Which Comment is About the Diction of a Story

When y’all’re reading a seventy,000-word novel, you probably don’t give much attention to every single word that’s on a folio. Most likely, yous focus on the bigger flick, trying to absorb the plot or the overall message.

But an author’s discussion pick, or diction, can really take a profound impact on the overall feel of a story or slice of nonfiction.

How Would Y’all Depict Diction?

Wording refers to a writer’due south purposeful word pick. Along with syntax, diction can be used to create tone and imagery in creative writing.

Recall almost your writing’s purpose and the bulletin you desire to convey. Naturally, your option of words for a persuasive slice will be quite different from a poem about heartbreak.

Practice yous want your readers to be moved? Convinced? Entertained? Frightened? Reminded of their childhoods?

You can elicit whatever of these reactions from an audience if you lot choose the right words.

Types of Diction

There are many ways to describe wording, from detached to poetic, obviously to pedantic—simply about types of wording generally autumn under one of the four broader categories that follow:

Formal Diction

Formal diction should be employed when you wish to maintain a professional demeanor while keeping the state of affairs impersonal.

When using formal diction, e’er remember to use proper grammar and speak in the third person whenever possible.

It is appropriate to use this type of diction in business concern letters, research papers, cover messages, and other professional situations.

Example of Formal Diction:

Your thesis statement in a inquiry paper might read something like, “Foreign language teaching should be required in all elementary schools considering learning a 2nd language improves memory, leads to greater task opportunities, and fosters more tolerant attitudes.”

Informal Diction

Informal or casual wording is all-time used in informal situations, such as letters betwixt friends or when writing literature.

You might apply this kind of diction when writing emails or letters to friends and family, sending text letters, or crafting dialogue for your novel.

Example of Informal Diction:

In an email to a friend, you write: “How-do-you-do Kathy, merely wanted to see y’all how you’re doing. Wanna take hold of dinner this Friday? Let me know!”

Colloquial Diction

Colloquial diction utilizes words from everyday speech, which can vary beyond regions or groups of people. This type of diction is common in dialogue, since it tin make a work more realistic and relatable.

Examples of Vernacular Diction:

Across the United states, a carbonated potable may be referred to as “soda,” “pop,” “soft beverage,” or “Coke,” depending on the region where one resides. Some other example: What is known as “soccer” in the U.S. is referred to as “football game” in England.

Slang

Slang words are usually used inside certain social groups and tend to change with fourth dimension.

Examples of Slang:

“Rad,” “groovy,” “hip,” “salty,” “woke,” “YOLO”

Words to Draw Wording

In addition to the iv most common types, there are dozens of adjectives that can describe a writer’s diction.

When describing wording, however, remember that information technology is not quite the same as tone (although some of the adjectives you use for one could employ to the other).

27 Words to Describe Diction

Abstract	General, conceptual; opposite of physical.
Cryptic	Open to interpretation; lacking obvious significant.
Antique	Old-fashioned, rarely used.
Cacophonous	Producing a harsh, unpleasant mix of sounds.
Concrete	Specific, clearly definable; opposite of abstract.
Convoluted	Circuitous, hard to follow.
Denotative	Contains an exact meaning; non open to interpretation.
Didactic	Instructional; intended to teach.
Elevated	Circuitous words, creates a superior tone.
Euphemistic	Polite substitute for a less polite word; sometimes insincere.
Euphonious	Pleasant sounding; opposite of clinking.
Emotional	Expresses emotions.
Figurative	Words illustrate an prototype or another idea.
Idiomatic	Denotes expressions that are natural to a native speaker.
Jargon	Words specific to a profession.
Moralistic	Righteous; aims to impose morals.
Ordinary	Common, everyday words.
Passionate	Conveying strong feelings or beliefs.
Pedantic	Scholastic, intended to lecture.
Plain	Articulate, obvious.
Poetic	Melodious, imaginative, romantic.
Pretentious	Pompous, arrogant, inflated.
Scholarly	Words specific to a study or field.
Sharp	Harsh, pointed, targeted.
Simple	Articulate, short, piece of cake.
Brilliant	Animated, full of life.
Vulgar	Tasteless, coarse, offensive.

