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The Seven Most Common Podcast Formats: With Examples

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I’ve become somewhat of a student of podcasts. My iTunes library currently contains 406 unplayed podcast episodes from 58 different shows…

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Latest opinion, analysis and discussion from the Guardian. CP Scott: "Comment is free, but facts are sacred"

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Opinion | Comment & Analysis | The Sydney Morning Herald

A Quixotic effort to manipulate the share price of an obscure US retail chain has been hailed by some as a victory against capitalism but popular anger against short-selling is misplaced.

Latest

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Opinion | Comment & Analysis | The Sydney Morning Herald

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Opinion | Comment & Analysis | The Sydney Morning Herald A Quixotic effort to manipulate the share price of an obscure US retail chain has been hailed by some as a victory against capitalism but popular anger against short-selling is misplaced. Latest

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NPR - Breaking News, Analysis, Music, Arts & Podcasts

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Top stories in the U.S. and world news, politics, health, science, business, music, arts and culture. Nonprofit journalism with a mission. This is NPR.

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Unlike the other two genres, which strive to be objective, opinion articles allow the writer to take a stance on a particular issue or debate. They are often written by someone who is an expert on the topic (e.g., a lawyer writing about criminal justice reform) not necessarily a journalist.

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New York Times Opinion columnists, editorials and guest essays. Analysis from David Brooks, Maureen Dowd, Charles Blow, Paul Krugman and others.

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Editorial Cartoons - The Washington Post

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Editorial cartoons, political cartoons and multipanel cartoons from Washington Post cartoonists, including Ann Telnaes, Michael de Adder, Edith Pritchett, Michael Ramirez and Ellis Rosen, and guests.

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Grant Snider "Incidental Comics" (amazing site)

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Grant Snider "Incidental Comics" (amazing site)

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The art of rhetoric (communication) > Rhetorical devices/figures of speech

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The art of rhetoric (communication) > Rhetorical devices/figures of speech

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Rhetoric is language used to motivate, inspire, inform, or persuade readers and/or listeners.

Rhetoric is the the use of figures of speech and other devices, known as rhetorical devices.

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Rhetoric: A Definition and Rhetorical Devices Explained| Grammarly Blog

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What Is Rhetoric, and Why Is It Important?

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Whenever you write a persuasive essay, talking points for a debate, or an argumentative essay, you use rhetoric. Even if you aren’t familiar…

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*Just teachers like me, they do things sometimes their way (and sometimes I do things my way) all to get to the same goal

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We are two friends, teaching partners, and passionate English teachers. We have been teaching IB English together for 10 years and individually have been teaching for (gulp) over 20 years each. We have taught in various international schools in Japan, Tanzania, China, Thailand and the United States. We currently teach IB Language and Literature and IB Literature and are examiners for the Individual Oral, the HL essay, Paper 2, and Paper 1 for Language and Literature and IB Literature. We’re keen to share our knowledge and are not afraid to take risks and try things out ourselves. Our goal is to share our experiences with teachers and students who want to learn about various IB assessments and, more importantly, want to learn about various skills that will help them communicate orally and in writing. Let us know what other topics you want to know about, and we’ll do our best to provide some help. Enjoy! ***Disclaimer
This channel is not officially endorsed by the IB.

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Quick overview of persuasive appeals of ethos, pathos, logos

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Quick overview of persuasive appeals of ethos, pathos, logos

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Persuasive appeals & techniqies slide deck

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Persuasive appeals & techniqies slide deck

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Letters from readers responding to New York Times articles, editorials, videos and guest essays.

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Posted: 2/20/2023 | February 20th, 2023

Traveling the world is like becoming a child all over again. You don't know what to do, where to go, or how to function.
How do you stay safe?
How do you get around?
How do you communicate?
What are the cultural norms you have to follow?

In each destination, you start from scratch and have to relearn how to do the most basic of life skills.

You have to rely on the kindness of strangers. Without them to guide and teach you, you'd be lost. From locals who give you rides to people who help you when you get hurt to those who just tell you where to go or invite you into their homes, you need their guidance and assistance the same way a child needs an adult's.

Every day on the road, you are learning what to do for the first time and how you have to rely on other people - just like a child.

Sure, this constant relearning is one of the tiresome aspects of travel. It's a lot of mental work to constantly figure out whom to trust, how to behave, and how to get around. It is why long-term travelers always eventually slow down ( and why people who travel too fast burn out). After a while, you just can't be doing this every day. Your mental energy gets depleted. The brain burns out.

But it's through this process that you really grow up. You come to understand the world the same way you grew to understand your hometown.

First, you get to learn how different countries operate. As the quote by Henry Rollings says, "A great way to learn about your country is to leave it." By repeatedly seeing how other places operate, you get a sense of what your home country does right - and wrong.

It also gives you an infinite number of chances to improve yourself and how you do things.

We live the majority of our lives on autopilot. We get up, we go to work, we run errands, we watch Netflix - and then we do it all over again the next day. We know where to eat, where to shop, how to get around, and what places to avoid. We know the exact route to get to the grocery store and we've done it so many times that we just can kind of zone out on the way there as we think about the million other things we have to do.

In our day-to-day lives, we follow routines. Our minds don't constantly need to do "the work" of figuring out how to live.

And any book on psychology will tell you how important that is to function as an adult. We need routine because we only have so much bandwidth per day to make decisions. Routines allow our brains to work better and focus on more important tasks. Without auto-pilot, we couldn't function.

But, on the road, you have no routines. Every place and situation is new. Everything you do requires active decision making.

Think about just finding somewhere to eat. In a new destination, if and when you find a restaurant, you don't know what to order, what's good, what's bad. All of it is a mystery. Every time you want to have a meal, you have to decide: Does that place look sketchy? Am I going to like that food?

It's exhausting.

But relearning how to decide where to eat, over and over again, helps you improve those processes. In this case, you get to know the universal clues on what makes a restaurant good. You learn how to eat alone. You learn what you like.

Whether it's finding something to eat, ascertaining how to get around, figuring out how to locate information, or learning to trust people, I think because we travelers have to do it so much, we develop enough different mental pathways that we become better at decision making in general than most people. We just have more experience.

The same is true in dealing with people. Because language isn't universal, I have to figure out every day how to communicate with people who don't understand me (and vice versa).

But in doing that so many times, I've gotten better at reading people than I would have if I had only ever encountered those who live in my hometown. That constant, taxing work - while draining - has produced dividends over a lifetime by being better able to communicate and interact with and understand a variety of people.

And in the end, all this work makes you a more independent, confident, and mature person. You grow up with a better sense of who you are, what you want, and how the world functions.

Traveling may be a lot of work. It may be mentally taxing. And it may make you feel like you've regressed as an adult as you wander helplessly from destination to destination. But, in the end, all that rewiring makes you a better person.

Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight
Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner. It's my favorite search engine because it searches websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is being left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation
You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as it consistently returns the cheapest rates for guesthouses and hotels.

Don't Forget Travel Insurance
Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It's comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I've had to use it many times in the past. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

Want to travel for free?
Travel credit cards allow you to earn points that can be redeemed for free flights and accommodation. They are what keep me traveling so much for so little. Check out my guide to picking the right card and my current favorites to get started and see the latest best deals.

Ready to Book Your Trip?
Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel. I list all the ones I use when I travel. They are the best in class and you can't go wrong using them on your trip.

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Posted: 2/20/2023 | February 20th, 2023 Traveling the world is like becoming a child all over again. You don't know what to do, where to go, or how to function. How do you stay safe? How do you get around? How do you communicate? What are the cultural norms you have to follow?

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Looking for all the essential information to plan and prepare for the Inca Trail hike? You'll find it in this post.

Hiking the Inca Trail is an experience which should inspire excitement, invoke a little bit of fear, stoke jealousy amongst your friends, and stir a sense of wander in your soul.

One of the most popular things to do in South America - and one of the world's most famous hikes - the Inca Trail is the sort of singular adventures for which we all travel. The hike itself, which brings you along ancient narrow paths deep into the Peruvian countryside and high into the Andean mountains, is gorgeous; perfect Incan ruins, cloud forest, and majestic valley views laid out like breadcrumbs along the way to perhaps the greatest end-point of any multi-day hike on earth, the iconic Machu Picchu.

After our own hike, we wanted to share our hard-earned insights, advice, and tips to help you plan and prepare for your own successful Trail experience - all neatly whittled down into this comprehensive guide.

So, whether you're heading there in high or low season and want to understand the camping and accommodation situation better, have no idea what to pack or how to get a permit, are worrying about whether you're fit enough, will get altitude sickness or if it's too late to book a spot on a tour, then this post will provide you with all the necessary information answers from experienced fellow travellers (and, we hope, quite a bit of excitement and inspiration for the hike itself!).

Ready? Here's everything you need to know before doing the Inca Trail hike. Let's go!

What Exactly Is the Inca Trail?

The Inca Trail is a well-established and iconic 4-day, 3-night hike which leads travellers from km.82 (the start point 40 minutes outside the town of Ollantaytambo) all the way to Machu Picchu via its exclusive Sun Gate (also called Inti Punku).

The good news is that it's a lot shorter than you may expect at only 40 kms (25 miles). The bad news? A significant chunk of that 40 kms is up steep, narrow Andean mountain paths at altitude.

The Incan Empire (which at its largest joined Peru, large parts of modern Ecuador, western and south central Bolivia, northwest Argentina, north and central Chile and a small part of southwest Colombia) created thousands of kilometres of trails to link its important settlements and centres of civilisation, but it is this specific 4 day route which is known as the one and only 'classic Inca Trail'.

Do note that if you see a tour with fewer days offered, then you are only going to be hiking a small section of the route.

Why Is It So Popular?

The Trail is Peru in a microcosm; lush green cloud forest alive with birds, Andean peaks and steep mountain passes, a landscape dotted with centuries old ruins, accessible only to those that follow this most famous pathway.

However, as truly beautiful as the hike may be, the real reason for its popularity lies at the very end of this four day adventure; passing through the Sun Gate for that first magical sighting of Machu Picchu in the distance. Only Inca Trail hikers can access the Gate at sunrise, and it is this crescendo, at one of the new seven wonders of the world which makes this hike a feature on so many 'South America bucket lists'.

The Inca Trail hike marked our second time visiting Machu Picchu, and arriving via the Sun Gate with sweaty brows and tired feet rather than taking the morning bus from Aguas Caliente with thousands of others clearly underlined to us that it is the best way to arrive at one of the world's most iconic attractions.

You will not regret it.

Booking the Inca Trail Hike

What Are Inca Trail Permits And Do You Need a Guide?

Since 2002, access to the Inca Trail has been limited to 500 people per day (roughly split between 200 tourists and 300 accompanying guides and porters), no matter the time of year. This means it is necessary for everyone to obtain permits in advance to do the hike.

Securing a permit is only possible with an approved tour provider, who buy these daily permits in advance. This means that - although many of Peru's best hikes, like the Colca Canyon, are possible to do independently - you can only do the Inca Trail with an approved tour company and spaces are capped.

What is the best time of year to hike the Inca Trail?

Peru has two seasons - dry and wet - and it is possible to do the Inca Trail in either. Each however, come with their own pros and cons.
Dry Season (May - October)
Pros | The chance of rain, as the name would suggest, is significantly reduced and you can expect hot, dry mornings and afternoons.

Cons | Dry season also coincides with high tourism season in Peru (June - August), so the Inca Trail will be at full capacity each day. This means fuller camp sites and more traffic along the Trail (although the tours do try and stagger this out). Demand for tours also increases in dry season, so you really need to book your own tour further in advance (a rule of thumb is six to seven months, but we have met people who booked a year in advance to assure themselves of a place). Lastly, our guide told us that the nighttime temperatures in dry season drop significantly, so expect cold nights in the tent.
Wet Season (November - April)
We hiked with G Adventures in early December, so we were ready for some rainy days. Thankfully, the weather gods were rooting for us, and we only had one bad rain shower and a single morning of dense mist to contend with - as our guide told us, this won't always be the case for those hiking the Inca Trail in rainy season.

Pros | A less popular time to hike, so the number of people you're sharing the Trail with is notably reduced, as are the crowds at Machu Picchu. Tours are slightly cheaper and easier to book with only a few weeks notice (a guy on our tour booked his place only a week before the trip began). Temperatures at night are also less chilly.

Cons | Hiking and camping in the rain for four days is never fun, so you are increasing the chances of that. If there is notable rainfall, then hiking conditions become slippier and more difficult.

Note that the Inca Trail is closed in February for everyone in order to allow it to replenish.

If you're reading the above and thinking that neither sounds appealing now, then please don't be too despondent - the Inca Trail can be hiked year-round and we've just outlined the worst cons of each season so that you don't have any nasty surprises!

Do You Need to Book an Inca Trail Tour in Advance?

In short, yes.

If you're hiking in the dry (high) season, then you should be making a reservation sooner rather than later (i.e. right now). If you'll be taking an Inca Trail tour in rainy season, a little more spontaneity is possible, unless you have very specific dates in mind where it makes sense to get your booking in sooner rather than later.

Reading this and hoping for a last minute spot? It's is certainly possible to find one but your options on tour companies and dates will be severely limited.

We did the trek with G Adventures, a global company focused on sustainable small-group adventures, who have also been awarded 'Best Inca Trail Tour Operator' by the Regional Direction of Foreign Trade and Tourism of Cusco (RDFTTC) in Peru - you can check out the specific tour we did by clicking here.

