Language Analysis For Short Stories and Novels

The Situation

Your students have read a short story and now need to analyse the language choices made by the writer.

The Solution

Use this printable to collate quotes and analysis of language that can later be used in short answer responses or essays. Students record the quotes on the left and then identify the technique used (Metaphors, similes, personification, adjectives etc). Students should then be encouraged to analyse the quotes on a word-level. What does this mean? They should look beyond the use of language features and consider word choices made by the author. Why were they chosen? What connotations are linked to those words and what impact does it have on the reader?

For more information on connotations, check out Teaching…Denotations and Connotations.