Evaluating word option is a bit more objective task than evaluating tone, since tone is reflective of a speaker’s attitude or feelings toward a bailiwick.

As a result, at that place are typically more options for describing tone, from appreciative to condescending, joyful to patronizing.

Download our list of 27 words to draw wording, along with definitions and explanations of each descriptor. You might find information technology helpful to compare it with 101 adjectives to depict tone.

Diction Examples from Literature

Although diction is likewise important in nonfiction, your pick of words can accept a huge impact on how your story or poem is read by audiences.

The post-obit examples illustrate the effect that carefully-employed wording can have on a text.

From
Heart of Darkness
by Joseph Conrad

“The sunday ready; the dusk savage on the stream, and the lights began to appear along the shore. The Chapman lighthouse, a iii-legged matter erect on a mud-flat, shone strongly. Lights of ships moved in the fairway—a swell stir of lights going up and going downward. And farther west on the upper reaches the place of the monstrous town was nevertheless marked ominously on the sky, a brooding gloom in sunshine, a lurid glare nether the stars.”

The diction in
Center of Darkness
falls under the formal category, as Conrad rarely utilizes informal language, even when it comes to dialogue or interactions.

Exist careful not to misfile diction with tone—the tone throughout
Heart of Darkness
can exist described as eerie, melancholic, or dark, but these words practise not describe diction. Rather, they characterize the feelings that are evoked as a issue of diction and imagery.

From
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
past Mark Twain

“But I reckon I got to light out for the territory alee of the remainder, considering Aunt Emerge she’south going to adopt me and sivilize me, and I can’t stand it. I been there earlier.”

The informal, provincial diction in
Huck Finn
often includes regional colloquialisms to narrate Huck equally a elementary, uneducated character, although the underlying significant of the story is much more than advanced.

Imagine how differently this novel would read if Twain used the same formal diction as Joseph Conrad—information technology would be an entirely different book!

From
The School
by Donald Barthelme

“And the copse all died. They were orange trees. I don’t know why they died, they just died. Something incorrect with the soil possibly or maybe the stuff we got from the nursery wasn’t the best. Nosotros complained near information technology. So nosotros’ve got thirty kids at that place, each child had his or her own picayune tree to plant and we’ve got these thirty dead trees. All these kids looking at these trivial brown sticks, information technology was depressing.”

The wording in this excerpt is elementary and informal, but the give-and-take choice lends itself to a gloomy, melancholic tone.

Purpose of Wording

Your discussion option tin can help institute the mood, tone, and atmosphere of your text, which volition make up one’s mind the kind of experience your readers will accept.

Furthermore, each discussion might carry multiple meanings, especially when literary devices similar metaphors or other literary devices are employed.

Choosing your words carefully isn’t the but matter you can do to artistically convey meaning.

Wording has a close human relationship with syntax, or the mode your chosen words are bundled. Together, they tin can create vivid imagery, rhythm, and tone.

The type of wording you use should depend on your audience and your objective.

Cull Your Words Advisedly

Your choice between one word and another may seem like a minuscule decision in the moment, merely information technology tin actually accept a pretty meaning touch on on how unabridged sentences, paragraphs, or chapters read every bit a whole.

Accept time to advisedly call back about the diction yous want to convey with your writing, because the result tin impact the tone and overall feel of your piece of work.

Do you have any favorite examples of diction in literature? Share them with us in the comments below!

If yous enjoyed this post, so you might also like:

• Tone in Writing: How to Give Voice to Your Words
• What is Desolation? Definition, Examples, and Techniques for More Persuasive Writing
• 46 Apps and Sites to Improve Your Writing Skills
• What is Creative Writing? Types, Techniques, and Tips