Are There Age Restrictions?

There is no minimum or maximum age limit for hikers on the Inca Trail, but tour companies will operate according to their own guidelines and policies (i.e. G Adventures minimum is 12 years old) . Personally, we wouldn't recommend anyone under the age of 14 to do the trek due to group dynamics.

If you are a little older in years and need some inspiration, then Alan Goldin is the oldest recorded hiker of the Trail at the age of 84, whilst three of our local porters were 62!

How Much Does The Inca Trail Cost?

All companies operating the Inca Trail must be registered and have a special operators license, which is renewed annually. A large number of these companies are only established to provide specific private tours in high season, with the rest offering year-round expeditions. New operators are added to the list each year so, as you can imagine, quality, experience, and equipment offered will vary quite a lot.

Inca Trail tours cost from £550 / $699 / €611 per person up to £1,500 / $1,900 / €1,670; if you see a price any cheaper than the bottom-end of this range, then be very sceptical. If you are seeing a higher price than this, then you will either be on a very very luxury tour or likely booking through a tour agent. Note that, aside from the mark-up on price, Inca Trail tours booked via agencies will often simply place you on an available tour with one of several local operators, so you have very little control on the quality of the ultimate provider and group composition.

The G Adventures tour we joined was £729 / $943 / €830 per person, and this included two nights hotel accommodation in Cusco, one night hotel accommodation in Ollantaytambo, private transport, all meals on the Trail, our Inca Trail permit, camping equipment, entrance and a guided tour around Machu Picchu, a support team of 15 or so guides, porters, and chefs, and visits to several Planeterra local community enterprises and projects in the Sacred Valley.

You can see the full G Adventures Inca Trail tour details and itinerary here.

Note that it's necessary to pay a deposit in advance to secure your Inca Trail permit, so if you go with a new, non-established, or cheaper provider, make sure you have done enough research into them before paying anything. After all, you don't want the upfront savings to mean inadequate equipment, poor quality food, or a less memorable experience.

Please also be aware that permits are only issued with a tourist's name and passport number and, once booked, they are non-changeable and non-transferable. If you happen to change your passport between booking and arriving at the entry checkpoint at Km.82 (where they check your passport), then contact your tour company for advice.

Tip | They have also launched a cheaper, slightly shorter trip that removes a day either side of the Inca Trail which is ideal for those on a tighter time scale or budget. Find out more here.

Preparing for the Inca Trail

Once you've booked a tour and committed to the hike, there are some key milestones to hit before you get anywhere near South America. Preparing for the Inca Trail isn't just a case of throwing some unworn hiking boots in your backpack and hoping for the best, but rather doing the necessary to ensure you have a successful and unforgettable adventure in the Peruvian mountains for all the right reasons!

How Fit Do You Need To Be?

As mentioned, the Inca Trail isn't just a walk in the park.

Although it wasn't by any stretch the most physically challenging hike we've done in South America, its ascents and conditions provided enough of a task to make us both feel it. You do not need to be a vastly experienced hiker, but acquiring a good level of physical fitness prior to arriving in Peru will make everything easier and more enjoyable. If you're reading this and don't fit the description of someone who does a lot of exercise or could do with losing a few lbs - then don't be too despondent. Instead, view the Inca Trail as your challenge, your motivation, and your deadline to start walking more, to lose some weight, and to make some positive changes before you fly to Peru (and if you need some inspiration, read this woman's story).

What Do You Need To Pack For The Inca Trail?

Pack light, pack smart, and pack for two very different temperatures - that's the key advice for every Inca Trail experience. However, there are a few key things to know about how luggage and kit is transported on the hike before you even think about whether you really need that extra pair of pants.

Firstly, you are going to leave the bulk of your luggage securely in a luggage storage room back at the hotel in Cusco; don't leave valuables here though as that's just silly.

Secondly, for our G Adventures tour, we were each supplied with black duffel bags at the hotel. This duffel bag is allowed to hold upto 6kgs, and is going to be where the majority of the kit + equipment you bring for the Inca Trail will be stored (i.e. clothes, sleeping bag, sleeping mat, toiletries). Every Inca Trail tour worth its salt employs and includes an incredible team of support staff who will carry the camping and cooking equipment plus food supplies on the Trail to each campsite (the tour company provides all of this equipment), as well as everyone's 6kg duffel bag.

These local porters, from fresh-faced 18 year olds to gnarled mountain men, are the unsung heroes of every Inca Trail experience and they will each carry up to 25 kgs on their backs for the group (yep, and you were worried about how hard the Trail would be for you!). Your duffel bag will be collected and weighed each morning to ensure it's not over the weight limit, and will be waiting for you alongside an erected tent at each campsite.

So, it's clear that most of the hard work when it comes to carrying things will be done by others and the tour company provides a lot of the key camping equipment. However, you also need to have a small daypack to carry your snacks, camera, water, suncream, and any medication, on the Trail itself - this will be carried by you and only you throughout the trip.

We've covered all the essentials you definitely need to buy and pack for either season (plus some 'nice to haves') in this Inca Trail Packing List post, whilst more information on the camping + food on the trek is outlined in specific sections below.

When + Where Do You Need To Be In Peru

It is possible to book a longer organised Peru tour which includes the Inca Trail within it, or to simply include it on your own independent Peru + South American adventure. Regardless of which option you go for, all roads will lead to Cusco - the start point for the vast majority of all Inca Trail tours.

Cusco, in the south-east of Peru, thankfully doubles up as one of the country's most popular destinations due to its history and position as an access point to the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu, so every Peru itinerary is guaranteed to include at least a few nights here. If you haven't planned your visit yet, then read our guide to the best things to do in Cusco.

Cusco is exceptionally easy to reach from various parts of Peru, but there are no direct flights to Cusco from the US, Canada or Europe. Instead, these are your best options:

Flights |Fly into Jorge Chavez International Airport in Lima, Peru's capital city, and connect onto one of the frequent flights from Lima - Cusco run by several airlines. These are consistently cheap (starting from £45 / $60 / €50 per person), reliable, and only take 90 minutes.

If you're already in Peru or elsewhere in South America, then taking a flight from Lima - Cusco is the quickest and most sensible option.

Bus | If you're travelling from Arequipa, then an overnight bus to Cusco is your best option. Overnight buses in Peru range from basic to an incredibly high standard - we recommend you take a look at the options and book online via RedBus.

There is a bus which runs from Lima to Cusco, but it takes 24 hours and these days isn't worth taking as flights are so ubiquitous and affordable (trust us, we did this bus ride back in 2015!)

Train |There is a train which runs from Cusco - Ollantaytambo - Aguas Calientes (the Machu Picchu town), but this is really a tourist service and not relevant for reaching Cusco.

Our G Adventures tour required all participants to be in Cusco for the first night of the 7 day trip, and it's in the city where you will receive your briefing, rent any additional equipment and meet your tour mates. Given our own independent travel plans, we had actually spent the previous week in Cusco and the surrounding region - for everyone planning on the Inca Trail, we'd recommend arriving into Cusco at least two days before your tour starts so that you can acclimatise to the altitude (it's at 3,339 metres above sea level) and enjoy what the city has to offer without aching limbs. You can read more about altitude sickness in the 'Health + Safety' section towards the bottom of this post.

Once in Cusco, all your transport to the Trail and the return trip to Cusco from Machu Picchu will be arranged by your tour company and included in the overall tour price. This will include a private minibus to Ollantaytambo and km.82 (the Inca Trail start point) and either a train or minibus back to Cusco.

Do You Need Special Inca Trail Insurance?

We would never travel without taking out insurance (if you're not convinced, read this post), and having the necessary insurance arrangements in place in advance is a requirement for every Inca Trail tour; you are responsible for buying and purchasing this.

It's worth noting that not all standard off-the-shelf travel insurance policies will cover you for activities at altitude (including the Inca Trail), so you need to ensure that this is covered when buying your single or multi-trip policy. True Traveller and World Nomads are two respected travel insurers which we have used on South America trips who cover high altitude treks (just make double sure that you've selected the right option).

If you're confused about buying travel insurance, read this post and this post.

Hiking the Inca Trail

Inca Trail Map + Route

We've outlined our own route on the Inca Trail below and, in broad terms, this is the sort of the itinerary you can expect (note that this relates solely to the days spent on the hike, not the days of travelling to/from Cusco and Ollantaytambo):

Day One: Travel from Ollantaytambo to km.82 in the morning and hike to campsite

Distance | Approx. 6.8 miles/ 11 km

Elevation Gain | 350 metres

Difficulty | Moderate, with a steep tiring section towards the end.

Day Two: Early rise to hike through cloud forest and up to Dead Woman's Pass and the descent to campsite

Distance | Approx. 7.5 miles/ 12km

Elevation Gain | 1,115 metres

Difficulty | High, this is the hardest day of walking but after you reach DWP, it's mostly downhill.

Day Three: Early rise to hike the most photogenic section of the Trail

Distance | Approx. 9.6 miles/ 15.5km

Elevation Gain | Minus 1,000 metres

Difficulty | Moderate to a little difficult as there are several steep sections.

Day Four: Very early rise (3 a.m.) to reach the entry check-point and hike 1-2 hours to the Sun Gate and Machu Picchu.

Distance | Approx. 3.1 miles/ 5 km

Difficulty | You're almost at the end and Machu Picchu, you should be hopping, skipping, and jumping all the way there!

The well-established route is outlined in the below image below (red line) but do note that your own specific campsites and stops may differ depending on your tour provider.

How Difficult is the Inca Trail Hike?

As the above has hopefully made clear, the Inca Trail is not as difficult or challenging as you may think, but every person's own hike experience will be very subjective based on your fitness, hiking experience, your group's approach, attitude, the weather conditions on the route, and a bunch of other factors. Day Two of the hike, which leads you from your campsite all the way upto the Dead Woman's Pass at 4,200 metres (13,776 ft) is widely regarded as the most difficult day of hiking - once you're passed that, you'll be laughing (or crying).

Personally, we had some really difficult moments on Day One and Two on the climbs, but the rest of the hike was at the right level of 'satisfyingly challenging".

Our own Inca Trail group were all roughly the same age and fitness, which meant that our pace was consistent and we all arrived to rest-stops and campsites at roughly the same time. Our guide kept on calling us all 'professional hikers' and the fastest group he'd had that year as we arrived at camp each night a few hours ahead of expected 5-7 hours in his schedule. This won't always be the case, and your own group is just as likely to contain people of mixed ages and abilities.

There are three important things to note here:

1: The Inca Trail is not about finishing each day as quickly as possible; we felt that our group could have lingered a little more on sections of the hike and slowed our pace. Savour the route, rather than trying to set a record pace (which you'll never do by the way - it's currently 3 hours 23 minutes by a porter. There's even a marathon!).

2: The best tour companies each come with a main guide and an assistant guide - one will lead at the front of your group whilst another will stay at the back. They are experienced in supporting members of a group who may be struggling or slower than the rest, and ensuring that everyone's experience is the best possible in the circumstances. If you are struggling, it's their job to control the situation, help you get to camp, and also to manage the overall group schedule.

3: It's amazing the friendships that can come out of struggle and perseverance. If you are one of the quicker ones in a group, don't ruin another person's experience by castigating them for taking longer - everyone has their own challenges,circumstances, and reasons for being on the Trail, and a friendship and positive experience is more likely to blossom out of supporting someone through their struggle. As our guide Elias told us, the key thing for everyone to make the overall experience on the Inca Trail better is a 'positive mental attitude'.

Do You Need Hiking Poles?

We had always thought that hiking poles were only for old people and Austrians.

However, after asking our followers on Twitter, we were assured that 1. they are really bloody useful and 2. not just for old people and Austrians.

In short, hiking poles are not essential for the Inca Trail; it is 100% possible to do it without them. However, using them is guaranteed make the hike easier for a number of people and result in fewer aches and pains during and post-Trail.

As we were doing so many hikes in South America, we bought these excellent lightweight travel hiking poles in the UK. However, it's also possible to buy poles in Cusco or to rent them from your tour provider. Just make sure that if yours have exposed spikes, you buy some rubber stoppers in order to use them for the Trail.

To find out what clothes and footwear are best, read our Inca Trail Packing post.

Machu Picchu and the Inca Trail

Although all hikes are more about the journey than a final destination, the Inca Trail stands out as having a destination to beat all others. After all, reaching Machu Picchu is the reason that many of you will be considering this hike in the first place!

When Will You Arrive at Machu Picchu?

A common misconception about the Inca Trail is that it will allow you to be amongst the first people into Machu Picchu - this simply isn't true as it's much easier to get through its gates just after opening if you stay in Aguas Calientes the night before and hike or take the bus up. Instead, you're treated to an entry at the Sun Gate just after sunrise (expect about 6-7 a.m.) and then a wonderful descent down to an uncrowded Machu Picchu with special views of it all the way (trust us, it's much better than queueing in the pitch black Aguas from 4 a.m. in the morning to get on the first bus up to then queue at the ticket gate).

The ticket for the $12 shuttle bus (30 minutes) down to Aguas Calientes will be included in your tour price and the ticket provided on the day by your guide.

Does the Inca Trail Tour Include Your Machu Picchu Entrance Ticket?

