Mom, and when she sees what you’re doing, you are going down. (runs off) Down! Down! Down! D-O-W-N, down!”

Which words deal with the idea of writing a novel?
“In my mind, I continually entertain myself with fragments of narrative, dialogue and plot twists but as soon as I’m in front of a blank page, they evaporate. I feel stuck. Sometimes I think I should give up, but I have convinced myself that if I can find a way to write more freely and suppress my inner critic, I could finally finish that first draft.”