Yep, the cost of entry is included in the tour price and it's the responsibility of the tour company to take care of all that and provide you with the ticket on the day you're entering the site. For all the essential details on visiting Machu Picchu independently, read this post.

How Much Time Will You Have At Machu Picchu?

This will vary from tour to tour, and also may evolve as Machu Picchu continues to change its own rules and restrictions to abate UNESCO's concerns, but on our own tour we enjoyed a full morning to explore Machu Picchu from about 7 a.m. until 11.30 a.m. (we could have stayed another hour but by that point we were desperate for a beer and lunch!). This also included a guided tour around the site.

In short, you will have plenty time to explore Machu Picchu and take some great photos before the day-tripper hordes arrive.

Facilities + Accommodation on the Inca Trail

If you've never camped before, than that is all about to change! There are no hotels on the Inca Trail and your only available accommodation comes in the form of a tent and a sleeping bag in the middle of nature.

The tents are all two-person, meaning you will either be sharing with a friend/other half, or a randomly assigned member of the same sex. For those that would prefer more privacy, you can also pay extra for your own one-man tent.

The porters carry all the tents along the Trail, but you will be responsible for including your sleeping bag and mat in the 6kg duffel bag allowance.

Do You Need To Set Up Camp Each Day?

We have previously taken a three-week overland trip in Africa with G Adventures, where we were responsible for setting up and taking down our tent each day (not so fun in the rain or after a long day). However, on the Inca Trail we experienced comparative luxury as the porters were responsible for setting up the tents each afternoon before you get near camp, and for taking them down and packing up in the morning.

We told you that these guys were absolute heroes.

What Camping Equipment Do You Need to Bring?

As mentioned, the tour company will provide the tents and porters will carry the majority of the camping equipment. You are however responsible for bringing your own sleeping bag, which can be stored within your 6kg duffel bag allowance. We have these excellent lightweight sleeping bags, but it's also possible to rent them - just note that the ones available for rental are bulky and weigh around 2 kgs.

A very thin sleeping mat was included, and carried by the porter, but it was also possible to rent a thin air-mattress for S/45 / £10 / $13 / €11 which had to be stored in the duffel bag (and weighed around 1 kg).

If you plan on renting the sleeping bag and air-mattress, then just bear in mind that this will take up over 50% of your 6kgs allowance and also takes up most of the room available inside the duffel bag.

Whatever equipment you bring, you may not always get the best night's sleep - and it may be quite chilly in the evening - but it's all part of the experience! Just remember to keep your boots, bags, and hiking poles inside incase it rains overnight or a curious dog starts sniffing around...

If you're going to invest in a high quality travel sleeping bag, then read this post on the essential things to look for before buying.

What's The Toilet And Shower Situation?

The worst part of hiking the Inca Trail is not the altitude, nor the steep ascents, but rather the toilet options available along the route.

Each campsite has toilet facilities available, but these are often rudimentary squat toilets and with campsites being so remote and over-subscribed, cleanliness understandably isn't the highest.

Make sure to bring your own toilet paper and hand-sanitiser, and just hold your nose (and maybe close your eyes too) when you need to go. On the first two days of the Trail, there are also local people who have set up toilets for trekkers (charging S/. 1)...and there's also the bush. Just remember that the 2 soles you'll pay to enter the modern squeaky clean toilets at the Machu Picchu site will be money very very well spent.

In terms of showers, we've found on our various multi-day group hikes that people can be split into two camps:

Those who will take a cold shower rather than being a little smelly.

Those who will take being a lot smelly over taking a cold shower.

Thankfully, we both fall into the latter camp and we always tell people to embrace getting a little stinky and dirty for a few days. For those who are in the former camp, then you'll be happy to know that two of the three campsites we stayed at had basic shower facilities - just be warned that the water began its journey as snow not too much higher up the mountain, when we say cold, we mean it!

Is There Internet On The Inca Trail?

Nope, and this is one of the best things about it.

Instead, you and your group will spend evening conversing over plastic cups of hot tea, playing card games, or lazing in nature together. Your last chance to use the internet or have a reliable phone signal will be in Ollantaytambo, and your first opportunity will be outside Machu Picchu or in Aguas Calientes.

Money + Food on the Inca Trail

What Are The Meals Like On The Inca Trail?

The biggest surprise for us both on the Trail was just how incredible the food provided was every single day. With G Adventures, two chefs are included as part of the support staff, and the unanimous opinion of our group was that those two performed absolute miracles.

All food, apart from snacks along the way (although we were also provided with a bag of snacks), is included in the up-front tour price - and you won't have to lift a finger to prepare it or wash up. Instead, around a table in a make-shift tent dining room, we were treated to three-course lunches and dinners and a decent breakfast. Amazingly, no meal was the same as the last (we had sort of expected a lot of pasta!).

A typical dinner included fresh hot soup, a hearty main course, and then something sweet to round it off - all washed down at the end with cups of tea. On our last night, we even got a buffet! We're both vegetarian and were catered for incredibly well - with each meal giving us a vegetarian version of the same dish the others were eating (another thing we did not expect at all).

We don't know if all tours will offer the same level of food as G Adventures did, but even if it's half as good you'll be very happy. If you have specific dietary requirements, make sure you enquire with your tour provider to make sure you can be catered for adequately.

You can see full details on what's included in G Adventures Inca Trail Tour here.

Can You Buy Snacks On The Inca Trail?

You are expected to bring and carry your own snacks, although our tour did provide us each with a snack bag on Day One of the trail (we finished ours on the last day, others finished it by Day Two). It makes sense to buy them in Cusco or Ollantaytambo, although on Days One and Two of the trail you will find women along the Trail with makeshift stalls selling drinks, biscuits, and sweets.

Is There Drinking Water on the Inca Trail?

Tours should provide you with purified, safe-to-drink water at camp each night and morning; this in addition to drinks purchased in advance and along the way (and those endless cups of tea glugged at camp) should be sufficient to keep you well hydrated.

However, reducing the plastic footprint and impact of travellers is something we are very passionate about, so it's important to note that the best way to be guaranteed plenty safe-to-drink water on the Inca Trail (and on future hikes) is to invest in a Lifestraw bottle, which has an in-built filter to remove 99.9% of harmful bacteria. We have used similar bottles on travels in both Africa and South America and can't talk highly enough of them (our Water-to-Go allowed us to fill up from taps all over Peru, from two rivers on the Inca Trail, and even an ancient water fountain at Machu Picchu).

If you don't invest in one of these excellent bottles, both of which we've tried and tested, then at least bring a refillable water bottle with you.

You can get a 15% discount on the Water-to-Go if you use this code at the checkout (ADR15), and read this post to find out about more ways about how to use less plastic when you travel.

How Much Money Should You Bring On The Inca Trail?

The vast majority of costs will be covered in the up-front price of your tour, but there are a few costs along the way for which you'll need to bring cash:

Snacks and drinks from stallholders

Toilet entry fees (usually 1 sol, 2 soles at Machu Picchu)

Tips for porters and guides (more on this below).

Lunch at Aguas Calientes.

It's sensible to take this money in the form of smaller notes and coins.

As our G Adventures Inca Trail tour was actually over seven days, including time in Cusco and Ollantaytambo, we also required cash to cover a few meals as well as spending money for souvenirs in the Sacred Valley. So, whatever you do, don't underestimate how much cash you will need - we'd say at least S/. 300 per person for the Trail-specific section.

Tipping on the Inca Trail

Whichever tour company you do the Inca Trail with, you will be expected to tip your support staff of porters and guides.

As Brits, we fully appreciate that this can result in a bit of uncertainty and awkwardness for those of us who haven't been raised in a tipping culture (just pay more in wages, no?), but after your time on the Trail you will be left in no doubt that those porters deserve an extra bit of cash to recognise their sterling work and to support their own endeavours in life.

The process and guideline amounts will vary from tour company to tour company, but with G Adventures our group circulated an envelope amongst us so that everyone could confidentially put in what they were happy with, and then presented that to the porters on our last evening at camp.

Amongst various tour companies' advice online, the tipping recommendations average out at S./ 100 - 150 (£23-35 / $30-45 / €26-40) per hiker to the group of porters and cooks (who will take care of splitting it amongst themselves). For your main and assistant guide, S./ 25 - 50 (£6-12 / $8-15 / €6.5-15) for the former and S./ 10 - 25 (£2.5-6 / $3-7.5 / €2.5-6.5) for the latter is advised per hiker.

Tipping is not mandatory, and you are entitled to put in more, less, or nothing at all.

Health + Safety on the Inca Trail

Being in decent shape, acclimatising, carrying out a few practice hikes at home, keeping yourself hydrated, wearing in your hiking boots, and taking out the correct travel insurance are essential to staying safe and healthy on this hike; if you've made it this far down in our Inca Trail Guide and taken our advice on board, then you should have very few issues once you hit the Trail.

Will I Get Altitude Sickness on the Inca Trail?

Many of the most popular places in Peru, such as Cusco and Arequipa, are at high altitude; this means that for anyone planning a trip to Peru understanding altitude sickness (and how to avoid it) is incredibly important. In fact, not approaching altitude correctly is one of the biggest mistakes of travellers in South America.

The best way to minimise the likelihood and / or impact of altitude sickness is factoring in enough time into your Peru itinerary to acclimatise to the conditions. This means that it is incredibly foolish to arrive in Cusco, which is at 3,339m (11,151 feet) above sea-level, and leave the next day to do a strenuous hike or even start the Inca Trail. Your body needs the time to adjust!

A good rule of thumb is to give yourself and your body two easy days at altitude to acclimatise to the change, and to keep yourself well hydrated throughout. In our group of 10, three people were feeling the altitude on the first day of the tour due to lack of acclimitisation, but with more time, water, and a healthy dose of coca tea (the age-old Peruvian cure!) they soon adjusted and had no issues by day one of the hike itself.

For more information on altitude sickness, the symptoms, and how to deal with them in Peru, read this post.

What Do I Do With My Valuables?

This is one area where the tour companies could provide a better solution, although we appreciate our situation as travel photographers and bloggers who carry a lot of technology is a little unique.

Your main luggage will be left in a secure hotel luggage storage room in Cusco, however we do not advise leaving any important or valuable items there - instead, it's better to take them with you and keep them in your own daypack. If hotels and tour companies offered lockers in Cusco which travellers could secure with their own padlock, then this would have allowed us to leave various cards, cash, and tech with confidence (and insurance coverage) in the city rather than carrying it all in our backpack on the trail (Andrew actually lugged 18 kgs on his back for the entirety of the trail because of this, so views himself as an honorary porter!)

Remember to pack smart and pack light for the Inca Trail - find out exactly what you need to bring and leave behind in our Inca Trail Packing List.

What About Medication?

Obviously, medical attention and facilities along the Inca Trail are pretty much non-existent so you need to bring any of your own required medication with you and keep it on your own person or in the daypack. If you do have any pre-existing medical requirements, inform your tour company when booking and also remind the CEO before setting out.

Don't Skimp on Travel Insurance

We've mentioned this earlier, but with the understanding that this is such an important purchase before you step foot in Peru, we thought it only correct to mention it again here.

Despite your best efforts (as well as the efforts of your CEO, porters etc), things can and do go wrong; if you get sick whilst hiking and are unable to make your own way back, without travel insurance, your evacuation will get expensive pretty quickly. Now, the important thing to note here is that your bog-standard, one-size-fits-all travel insurance will almost certainly not cover you getting unwell at significant altitude - you'll need to buy an add-on which specially covers hiking at high altitude. Both True Traveller and and World Nomads are respected insurers who offer this coverage.

If you have any doubts about whether you are covered for hiking the Inca Trail, speak with your insurance company. Lastly, make sure you have the policy number, insurance provider, and emergency contact number on your person whilst hiking.

If you've made it to the end of the post, then congratulations! We also truly hope that most of your questions about the Inca Trail hike have now been answered and you are in the best position possible for your upcoming Peruvian adventure. If there are any updates or questions, feel free to let us know in the comments below!

If you are yet to book a tour, then we can highly recommend the 7-day G Adventures Inca Trail tour which we joined - it exceeded our expectations.

If your budget is a little higher, or you'd prefer a longer organised tour in Peru, they also offer a 14-day National Geographic 'Iconic Peru' tour which includes the Inca Trail, the Amazon, Lake Titicaca, and return flights from Lima - Cusco.

If you're all booked and ready to start preparing, then make sure to read our Inca Trail Packing List before you buy anything.

Planning for Peru? Use Our Guides!

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Everything You Really Need To Know Before Hiking the Inca Trail - Along Dusty Roads

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The Inca Trail is one of the most famous travel experiences in the world - but what's it really like and what do you really need to know? This post shares all the key information to help you prepare for your own four day Inca Trail hike to Machu Picchu in Peru!

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Though born in London, poet, suffragette, critic and essayist ​Alice Meynell (1847-1922) spent most of her childhood in Italy, the setting for this short travel essay, "By the Railway Side."

Originally published in "The Rhythm of Life and Other Essays" (1893), "By the Railway Side" contains a powerful vignette. In an article titled "The Railway Passenger; or, The Training of the Eye", Ana Parejo Vadillo and John Plunkett interpret Meynell's brief ​ descriptive narrative as "an attempt to get rid of what one may call the "passenger's guilt" -- or "the transformation of someone else's drama into a spectacle, and the guilt of the passenger as he or she takes the position of the audience, not oblivious to the fact that what is happening is real but both unable and unwilling to act on it" ("The Railway and Modernity: Time, Space, and the Machine Ensemble," 2007).

By the Railway Side

by Alice Meynell

My train drew near to the Via Reggio platform on a day between two of the harvests of a hot September; the sea was burning blue, and there were a sombreness and a gravity in the very excesses of the sun as his fires brooded deeply over the serried, hardy, shabby, seaside ilex-woods. I had come out of Tuscany and was on my way to the Genovesato: the steep country with its profiles, bay by bay, of successive mountains grey with olive-trees, between the flashes of the Mediterranean and the sky; the country through the which there sounds the twanging Genoese language, a thin Italian mingled with a little Arabic, more Portuguese, and much French. I was regretful at leaving the elastic Tuscan speech, canorous in its vowels set in emphatic L's and m's and the vigorous soft spring of the double consonants. But as the train arrived its noises were drowned by a voice declaiming in the tongue I was not to hear again for months--good Italian. The voice was so loud that one looked for the audience: Whose ears was it seeking to reach by the violence done to every syllable, and whose feelings would it touch by its insincerity? The tones were insincere, but there was passion behind them; and most often passion acts its own true character poorly, and consciously enough to make good judges think it a mere counterfeit. Hamlet, being a little mad, feigned madness. It is when I am angry that I pretend to be angry, so as to present the truth in an obvious and intelligible form. Thus even before the words were distinguishable it was manifest that they were spoken by a man in serious trouble who had false ideas as to what is convincing in elocution.

When the voice became audibly articulate, it proved to be shouting blasphemies from the broad chest of a middle-aged man--an Italian of the type that grows stout and wears whiskers. The man was in bourgeois dress, and he stood with his hat off in front of the small station building, shaking his thick fist at the sky. No one was on the platform with him except the railway officials, who seemed in doubt as to their duties in the matter, and two women. Of one of these there was nothing to remark except her distress. She wept as she stood at the door of the waiting-room. Like the second woman, she wore the dress of the shopkeeping class throughout Europe, with the local black lace veil in place of a bonnet over her hair. It is of the second woman--O unfortunate creature!--that this record is made--a record without sequel, without consequence; but there is nothing to be done in her regard except so to remember her. And thus much I think I owe after having looked, from the midst of the negative happiness that is given to so many for a space of years, at some minutes of her despair. She was hanging on the man's arm in her entreaties that he would stop the drama he was enacting. She had wept so hard that her face was disfigured. Across her nose was the dark purple that comes with overpowering fear. Haydon saw it on the face of a woman whose child had just been run over in a London street. I remembered the note in his journal as the woman at Via Reggio, in her intolerable hour, turned her head my way, her sobs lifting it. She was afraid that the man would throw himself under the train. She was afraid that he would be damned for his blasphemies; and as to this her fear was mortal fear. It was horrible, too, that she was humpbacked and a dwarf.

Not until the train drew away from the station did we lose the clamour. No one had tried to silence the man or to soothe the woman's horror. But has any one who saw it forgotten her face? To me for the rest of the day it was a sensible rather than a merely mental image. Constantly a red blur rose before my eyes for a background, and against it appeared the dwarf's head, lifted with sobs, under the provincial black lace veil. And at night what emphasis it gained on the boundaries of sleep! Close to my hotel there was a roofless theatre crammed with people, where they were giving Offenbach. The operas of Offenbach still exist in Italy, and the little town was placarded with announcements of La Bella Elena. The peculiar vulgar rhythm of the music jigged audibly through half the hot night, and the clapping of the town's-folk filled all its pauses. But the persistent noise did but accompany, for me, the persistent vision of those three figures at the Via Reggio station in the profound sunshine of the day.

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"By the Railway Side" and the Unwillingness of Being Indifferent

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Though born in London, poet, suffragette, critic and essayist ​Alice Meynell (1847-1922) spent most of her childhood in Italy, the setting for this short travel essay, "By the Railway Side." Originally published in "The Rhythm of Life and Other Essays" (1893), "By the Railway Side" contains a powerful vignette.

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8 Travel-Writing Tips From Professional Travel Writers

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8 Travel-Writing Tips From Professional Travel Writers

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​​Travel writing has a way of transporting the reader to new places. When done well, it can even inspire others to explore,…

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Travel writing is a form of creative nonfiction in which the narrator's encounters with foreign places serve as the dominant subject. Also called travel literature.

"All travel writing-because it is writing-is made in the sense of being constructed, says Peter Hulme, "but travel writing cannot be made up without losing its designation" (quoted by Tim Youngs in The Cambridge Introduction to Travel Writing, 2013).

Notable contemporary travel writers in English include Paul Theroux, Susan Orlean, Bill Bryson, Pico Iyer, Rory MacLean, Mary Morris, Dennison Berwick, Jan Morris, Tony Horwitz, Jeffrey Tayler, and Tom Miller, among countless others.

Examples of Travel Writing

Observations About Travel Writing

Authors, journalists, and others have attempted to describe travel writing, which is more difficult to do than you might think. However, these excerpts explain that travel writing-at a minimum-requires a sense of curiosity, awareness, and fun.

Thomas Swick

"The best writers in the field [of travel writing] bring to it an indefatigable curiosity, a fierce intelligence that enables them to interpret, and a generous heart that allows them to connect. Without resorting to invention, they make ample use of their imaginations. . . .
"The travel book itself has a similar grab bag quality. It incorporates the characters and plot line of a novel, the descriptive power of poetry, the substance of a history lesson, the discursiveness of an essay, and the-often inadvertent-self-revelation of a memoir. It revels in the particular while occasionally illuminating the universal. It colors and shapes and fills in gaps. Because it results from displacement, it is frequently funny. It takes readers for a spin (and shows them, usually, how lucky they are). It humanizes the alien. More often than not it celebrates the unsung. It uncovers truths that are stranger than fiction. It gives eyewitness proof of life's infinite possibilities."
("Not a Tourist." The Wilson Quarterly, Winter 2010)

Casey Blanton

"There exists at the center of travel books like [Graham] Greene's Journey Without Maps or [V.S.] Naipaul's An Area of Darkness a mediating consciousness that monitors the journey, judges, thinks, confesses, changes, and even grows. This narrator, so central to what we have come to expect in modern travel writing, is a relatively new ingredient in travel literature, but it is one that irrevocably changed the genre. . . .
"Freed from strictly chronological, fact-driven narratives, nearly all contemporary travel writers include their own dreams and memories of childhood as well as chunks of historical data and synopses of other travel books. Self reflexivity and instability, both as theme and style, offer the writer a way to show the effects of his or her own presence in a foreign country and to expose the arbitrariness of truth and the absence of norms."
(Travel Writing: The Self and the World. Routledge, 2002)

Frances Mayes

"Some travel writers can become serious to the point of lapsing into good ol' American puritanism. . . . What nonsense! I have traveled much in Concord. Good travel writing can be as much about having a good time as about eating grubs and chasing drug lords. . . . [T]ravel is for learning, for fun, for escape, for personal quests, for challenge, for exploration, for opening the imagination to other lives and languages."
(Introduction to The Best American Travel Writing 2002. Houghton, 2002)

Travel Writers on Travel Writing

In the past, travel writing was considered to be nothing more than the detailing of specific routes to various destinations. Today, however, travel writing has become much more. Read on to find out what famous travel writers such as V.S. Naipaul and Paul Theroux say about the profession.

"My books have to be called 'travel writing,' but that can be misleading because in the old days travel writing was essentially done by men describing the routes they were taking. . . . What I do is quite different. I travel on a theme. I travel to make an inquiry. I am not a journalist. I am taking with me the gifts of sympathy, observation, and curiosity that I developed as an imaginative writer. The books I write now, these inquiries, are really constructed narratives."
(Interview with Ahmed Rashid, "Death of the Novel." The Observer, Feb. 25, 1996)

Paul Theroux

- "Most travel narratives-perhaps all of them, the classics anyway-describe the miseries and splendors of going from one remote place to another. The quest, the getting there, the difficulty of the road is the story; the journey, not the arrival, matters, and most of the time the traveler-the traveler's mood, especially-is the subject of the whole business. I have made a career out of this sort of slogging and self-portraiture, travel writing as diffused autobiography; and so have many others in the old, laborious look-at-me way that informs travel writing."
(Paul Theroux, "The Soul of the South." Smithsonian Magazine, July-August 2014)
- "Most visitors to coastal Maine know it in the summer. In the nature of visitation, people show up in the season. The snow and ice are a bleak memory now on the long warm days of early summer, but it seems to me that to understand a place best, the visitor needs to see figures in a landscape in all seasons. Maine is a joy in the summer. But the soul of Maine is more apparent in the winter. You see that the population is actually quite small, the roads are empty, some of the restaurants are closed, the houses of the summer people are dark, their driveways unplowed. But Maine out of season is unmistakably a great destination: hospitable, good-humored, plenty of elbow room, short days, dark nights of crackling ice crystals.
"Winter is a season of recovery and preparation. Boats are repaired, traps fixed, nets mended. "I need the winter to rest my body," my friend the lobsterman told me, speaking of how he suspended his lobstering in December and did not resume until April. . . ."
("The Wicked Coast." The Atlantic, June 2011)

Susan Orlean

- "To be honest, I view all stories as journeys. Journeys are the essential text of the human experience-the journey from birth to death, from innocence to wisdom, from ignorance to knowledge, from where we start to where we end. There is almost no piece of important writing-the Bible, the Odyssey, Chaucer, Ulysses-that isn't explicitly or implicitly the story of a journey. Even when I don't actually go anywhere for a particular story, the way I report is to immerse myself in something I usually know very little about, and what I experience is the journey toward a grasp of what I've seen."
(Susan Orlean, Introduction to My Kind of Place: Travel Stories from a Woman Who's Been Everywhere. Random House, 2004)
- "When I went to Scotland for a friend's wedding last summer, I didn't plan on firing a gun. Getting into a fistfight, maybe; hurling insults about badly dressed bridesmaids, of course; but I didn't expect to shoot or get shot at. The wedding was taking place in a medieval castle in a speck of a village called Biggar. There was not a lot to do in Biggar, but the caretaker of the castle had skeet-shooting gear, and the male guests announced that before the rehearsal dinner they were going to give it a go. The women were advised to knit or shop or something. I don't know if any of us women actually wanted to join them, but we didn't want to be left out, so we insisted on coming along. . . ."
(Opening paragraph of "Shooting Party." The New Yorker, September 29, 1999)

Jonathan Raban

- "As a literary form, travel writing is a notoriously raffish open house where different genres are likely to end up in the bed. It accommodates the private diary, the essay, the short story, the prose poem, the rough note and polished table talk with indiscriminate hospitality. It freely mixes narrative and discursive writing."
(For Love & Money: Writing - Reading - Travelling 1968-1987. Picador, 1988)

- "Travel in its purest form requires no certain destination, no fixed itinerary, no advance reservation and no return ticket, for you are trying to launch yourself onto the haphazard drift of things, and put yourself in the way of whatever changes the journey may throw up. It's when you miss the one flight of the week, when the expected friend fails to show, when the pre-booked hotel reveals itself as a collection of steel joists stuck into a ravaged hillside, when a stranger asks you to share the cost of a hired car to a town whose name you've never heard, that you begin to travel in earnest."
("Why Travel?" Driving Home: An American Journey. Pantheon, 2011)

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What You Should Know About Travel Writing

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Travel writing is a form of creative nonfiction in which the narrator's encounters with foreign places serve as the dominant subject. Also called travel literature. "All travel writing-because it is writing-is made in the sense of being constructed, says Peter Hulme, "but travel writing cannot be made up without losing its designation" (quoted by Tim Youngs in The Cambridge Introduction to Travel Writing, 2013).

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We have seen the following text types come up in the last few years:

Article on a wepbage - III

Opinion column - I

Blog - II

Advert - I

Comic - II

Infographic - II

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List of Text Types & their typical conventions

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List of Text Types & their typical conventions

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By Michael Schilf · January 19, 2010

The screenwriter uses lots of different kinds of scenes to accomplish very specific parts of the overall story. Sometimes the main purpose of a particular scene is to establish setting, or deliver exposition, or reveal important information.

The following list of scene types are not all, but the most common kinds of scenes found in screenplays today. And often times, a scene may be a combination of two or more scene types.

1. Setting - Where are we?

2. Atmosphere/Mood - What is it like there?

3. Introduction - Who is it we are dealing with here?

4. Exposition - Necessary information. Quick and Clever.

5. Transition - getting from one place to another. Fast.

6. Preparation - What will it take to prepare for the task at hand?

7. Aftermath - How does the character feel about what just happened?

8. Investigation - Gathering information.

9. Revelation - The reader/audience finds out something important.

10. Recognition - The character finds out something important.

11. The Gift - Using a prop with emotional investment and turning it into a weapon, emotional or otherwise.

12. Escape - The character is trying to get away, avoid, or hide.

13. Pursuit - The character is trying to follow, capture, or secure.

14. Seduction - Someone must convince someone else.

15. Opposites - Two characters from seemingly opposite poles are forced together.

16. Reversal of Expectations - A character expects a certain, very clear outcome, but another character surprises him, influencing him to reverse his intention and do something else - practically the opposite of what he planned to do.

17. Unexpected Visitor - Someone unexpected shows up. Problems arise.
Download your favorite screenplays here for free

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By Michael Schilf · January 19, 2010 The screenwriter uses lots of different kinds of scenes to accomplish very specific parts of the overall story. Sometimes the main purpose of a particular scene is to establish setting, or deliver exposition, or reveal important information.

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75 Types of Scenes You Can Use in Your Screenplays - ScreenCraft

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Ken Miyamoto lists all of the major types of movie scenes that screenwriters can use in their scripts.

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We use words in writing. Shocking, I know! Do you know what else we use in writing? Here is a hint: they have already appeared in this paragraph. In addition to words, we use many different symbols and characters to organize our thoughts and make text easier to read. All of these symbols come in two major categories: punctuation marks and typographical symbols. These symbols have many different uses and include everything from the humble period (.) to the rarely used caret symbol (^). There may even be a few symbols out there that you've never even heard of before that leave you scratching your head when you see them on your keyboard!

Punctuation is the act or system of using specific marks or symbols in writing to separate different elements from each other or to make writing more clear. Punctuation is used in English and the other languages that use the Latin alphabet. Many other writing systems also use punctuation, too. Thanks to punctuation, we don't have to suffer through a block of text that looks like this:

My favorite color is red do you like red red is great my sister likes green she always says green is the color of champions regardless of which color is better we both agree that no one likes salmon which is a fish and not a color seriously

Punctuation examples

The following sentences give examples of the many different punctuation marks that we use:

The term typographical symbol, or any other number of phrases, refers to a character or symbol that isn't considered to be a punctuation mark but may still be used in writing for various purposes. Typographical symbols are generally avoided in formal writing under most circumstances. However, you may see typographic symbols used quite a bit in informal writing.

Typographical symbol examples

The following examples show some ways that a writer might use typographical symbols. Keep in mind that some of these sentences may not be considered appropriate in formal writing.

The frustrated actor said she was tired of her co-star's "annoying bull****."

For questions, email us at anascabana@bananacabanas.fake!

The band had five #1 singles on the American music charts during the 1990s.

My internet provider is AT&T.

Types of punctuation and symbols

There are many different types of punctuation marks and typographical symbols. We'll briefly touch on them now, but you can learn more about of these characters by checking out the links in this list and also each section below:

Period, question mark, and exclamation point

These three commonly used punctuation marks are used for the same reason: to end an independent thought.

Period (.)

A is used to end a declarative sentence. A period indicates that a sentence is finished.

Unique to them, periods are also often used in abbreviations.

Prof. Dumbledore once again awarded a ludicrous amount of points to Gryffindor.

Question mark (?)

The question mark is used to end a question, also known as an interrogative sentence.

Exclamation point (!)

The exclamation point is used at the end of exclamations and interjections.

Comma, colon, and semicolon

Commas, colons, and semicolons can all be used to connect sentences together.

Comma (,)

The is often the punctuation mark that gives writers the most problems. It has many different uses and often requires good knowledge of grammar to avoid making mistakes when using it. Some common uses of the comma include:

Coordinate adjectives: The cute, happy puppy licked my hand.

Try out this quiz on the Oxford comma!

Colon (:)

The is typically used to introduce additional information.

The detective had three suspects: the salesman, the gardener, and the lawyer.

Like commas, colons can also connect clauses together.

We forgot to ask the most important question: who was buying lunch?

Colons have a few other uses, too.

Semicolon (;)

Like the comma and the colon, the is used to connect sentences together. The semicolon typically indicates that the second sentence is closely related to the one before it.

Hyphen and dashes (en dash and em dash)

All three of these punctuation marks are often referred to as "dashes." However, they are all used for entirely different reasons.

Hyphen (-)

The is used to form compound words.

I went to lunch with my father-in-law.

She was playing with a jack-in-the-box.

He was accused of having pro-British sympathies.

En dash (-)

The is used to express ranges or is sometimes used in more complex compound words.

Em dash (-)

The em dashis used to indicate a pause or interrupted speech.

Test your knowledge on the different dashes here.

Parentheses, brackets, and braces

These pairs of punctuation marks look similar, but they all have different uses. In general, the parentheses are much more commonly used than the others.

Parentheses ()

Typically, parenthesesare used to add additional information.

I thought (for a very long time) if I should actually give an honest answer.

Tomorrow is Christmas (my favorite holiday)!

Parentheses have a variety of other uses, too.

Pollution increased significantly. (See Chart 14B)

He was at an Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meeting.

Richard I of England (1157-1199) had the heart of a lion.

Square brackets []

Typically, square brackets are used to clarify or add information to quotations.

According to an eyewitness, the chimpanzees "climbed on the roof and juggled [bananas]."

The judge said that "the defense attorney [Mr. Wright] had made it clear that the case was far from closed."

Curly brackets {}

Curly brackets, also known as braces, are rarely used punctuation marks that are used to group a set.

I was impressed by the many different colors {red, green, yellow, blue, purple, black, white} they selected for the flag's design.

Angle brackets <>

Angle bracketshave no usage in formal writing and are rarely ever used even in informal writing. These characters have more uses in other fields, such as math or computing.

Quotation marks and apostrophe

You'll find these punctuation marks hanging out at the top of a line of text.

Quotation marks ("")

The most common use of quotation marks is to contain quotations.

She said, "Don't let the dog out of the house."

Bob Ross liked to put "happy little trees" in many of his paintings.

Apostrophe (')

The apostrophe is most often used to form possessives and contractions.

The house's back door is open.

My cousin's birthday is next week.

It isn't ready yet.

We should've stayed outside.

Slash and ellipses

These are two punctuation marks you may not see too often, but they are still useful.

Slash (/)

The has several different uses. Here are some examples:

Relationships: The existence of boxer briefs somehow hasn't ended the boxers/briefs debate.

Alternatives: They accept cash and/or credit.

Fractions: After an hour, 2/3 of the audience had already left.

Ellipses (...)

In formal writing, are used to indicate that words were removed from a quote.

The mayor said, "The damages will be ... paid for by the city ... as soon as possible."

In informal writing, ellipses are often used to indicate pauses or speech that trails off.

Typographical symbols

Typographical symbols rarely appear in formal writing. You are much more likely to see them used for a variety of reasons in informal writing.

Asterisk (*)

In formal writing, especially academic and scientific writing, the is used to indicate a footnote.

Chocolate is the preferred flavor of ice cream.*
*According to survey data from the Ice Cream Data Center.

The asterisk may also be used to direct a reader toward a clarification or may be used to censor inappropriate words or phrases.

Ampersand (&)

The substitutes for the word and. Besides its use in the official names of things, the ampersand is typically avoided in formal writing.

The band gave a speech at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Bullet Point (*)

Bullet points are used to create lists. For example,

For this recipe you will need:

Pound symbol (#)

Informally, the pound symbol is typically used to mean number or is used in social media hashtags.

The catchy pop song reached #1 on the charts.

Ready 4 Halloween 2morrow!!! #spooky #TrickorTreat

Tilde (~)

Besides being used as an accent mark in Spanish and Portuguese words, the is rarely used. Informally, a person may use it to mean "about" or "approximately."

Backslash (\)

The backslash is primarily used in computer programming and coding. It might be used online and in texting to draw emoticons, but it has no other common uses in writing. Be careful not to mix it up with the similar forward slash (/), which is a punctuation mark.

At symbol (@)

The substitutes for the word at in informal writing. In formal writing, it is used when writing email addresses.

His email address is duckduck@goose.abc.

Caret symbol (^)

The caret symbol is used in proofreading, but may be used to indicate an exponent if a writer is unable to use superscript.

Pipe symbol (|)

The pipe symbol is not used in writing. Instead, it has a variety of functions in the fields of math, physics, or computing.

Not sure if you're using the hyphen, en dash, or em dash correctly? Check your writing on Thesaurus.com's Grammar Coach ™. This writing tool uses machine learning technology uniquely designed to catch grammar and spelling errors. Its Synonym Swap will find the best nouns, adjectives, and more to help say what you really mean, guiding you toward clearer, stronger, writing.

Whether you're using commas, apostrophes, or parentheses, start writing smarter today!

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We use words in writing. Shocking, I know! Do you know what else we use in writing? Here is a hint: they have already appeared in this paragraph. In addition to words, we use many different symbols and characters to organize our thoughts and make text easier to read.

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4 sentence types according to fucntion/purpose

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4 sentence types according to fucntion/purpose

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TYPES OF SENTENCES ACCORDING TO PURPOSE DECLARATIVE Imperative Definition: A sentence that states a fact, or wish. It ends with a period ( . ) . Definition: A sentence that is used to state a command or request. It may either ends with a period ( . ) or an exclamation point ( ! )

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When you read an article, it's important to clarify the issue being debated. When you're identifying the issue, phrasing something as a question can often help clearly state what is being argued over.

Should teens have the right to private medical appointments?

Should euthanasia be legalised?

Should fox poisoning be banned?

Should heroin be decriminalised?

IDENTIFYING THE CONTENTION

Contention is simply another word for point-of-view or opinion. Read the piece of persuasive writing carefully. What does the writer believe? Starting a sentence with the word 'that' can help you identify the writer's contention.

That reality television is a waste of time.

That teens should have access to private medical appointments

That fox baiting should be banned.

IDENTIFYING TONE

Tone refers to the overall feeling of a piece of writing. Here are some useful words to help you describe tone:

Logical: rational, reasonable, analytical, cogent.

Neutral: impartial, balanced, objective, unbiased.

Informed: knowledgeable, well-read.

Passionate: emotional, emotive, ardent, vehement.

Witty: humorous, satirical, lighthearted, tongue-in-cheek.

Persuasive techniques

Writers can use a range of techniques to persuade. When you're reading persuasive writing-or writing persuasively yourself-you need to think carefully about how techniques like these are used to position the reader to accept a particular point of view.

Alliteration. The repetition of words starting with the same to create emphasis, e.g. "And I can tell you it is distressing beyond words to watch an animal suffer like that and not be able to alleviate its agony."

Allusion. An allusion is a figure of speech that indirectly references something, such as a novel, song, play, television program, poem, a religious text, historical figure or event. Because allusions are indirect, the reader is required to make the connection themselves. In persuasive writing, allusion prompt readers to think about the issue in the context of such associations. The use this technique also allows the writer to ingratiate themselves with readers, who often feel clever if they pick up on a particularly subtle allusions.

Appeals. Writers often appeal to different emotions, including a reader's sense of or desire for:

Analogy. An analogy draws a comparison between two things to illustrate a point, e.g. "I'd like to have a new retina Macbook, for instance. But when I went to the Apple Store and tried to walk out through the front door without paying for it, waving off the protests of the blue shirted store Nazis because, "It's OK, I'm just torrenting it," that didn't work out so well for me." - John Birmingham, 'Why are you still stealing Game of Thrones?'

Anecdotes. Short, personal stories that help to illustrate a point, e.g. "For my three most recent books, on motherhood, cancer and nursing, I interviewed more than 300 people about the nuts and bolts of what our incredibly short time on this planet is really about - life, death, family and love. If there is one thing I can guarantee, it's that there will never be a person who lies on their deathbed, shaking with rage, sobbing, 'Dear God, I wish I'd spent more time watching MasterChef.'"

Colloquial language. Writers will often use everyday language to make themselves seem down-to-earth, e.g. "Fairness is the cornerstone of our constitution and our national identity. But as we head into an election year, I think we need to ask ourselves whether we really believe in a fair go for all."

Cliches. An overused expression. Although they should be avoided, cliches give writers an opportunity to express an idea to their readers quickly. Here are some examples of cliches:

Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

Alls well that ends well.

As light as a feather.

Time will tell.

Connotations. All words have connotations or associations. Some words, for example, may have the same literal meaning but very different connotations. Connotations may be negative or positive. Imagine an argument about dangerous breeds of dogs, for example, there are lots of synonyms for the word 'dog'-pooch, hound, puppies, mongrels. If you were making an argument that certain breeds should be banned, which words would you choose?

Emotive words. Words that provoke an emotional reaction from the audience, e.g. "But no, people from the bush were saying it is cruel to kill foxes with a poison that causes a slow, agonising death."

Evidence. Writers will often use evidence - which might take the form of facts, figures, quotes or graphs - to help support their argument, e.g. "According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, males are 400 per cent more likely to commit an offence intended to cause injury than are females."

Expert opinion. Sometimes writers will use the opinion of experts to give further weight to their argument, e.g. "A new research report by Victorian doctors illustrates why: because when kids are worried their parents will be told their private medical details, they simply don't go to the doctor."

Hyperbole. Writers often exaggerate or overstate something to help persuade readers of their point of view, e.g. "Our experts will tell you a million reasons why it can't or shouldn't be done here. They have turned excuse-making into an art form."

Inclusive language. Inclusive language - using the words 'we' or 'us' - is often used to get a reader onside, e.g. "We might not like it, but our kids' right to confidential medical advice should take precedence over our right to know about it."

Imagery. Descriptive writing can be a powerful persuasive technique. Describing something vividly can persuade readers.

Jargon. Jargon refers to highly specialised words or phrases often associated with particular areas of study or research. Jargon helps experts explore and communicate complex ideas with each other. Although it might be difficult for mainstream readers to understand, the use of jargon in persuasive writing can help create the impression that a writer is knowledgeable. It can lend an air of authority to their writing, its complexity conveying that a writer has taken the time to understand complex ideas and their contention is well-considered, e.g. "When it comes to improving education, the evidence is clear: focus on pedagogy, interdisciplinary learning, flipped classrooms and cultivating the metacognitive."

Logic. A logical, well-structured argument can be very persuasive.

Metaphor. Metaphors, when one thing is described as another, help to persuade by describing, e.g. "I've been dying of it all week and can hardly type this column because of the Niagra of snot pouring down my face and the painful fires of a thousand suns burning in my joints and muscles, which being manly muscles are able to carry a much heavier load of pain than lady muscles."

Pun. A play on words often relying on homophones, homonyms or rhymes, e.g. "It's been a trying year for rugby league, what with betting scandals, controversies over players' alleged off-field behaviour and an unseemly on-field brawl that marred the sport's reputation on approach to the finals." Another example: "Racism is no black and white issue".

Repetition. The repetition of words, phrases and ideas can be used to reinforce an argument and drive home the message to a reader, e.g "It has been well established here and overseas that if teenagers think they can see a doctor in confidence, they are more likely to do so, more likely to go back for repeat visits, and more likely to disclose sensitive information."

Rhetorical question. A question where the answer is obvious, can help lead readers to a particular conclusion, e.g. "It has been well established here and overseas that if teenagers think they can see a doctor in confidence, they are more likely to do so, more likely to go back for repeat visits, and more likely to disclose sensitive information. And isn't this the outcome we want? "

Sarcasm. A mocking tone, e.g. "Not all of us can write Max Walker's How to Hypnotise Chooks, you know - for many years the biggest-selling title in Australian literary history."

Simile. Similes, when one thing is compared to another, can help to persuade by describing, e.g. "...as dumb as a sack of hammers..."

Tone. The tone of an article or speech refers to its overall feeling. Is it passionate? Logical? Reasonable? Mocking? Humorous?

THINKING ABOUT PERSUASIVE LANGUAGE

The best way to understand how persuasive language can be used to convey a point of view is by reading examples of persuasive writing. Read the newspaper on a daily basis, particularly the editorials and opinion pages. This will not only help you keep abreast of current events, it will also help you develop the language skills necessary to do persuasive writing yourself.

Read the following articles and answer the questions below to help you develop an understanding of how writers persuade.

Reading and annotating

Before you get started, you need read the text carefully and annotate it, identify:

issue

contention

tone

audience

arguments

language

persuasive devices

You can use this planning sheet to help you think about an article.

Persuasive technique

Emotive language

Connotation

Example

"They had eaten it during a weekend trip to the high country and died horribly."

"...stop foxes being culled in this barbaric manner. Use your voice, they said, spread the news and stop an inhumane practice."

Effect

Makes the reader feel sorry for the animals who eat the bait and builds a case for a ban on the poison.

The word "barbaric" makes the reader feel like this is uncivilized. The word "inhumane" has a powerful effect on the reader convincing them that it is cruel.

Argument analysis essay

In English, you will often be asked to write an essay about how writers or speakers have used language to persuade.

An introduction to an argument analysis essay describes the issue generally, the author's contention and tone. When remembering what to include in the introduction to an argument analysis essay, you can use the acronym FATCAT.

Form. What is the form of the piece of writing? An opinion piece? Letter to the editor? Speech?

Author. Who wrote the piece? What is their involvement in the issue?

Title. Make sure you include the title somewhere in your introduction.

Contention. What is the writer's point of view?

Audience. Who is the intended audience of the article?

Tone. What tone does the writer adopt?

Here is an example argument analysis about an article about poisoning foxes:

There has recently been considerable controversy over the use of 1080 fox bait to control Victoria's fox population. In his opinion article 'They're pests but cruelty is inexcusable', writer Dmitri Kakmi argues in a logical and, at times, emotive tone that fox baiting is cruel and inhumane, attempting to persuade both Victorians and lawmakers that we must change this barbaric practice.

Body paragraph

In the body paragraphs of an argument analysis essay, you will identify an argument, then discuss the persuasive techniques that a writer uses to support that argument. Always make reference to how different techniques make the reader feel or react.

We use the AAPEE structure when writing about this article.

Argument, Identify an argument.

Analysis. Analyse how the writer makes the argument overall.

Persuasive technique. Identify a persuasive technique used to make this argument.

Example. Given an example of that technique

Effect. Explain its effect on the audience.

You may repeat the PEE part as many times as you like!

O'Brien argues that parents should trust the professionalism of doctors, allowing teens to have private medical appointments. In making this argument, O'Brien recognises that, when it comes to their children, parents are likely to be swayed by the advice of experts, which means she approaches this in a logical manner relying heavily on evidence and the suggestion that parents should trust medical professionals. She supports this argument with the use of evidence, referring to "a new research report from Victorian doctors" which indicates children should have the right to private medical appointments. This use of expert opinion suggests that O'Brien's contention has widespread support by a trusted body of professionals and her use of this evidence positions parents to contemplate whether their right to know surpasses their children's health. Furthermore, O'Brien uses the positive connotations of the word "professional" when she states there are times when parents should "defer to other professionals whose job it is to protect our kids". The word 'professionals' has connotations of experiencing and training, further emphasising their credibility in the eyes of parents who might be wary of allowing their teenagers to have private medical appointments.

Writing a conclusion

Analyse the writer's conclusion. Conclude by discussing how the writer makes their final argument. Why does the article end in that way? The last paragraph will often be a final plea to the reader, a call to action or a dramatic statement intended to linger in their reader's mind.

persuasive language argument analysis

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Analysing Persuasive Language | VCE Media, Victorian Curriculum, Media Arts, digital literacy, media education, filmmaking

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When you read an article, it's important to clarify the issue being debated. When you're identifying the issue, phrasing something as a question can often help clearly state what is being argued over. IDENTIFYING THE CONTENTION Contention is simply another word for point-of-view or opinion. Read the piece of persuasive writing carefully.

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155 words to describe an author's tone

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Do you know how to talk about images? Are you not sure how to analyse a visual text? In this Guide, we give you the toolkit to analyse and discuss visual techniques with clarity and insight. Read this guide and nail the Paper 1 unseen images.

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By telling us your country of residence we are able to provide you with the most relevant travel insurance information.

Please note that not all content is translated or available to residents of all countries. Contact us for full details.

Travel Insurance

Simple and flexible travel insurance

You can buy at home or while traveling, and claim online from anywhere in the world. With 150+ adventure activities covered and 24/7 emergency assistance.

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Understanding Narrative Structure in Documentary

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By telling us your country of residence we are able to provide you with the most relevant travel insurance information. Please note that not all content is translated or available to residents of all countries. Contact us for full details.

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There are four types of multimodal text:

Print-based - This is a printed text that combines different modes. Comic books, graphic novels, picture storybooks, posters, leaflets, magazines, and newspapers are all examples of print-based multimodal text. They combine the linguistic mode and the visual mode.

Digital - This is a virtual text that combines different modes. Digital texts can be internet-based, such as social media content, blog posts, vlogs, and online games. They can also be found offline. Some examples are films, animations, e-books, video games, and presentation slides. Digital multimodal texts can combine different modes. For instance, films and video games normally combine the linguistic, visual, gestural, and aural modes, whilst blog posts and e-books usually only use linguistic and visual modes.

Live - This is a text that is performed live.
Live multimodal texts include theater, opera performances, and concerts. Book premieres, poetry readings, and lectures are also examples of live multimodal texts. These usually combine four of the five modes: linguistic, gestural, spatial, and aural. Sometimes they can combine all five modes.

Transmedia - This is a text that tells a story or sends a message through a combination of media platforms (each of which uses various modes.) A transmedia text is a multimodal text within a multimodal text.
Each added platform in a transmedia multimodal text further develops the story or idea and enhances the user experience. Some games can be effective transmedia multimodal texts. Maybe you have played a mobile game that required you to engage in physical activity outside of the digital world. Think of Pokémon GO, for instance.

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Linguistic
The linguistic mode refers to any sort of written or spoken text.The linguistic mode is the most common mode because it can be used in a variety of ways. Think of all the places where you find written or spoken texts!

Visual

This refers to images and characters, such as marks, signs, and symbols. The visual mode involves the use of color, layout, style, size, and perspective.

Think of road signs, for example. They seem purely visual because they don't use any language or sound. Signs rely on the visual mode to get their message across. However, they also use the spatial mode. That's why we can say that signs are multimodal texts.

Gestural

The gestural mode is about movement and how we interpret it. Examples of gestural modes include facial expressions, hand gestures, body language, and interactions between people.

The gestural mode is important in face-to-face conversations, in the theater, concerts, and other live performances, as well as in YouTube videos and other platforms. This mode is usually combined with the other modes.

Spatial

The spatial mode refers to the organisation of elements in a space. It also deals with the physical closeness between people and objects.

Here are two examples of the spatial mode:

A traditional theatre. The stage is on a platform and the audience sits in chairs below, facing it. Here, the power is in the hands of the performers. This spatial order allows the audience to forget about their surroundings and to focus on what is happening on stage.

A theatre-in-the-round. The audience sits in a circle that surrounds the stage. The performers and the audience are on the same level. This spatial order allows each audience member to get a unique view of what is happening on stage. Additionally, sitting in-the-round makes the viewers aware of each other, and enables their participation.

Both of these uses of the spatial mode create different experiences for the audience.

Aural

The aural or audio mode focuses on sound. This includes music, sound effects, ambient noises, silence, the tone of a person's voice, the volume of a sound, emphasis, and accent. Some examples of the aural mode are radio programs, podcasts, and audio plays.

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What is MULTIMODALITY? What does MULTIMODALITY mean? MULTIMODALITY meaning & explanation

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​Many texts are multimodal, where meaning is communicated through combinations of two or more modes.

The 5 modes are:

Linguistic

Visual

Gestural

Spatial

Aural

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1. Monomyth

The monomyth (also called the hero's journey), is a story structure that is found in many folk tales, myths and religious writings from around the world.

In a monomyth, the hero is called to leave their home and sets out on a difficult journey. They move from somewhere they know into a threatening unknown place.

After overcoming a great trial, they return home with a reward or newfound wisdom - something which will help their community. Lots of modern stories still follow this structure, from the Lion King to Star Wars.

Using the monomyth to shape your presentation can help you to explain what has brought you to the wisdom you want to share. It can bring your message alive for your audience.

2. The mountain

The mountain structure is a way of mapping the tension and drama in a story. It's similar to the monomyth because it helps us to plot when certain events occur in a story.

It's different because it doesn't necessarily have a happy ending. The first part of the story is given to setting the scene, and is followed by just a series of small challenges and rising action before a climactic conclusion.

It's a bit like a TV series - each episode has its ups and downs, all building up to a big finale at the end of the season.

3. Nested loops

Nested loops is a storytelling technique where you layer three or more narratives within each other.

You place your most important story - the core of your message - in the centre, and use the stories around it to elaborate or explain that central principle. The first story you begin is the last story you finish, the second story you start is second to last, etc.

Nested loops works a bit like a friend telling you about a wise person in their life, someone who taught them an important lesson. The first loops are your friend's story, the second loops are the wise person's story. At the centre is the important lesson.

4. Sparklines

Sparklines are a way of mapping presentation structures. Graphic designer Nancy Duarte uses sparklines to analyse famous speeches graphically in her book Resonate.

She argues that the very best speeches succeed because they contrast our ordinary world with an ideal, improved world. They compare what is with what could be.

By doing this the presenter draws attention to the problems we have in our society, our personal lives, our businesses. The presenter creates and fuels a desire for change in the audience.

It's a highly emotional technique that is sure to motivate your audience to support you.

5. In medias res

In medias res storytelling is when you begin your narrative in the heat of the action, before starting over at the beginning to explain how you got there.

By dropping your audience right into the most exciting part of your story they'll be gripped from the beginning and will stay engaged to find out what happens.

But be careful - you don't want to give away too much of the action straight away. Try hinting at something bizarre or unexpected - something that needs more explanation. Give your audience just enough information to keep them hooked, as you go back and set the scene of your story.

This only works for shorter presentations though - if you string it out too long your audience will get frustrated and lose interest.

Grabbing attention from the start

Keep an audience craving resolution

Focusing attention on a pivotal moment in your story

Good for:
See also: An overview of in medias res storytelling at story-papers.com

Zak Ebrahim begins his talk with the revelation that his father helped plan the 1993 World Trade Centre bombing. His audience is gripped from the beginning, as he begins to recount the events of his childhood and the path he took after his father's conviction.

6. Converging ideas

Converging ideas is a speech structure that shows the audience how different strands of thinking came together to form one product or idea.

It can be used to show the birth of a movement. Or explain how a single idea was the culmination of several great minds working towards one goal.

Converging ideas is similar to the nested loops structure, but rather than framing one story with complementary stories, it can show how several equally important stories came to a single strong conclusion.

This technique could be used to tell the stories of some of the world's greatest partnerships - for example, web developers Larry Page and Sergey Brin.

Larry and Sergey met at Stanford's PhD program in 1995, but they didn't like each other at first. They both had great ideas, but found working together hard. Eventually they found themselves working on a research project together. A research project that became Google.

7. False start

A 'false start' story is when you begin to tell a seemingly predictable story, before unexpectedly disrupting it and beginning it over again. You lure your audience into a false sense of security, and then shock them by turning the tables.

This format is great for talking about a time that you failed in something and were forced to 'go back to the start' and reassess. It's ideal for talking about the things that you learnt from that experience. Or the innovative way that you solved your problem.

But best of all, it's a quick attention hack which will disrupt your audience's expectations and surprise them into paying closer attention to your message.

8. Petal Structure

The petal structure is a way of organising multiple speakers or stories around one central concept. It's useful if you have several unconnected stories you want to tell or things you want to reveal - that all relate back to a single message.

You tell your stories one by one before returning back to the centre. The petals can overlap as one story introduces the next but each should be a complete narrative in itself.

In doing so, you can weave a rich tapestry of evidence around your central theory. Or strong emotional impressions around your idea.

By showing your audience how all these key stories are related to one another, you leave them feeling the true importance and weight of your message.

Image/Source: www.sparkol.com

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The monomyth (also called the hero's journey), is a story structure that is found in many folk tales, myths and religious writings from around the world. In a monomyth, the hero is called to leave their home and sets out on a difficult journey. They move from somewhere they know into a threatening unknown place.

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Font Psychology: Here’s Everything You Need to Know About Fonts

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Using font psychology to build upon your site’s design can drive user experience and improve conversion. Fonts are potent elements within web design that can provoke emotions, direct attention, or even guide the user towards action.

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*Just teachers like me, they do things sometimes their way (and sometimes I do things my way) all to get to the same goal

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We understand navigating our website can be tough. There are literally 125+ videos to choose from, and it's easy to get lost. No worries! Our complete Paper 1 and Paper 2 Study Guide is streamlined and includes just the essentials. No more aimless clicking. All you need is right here in one place!

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Ifem & Ceiling 8 - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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Alphonsus made vegetable soup. Ceiling and I were hanging out at the dining table after eating. “What a stupid idea to announce a ceasefire with Boko Haram, who came up with that? Is it that these people don’t think?” I asked. “They are eager to...

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All the Old Knives review – Chris Pine and Thandiwe Newton add class to CIA spy drama

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Pine and Newton play former lovers in this watchable Le Carré-esque tale of personal and patriotic betrayals

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Bold Red Orange Pink Creative Block Process Infographic (1)

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Infographics vs. Text: How Does Visual Content Affect Reading Comprehension?

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Do visuals really trump text? This survey completed by 1,428 American adults reveals surprising results on how we process infographics vs. text alone.

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Guiding Questions
1. How is the narrative structure used to explore ideas about identity?
2. How do text and image work together to convey the comic's message?

3. Discuss how different features are used on this webpage to create an impression of Indian culture.
4. Comment on how the interplay of text and images is used to appeal to multiple audiences.

5. Discuss how different features are used in this infographic to achieve the author's purpose
6. How and to what effect is tone used to express the author's opinion in this column?

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*Also, this is a teacher's class blog which I quiet like, but again not perfect; they do things sometimes their way (and sometimes I do things my way) all to get to the same goal. Some of the info. on this page is OLD like the past papers on this site are the OLD LL course and samples are mediocre.

Check GC assessment section for more up-to-date P1 response samples, exemplars and examiner comments.

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How to improve your score in IB Language and Literature Paper 1. Whether you are a standard or higher level student, Paper 1 tests your ability to analyse unseen texts. If you are a standard level student, you will have to analyse one text out of a choice of two.

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The structure of a text is how it is organised and how its parts fit together. Writers structure their texts deliberately to have an effect on the reader.

Exam questions ask you to comment on how writers structure their texts to interest the reader. You should use terminology and show that you understand how structural features introduce and prioritise information in a text.

Structure of a non-fiction text

The structure of a non-fiction piece could be:

chronological - in date or time order

prioritised - the most important facts first (like a news article)

separated into blocks by subheadings - eg in a feature article

question and answer - eg in information leaflets

problem and solution - eg in agony aunt columns, or self-help guides

letter structure - a salutation (Dear...) and an appropriate ending (Yours sincerely...)

starting in the middle of an event, then providing further information to give several possible viewpoints

Using paragraphs to structure a text

Look at the way the key ideas in a piece are ordered. This will help you work out the structure. There is usually one important idea per paragraph, but some texts have more.

Within each paragraph, ideas can be structured in different ways. A common approach is to start with a topic sentence - the big idea - and then develop it with details or examples. Paragraphs often end with a hook to make you consider the ideas included in the paragraph that you have just read, or a link to the next paragraph.

The number and order of paragraphs, the order of the ideas, and how each paragraph is constructed are all features you can comment on. Why has the writer chosen to structure their paragraphs in specific ways?

Additionally, a shortened paragraph that stands out to the reader can sometimes indicate a change in viewpoint or significant point in the text that the writer may offer a counter argument.

This extract describes the events leading up to the 1666 'Great Fire of London'.

How does the writer structure the text to interest the reader?

September 2, 1666
It was a small mistake, but with great consequences. On September 2, 1666, Thomas Farrinor, baker to King Charles II of England, failed, in effect, to turn off his oven. He thought the fire was out, but apparently the smouldering embers ignited some nearby firewood and by one o'clock in the morning, three hours after Farrinor went to bed, his house in Pudding Lane was in flames. Farrinor, along with his wife and daughter, and one servant, escaped from the burning building through an upstairs window, but the baker's maid was not so fortunate, becoming the Great Fire's first victim. Did these cakes set fire to London?

The fire then leapt across Fish Street Hill and engulfed the Star Inn. The London of 1666 was a city of half-timbered, pitch-covered medieval buildings and sheds that ignited at the touch of a spark--and a strong wind on that September morning ensured that sparks flew everywhere. From the Inn, the fire spread into Thames Street, where riverfront warehouses were bursting with oil, tallow, and other combustible goods. By now the fire had grown too fierce to combat with the crude firefighting methods of the day, which consisted of little more than bucket brigades armed with wooden pails of water. The usual solution during a fire of such size was to demolish every building in the path of the flames in order to deprive the fire of fuel, but the city's mayor hesitated, fearing the high cost of rebuilding. Meanwhile, the fire spread out of control, doing far more damage than anyone could possibly have managed.

Extract taken from the diary of Samuel Pepys

opens with a "small mistake" and "great consequences", raising the question of how something small grew so big

the focus then shifts to Thomas Farrinor, a baker, thinking his "fire was out" - this detail the start of the Great Fire, building tension

a temporal reference "three hours after Farrinor went to bed" implies how control was lost in a short space of time as by then his house "was in flames" and there is the "first victim" - implying there will be many more victims

the question "Did these cakes set fire to London?" suggest that the idea is hard for the reader to believe - and intrigues them to discover how this was possible

the focus then shifts to the growing fire "leapt" and "engulfed", the wooden structure of London and the "strong wind" - together these elements suggest the fire will take over quickly, creating a quicker pace

contrast is used to show how useless the "bucket brigades armed with wooden pails" are as "the fire spread out of control"

the extract ends leaving the reader thinking about the vast "damage" the fire caused, and that no one "could possibly have managed" it

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Structure - Language and structure - AQA - GCSE English Language Revision - AQA - BBC Bitesize

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Learn and revise about the language and structure of non-fiction texts with this BBC Bitesize GCSE English Language (AQA) study guide.

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Yellow Green Structure The Perfect Blog Post Infographic - Infographic by Michelle Duggan

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Extract on Persuasion from Oxford DP LL textbook

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Extract on Persuasion from Oxford DP LL textbook

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A interesting NPR segment.
Totally linked to our purpose in Lang & Lit: How language shapes a message?

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The country has been debating gun regulations for months. Later this week, a Senate committee will start work on various proposals, including a background check on every gun sale and a ban on assault weapons.

But this debate over guns goes beyond disagreements about policy. Advocates on both sides quite literally disagree on the terms of the discussion - as in, the words they use to describe it.

Ask "gun control advocates" to describe what this debate is about, and they'll say "control" really isn't the word they prefer.

"We find that it's one of those terms that has some baggage," says Mark Glaze, director of Mayors Against Illegal Guns. "We talk about gun violence prevention, because that's what it is."

"Gun control" suggests big government telling Americans what to do. "Violence prevention" - well, that's something everybody could support in theory.

"I've seen polling in which the phrase 'gun violence prevention' tests a good 17, 20 points higher than the term 'gun control,' " Glaze says.

Change words, and you can change opinions.

On the other side of the debate, the National Rifle Association does its own polling, though it's not as open about what the conclusions are.

"We do polling all the time, and, you know, it runs the gamut of how people feel about certain issues, and certainly that includes some language," says Andrew Arulanandam, an NRA spokesman. But "I'm not going to divulge our polling numbers out there."

You can make an educated guess about what the polls show by listening to the NRA's language. It never uses its opponents' phrase, "violence prevention."

"For us, it's a debate over gun rights," Arulanandam says.

The NRA talks about defending the Second Amendment and protecting the Constitution. Those are deeply held American ideals.

Words do more than just describe the world. They literally define it. They shape and frame it.

"Most people don't understand this," says linguist George Lakoff of the University of California, Berkeley. "Most people think that words just refer to things in the world and that they're neutral. And that's just not true."

Lakoff has written many books about this idea. "English does not just fit the world. English fits the way you understand the world via your frames," he says. "And in politics they are morally based frames."

This is not just spin. Words in political debates tap into deeply held principles - like freedom and safety - and the specific phrases people use determine which values come up, in the same way that playing different notes on a piano will make music that evokes different emotions.

These principles apply to every debate, not just guns.

Decades ago, pollster Frank Luntz helped Republicans figure out the power of words. He showed them that voters are more likely to oppose the estate tax if it's called a "death tax." He found that Americans like oil drilling more if it's called "energy exploration."

"The phraseology determines the context. And the context determines success or failure," Luntz says.

But words are not fixed points on a map. They exist on shifting ground. A phrase that once carried a punch may grow toxic or just fall limp.

"An example of this can be seen in the recent announcement that Planned Parenthood would no longer be using the term 'pro-choice,' " says Ben Zimmer, executive producer of the Visual Thesaurus.

Zimmer says Planned Parenthood realized that some people support abortion rights but don't identify with the term "pro-choice."

And he has lots of examples from government. Democrats used to proudly call themselves "liberal." They abandoned that word for "progressive." And now "liberal" is making a comeback.

Then, there's "reform." Zimmer says politicians of both parties tack that word onto any effort to change a program - from tax reform to immigration reform.

" 'Reform' is one of those terms that is very charged and helps to present one's own position as something positive - a way of advocating change in a positive light," Zimmer says. "But what counts as reform, of course, is in the eye of the beholder."

Politicians might call any proposal for change a "reform." But not every change is a good change.

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Loaded Words: How Language Shapes The Gun Debate

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The debate currently raging over guns goes beyond a disagreement over policy. Advocates on both sides literally disagree on the terms of the discussion - as in, the words they use to describe it. They know that the specific phrases they use tap into deeply held values in the people who hear them.

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155 words to describe an author's tone

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Phew! Talk about pressure. Writing a blog post about how to write a perfect blog post is the most meta of burdens. It's a bit different than writing about perfect tweets or ideal Facebook posts. There's nowhere to hide when you're blogging about perfect blogging.

So I hope you'll still trust the advice here even if you don't find this post itself to be flawless. I'm sure we'd all love for each of our blog posts to be absolute perfection (however it is that you measure perfection) so I researched all the necessary info to get us started on the path to perfection. I'll cover headlines and length and visuals and so much more below. How close are you to creating the perfect post already?

The 7 essential elements of a perfect blog post

I can often get wrapped up in making sure that every little detail of a blog post is perfect. No doubt I could list way more than seven elements from perfect blog posts, but these seven seem to cover all the most important bases.

Headline: the 6 words that count most

Storytelling hook

Fewer characters per line at first

Featured image

Subheads for scanning

Content and the 1,500-word sweet spot

Soundbites for sharing

How to write the perfect headline

Eight out of 10 people will read your headline. Two out of 10 will read the rest of what you wrote. Stats like this 80/20 rule from Copyblogger illuminate the fact that headlines are often the make-or-break moment for each and every blog post. So how do you make a headline great?

Let's start with length.

Readers tend to absorb the first three words of a headline and the last three words. These numbers via KISSmetrics come straight from usability research, revealing that we don't just scan body copy- we scan headlines, too.

Of course, few headlines will be six words long in total. In those cases, it's important to make the first three words and the last three words stand out as much as possible. Here's a sample of headlines from 99U with the absorbable six words highlighted.

In terms of SEO, the headline (or title tag) will need to be around 55 characters or fewer in order to fit the entire title on a search results page and avoided being abbreviated with an ellipse.

Beyond those specific numbers, there is extensive advice on the techniques for writing a great headline. And I do mean extensive. At last check, there were 56 million results in a Google search for how to write a great headline. We enjoy pairing the workflow of headline writing with the science of human psychology. With that in mind, here are eight headline strategies that are backed by psychology.

Surprise: "This Is Not a Perfect Blog Post (But It Could've Been)"

Questions: "Do You Know How to Create the Perfect Blog Post?"

Curiosity gap: "10 Ingredients in a Perfect Blog Post. Number 9 Is Impossible!"

Negatives: "Never Write a Boring Blog Post Again"

How to: "How to Create a Perfect Blog Post"

Numbers: "10 Tips to Creating a Perfect Blog Post"

Audience referencing: "For People on the Verge of Writing the Perfect Blog Post"

Specificity: "The 6-Part Process to Getting Twice the Traffic to Your Blog Post"

You can also learn a lot from the headlines of high-traffic blogs. Lenka Istvanova developed a headline formula based on her analysis of best practices for headlines that get clicks. The formula goes like this:
Numbers + Adjective + Target Keyword + Rationale + Promise
Ex. 10 Simple Things You Can Do Today That Will Make You Happier

There are countless other tips and tricks for writing good headlines (some of my favorites are at Copyblogger). You might even feel paralysis by analysis. Keep up on the latest headline research. Make a good effort on your headline. Analyze and improve.
90 percent of good writing is obsessing over the perfect headline.
Start your post with storytelling

The headline entices readers to clickthrough. The intro hooks readers into continuing.

When Alex Turnbull and the Groove HQ team tested the best way to introduce a new post, they found that storytelling led to 300 percent more readers than a post without storytelling. Not only were these folks reading the post, they were scrolling all the way to the bottom and spending a much greater amount of time on the page - 520 percent more, to be exact.

We aim for an element of storytelling in each of the posts we write, often starting a blog post with a personal anecdote or moment of transparency. Here's an excerpt from our content style guide as to why this aspect of storytelling is so vital.

Storytelling: Most of Buffer blogposts are very well researched and science-driven. To make sure they remain very engaging, add personal stories, or anecdotes from experts/famous people ("Barack Obama's morning routine" or "Benjamin Franklin's to do list" or "Richard Branson's story of failure")

Cut down on characters per line by using a featured image

Have you noticed that every blog post starts with a featured image, with additional images that are aligned top right or left?

Why do you think that might be?

If you guessed "because visual content rocks," you're right. Visuals are hugely important, and it helps to draw attention with a catchy image up top.

There's another reason for the image, too. Characters per line.

Placing an image at the top right/left of your blog post forces the first few lines of the post to shorten in width. This shortening leads to fewer characters per line. Fewer characters per line has a psychological effect on the way we view content: The fewer the characters, the easier the text is to comprehend and the less complex it seems.

Social media expert Derek Halpern aims for this tactic on his blog posts for the following reason:

Fewer characters per line helps people make snap decisions about text faster and easier

His blueprint for a perfect blog post - always includes an image to the right.

If you're opposed to a featured image, there's another way of achieving fewer characters per line. You can boost the font size of your opening paragraph.

Popular sites like Smashing Magazine do this to great effect.

If you're comfortable with code, there's a neat CSS trick you can do to make this happen on your own blog. Add this to your CSS file, replacing the font size with the actual size you'd like to see.

p:first-child { font-size: 1.5em; }

Subheads, subheads, and more subheads

Perhaps you've heard that people don't read on the Internet, they scan.

It's not true for everyone, but it's true for a large enough majority that setting up your content to be scannable is an absolutely essential element of a perfect blog post.

Use subheads to make your post scannable. Subheads are the heading tags that appear inside your post editor. They might be represented as Heading 1 or <H1>, depending on the editor you use. There are six different heading tags, numbered one through six. The Yoast blog has a helpful way of thinking about all these different tags when it comes to an individual post on your blog:

H1: post / page title

H2's and H3's: subheadings and sub-subheadings

H4: your blog's name, and possibly related widgets

H5: same as above: sidebars etc.

Basically, these tags are signifying a content's importance both to the reader and to search engines. The most important line on the page is the headline, so it gets H1. The next most important are the subheadings. In this way, the post lays out quite similar to outline form.

We use H1 headings for our headlines and H2 and H3 headings for the subheads inside each story. I even go an extra step to bold the subheads to make them really stand out.

Write the perfect amount of content

If you've written a great headline that gets people interested, included an awesome hook to get them going on the article, and formatted and guided the reader into the depths of your content, you're better off than most articles on the web. Now what to do about the content?

Typically there are two different discussions with content when it comes to the perfect blog post.

I'll start off by saying this: The perfect blog post does not have a set length. It has some pretty good guidelines, though.

If you throw out outliers like Seth Godin's amazing 200-word posts (that work because he is Seth Godin,) you'll find that a large number of posts perform best when they reach a certain threshold of words.
Blog posts of 1,500 words or more tend to receive more shares.
Quick Sprout has some interesting data behind this recommendation. They cite research from a popular online journal that tested the Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn shares of all its post, broken down by word count. The longer the post, the more shares the post got.

(The stats above would suggest that the bare minimum in length should be 700 words. That's where shares really started picking up.)

Quick Sprout's own data supports this. Posts on Quick Sprout that are longer than 1,500 words receive 68 percent more tweets and 22 percent more Facebook likes.

And to throw one more bit of data into the mix, our discussion on the ideal length of a blog post led to the recommendation of a seven-minute read, which equates to about 1,600 words. Here's the engagement graph from Medium that supports the seven-minute claim.

Of course, with longer content comes the necessity to make it as scannable as possible. The Nielsen Norman Group found that people only read 28 percent of the words in a blog post. Subheads (as mentioned above) are a great way of making your post scannable so readers can find the content they want. Here are a few more tricks that we've used on the Buffer blog.

Lists - bulleted and numbered

Blockquotes

Bold text in paragraphs

Short paragraphs

Visuals

Add a 'tweetable' or two to your content

If you're looking for off-the-radar advice on the perfect blog post, I think you'll enjoy this gem from Derek Halpern: People love to share quotes on social media. Make your perfect blog post as quotable and shareable as possible.

Halpern calls these soundbites "tweetables" because they tend to get great virality on Twitter. He cites a fellow blogger who tried out the method and saw 800 clicks on the tweetable quote.

To make a soundbite or tweetable, pull the best bits from the content you've written and include a "Tweet This" or "Share This" link alongside the text. Make the text stand out so that readers (i.e., scanners) can quickly see your most notable and shareable words and so they can easily click to share.

There are some neat WordPress plugins that can help you here, as well as some online tools.

Click to Tweet website -The website tool lets you build a tweet to include in any post, and your work gets saved on their site to edit or track clicks after the fact.

Click to Tweet WordPress plugin - The team at TodayMade (makers of CoSchedule content calendars) built a tool to share quotes from inside blog posts. The implementation is really beautiful.

You can also do it the old-fashioned way by hand-coding a Click to Tweet link. If you choose to go this route, you'll need to know a bit of CSS and HTML. If you'd like to put the text in a box that stands out, you can use something like this (where the number code references a hexadecimal color # whatever color you want):

4 little things to look for in your perfect blog post

The above items are the big ones. To create a perfect blog post as quickly as possible, focus on those. If you've got a spare moment or two to refine even further, here are a few areas you could try.

1. Place a call to action in your post

We aim for calls to action in a number of places on our blog- the sidebar, the header, and the footer get our most prominent CTAs and the text itself has a handful of internal links sprinkled throughout. Links are a standard part to the majority of successful blog posts out there. Blog Pros' study of 100 high-ranking blog posts noticed that these posts averaged nearly 10 links inside each story.

There's no perfect number of links or CTAs, but it appears that the best posts have at least something:

Some of the smaller posts had incredibly high link-per-word ratios, owing to the fact that they were essentially tables of contents for other resources. Eight posts lacked links in the content of the blog, though they often included a final sentence call to action or related content widget.

2. Visual content is essential

Alexandra Skey of Get Spokal reminds us that visual content is a pretty big deal these days. It's one of the keys to a successful blog post:

We remember photos 6 times easier than text. So not only will people enjoy reading your blog more if you include beautiful photos, they're more likely to remember it too.

The results from the Blog Pros study shown above support the visual content emphasis. The 100 popular blog posts averaged one visual image for every 350 words.

3. Include social share buttons

Perfect blog posts will need to be shared, right? It's best to make it as easy as possible for readers to share your great posts, and you can do so by including share buttons in the header, footer, or sidebar of your content.

We do this a couple of different way on our Buffer blogs. The Digg Digg WordPress plugin displays share buttons in a floating panel to the left of the content on our culture blog. The share buttons appear at the bottom of our content here on the marketing blog.

4. Create a usable, readable, searchable URL

Creating a good link for your story might be the last thing on your mind when building the perfect blog post. Here's some advice from Daniel Zeevi of Dashburst that might change that.

Google has revealed that it is best to use three to five words in the slug of your permalink. Additional words will be weighed less and could even appear spammy. So keep your permalinks short and take care to place important keywords first!

While keeping in mind the search engines, also keep in mind us humans. Be descriptive with your URL so that someone who sees the link can know what they can expect to see if they click.

For instance, this:

http://blog.bufferapp.com/inside-the-ideal-blog-post-the-research-and-science-behind-the-perfect-post

Can become this:

http://blog.bufferapp.com/ideal-blog-post-research

Timing: Blog posts get more shares on the weekend

Track Maven analyzed over 4,600 blogs and 1.2 million blog posts to see what trends developed in terms of content marketing and social shares. Their insights revealed a couple of neat scheduling opportunities that might help you make the most of that perfect blog. First off:

Blog posts get more shares on Saturday and Sunday than any other day of the week.

Why might this be? The Late-night Infomercial Effect might come into play here. Essentially, when there's less competition, the more your post stands out. When nothing is on late at night, infomercials get their most play, and a similar comparison could be made to content posted on the weekends.

Perhaps boost some promotion on the weekends or even consider posting original content that doesn't have to compete with so much other content (only 13 percent of the 1.2 million blog posts in the Track Maven study were published on the weekends).

Beyond the best day of the week for social shares on blog posts, Track Maven also found some interesting data about the time of day when posts can expect to see the most shares. (Note: all times are Eastern standard.) Below, the two charts show when during the day blog posts are published (the green chart) and when during the day the most social shares happen (the purple chart).

Shares tend to spike early in the morning and again late at night, with steady, lower sharing throughout the day.

There could be a bit of Late-Night Infomercial Effect here, too. Either way, there are certain times of day when sharing is at its highest, and it might make sense to schedule some social media posts around those times.

Start brainstorming your next perfect blog post

I hope you found these blog post tips helpful. I know I couldn't help but think of them as I was writing this post itself. Now it's your turn to go put these tips into practice!

I'll leave you with one more bit of advice before you go. Hubspot has a superb list of traits that great blog posts should include. Here's the brief rundown, and you can read more about each over at Hubspot.

Great blog posts are:
How many of those elements can you work into your next blog post? What tactics from our list of perfect ingredients will you be trying out? I'd love to hear what you're thinking and what you've found to be best for you and your blog.
Image credits: baldiri, CoSchedule, blogpros.com
FOOTNOTE: I recently learned about another great resource for learning how to blog. Check out the guys at FirstSiteGuide.com. They offer a free PDF download (they ask for your email to receive) that is super helpful!

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The Anatomy of a Perfect Blog Post: The Data on Headlines, Length, Images and More

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Phew! Talk about pressure. Writing a blog post about how to write a perfect blog post is the most meta of burdens. It's a bit different than writing about perfect tweets or ideal Facebook posts. There's nowhere to hide when you're blogging about perfect blogging.

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If you were to go skydiving and bet your life on a folded-up pile of nylon, you would first go over a checklist and make sure everything is just right with your gear.

The same principle applies to your blog content if you don't want it to crash and burn when it hits the internet. The following are eight critical elements that should be included in your blog posts:

1. Magnetic headline

If you've ever met with investors and made an elevator pitch -a quick two-minute presentation about your business-you know that the goal isn't to get funding right then and there, but to deliver enough information so that the investors will want to hear more.

It's the same with a blog headline. It has to

Give some indication of what your article is about.

Make the prospect want to at least check out your first paragraph.

In other words, it needs to be magnetic-it needs to pull people in.

Sometimes adding emotional words to the headline will give it the added magnetism required. In other cases, the information you're offering will, on its own, be enough of a draw. However, even when you're presenting great content, spice up your headline with a word or two that will grab readers and make it stand out. People are moved to act by their emotions.

2. Compelling lead

I want to be very clear about how I'm using the word "compelling" here. In news reporting, a lead should pull together the important points of the news story. But that's not necessarily true in a blog. The first sentence or short paragraph of your blog must compel visitors to read your second paragraph-you want to draw your readers in. Don't take forever to get to the point, and make sure there's sufficient build up so that readers will want to know more about the information you're presenting and appreciate it once they understand your ideas.

3. Useful subheads

Subheads serve three purposes:

They break up the type to make the page more visually appealing

They help your reader navigate to important sections.

They boost search engine optimization (SEO).

Disclaimer: Regarding my third point, it used to be we insisted on using keywords in one or more subheads, but this doesn't seem as important anymore. I will explain this more in the next section when I touch on keywords; however, using descriptive phrases that capture your key "ideas" in subheads will probably help your SEO.

The first two points are always important. A long page of continuous type turns away a lot of potential readers. We'll come back to this in the section on graphics. Also, once readers finish your article, they may want to jump back and go over a point; subheads should help this.

4. Informative and engaging body

The body is the "meat and potatoes" of your blog post. It can be about anything-from new, incisive observations that will revolutionize the life or business of your reader to a funny story about what happened to you on the way to work yesterday. If you're establishing your authority, you'll want to author one kind of post; if you're trying to develop a personal relationship with your prospects, you'll want to author a different kind of post. The question is, "What's your goal today?"

As I mentioned earlier, the old rule said you needed to include a sufficient number of keywords into the body of your article; however, recent experience and research has shown that keyword usage and density is far less important to Google today. Google's algorithm is smart enough now to understand what you are writing about and index your articles properly for searches. Therefore, if you're doing a good job explaining your topic, Google will understand; you don't have to riddle it with robotic keywords.
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5. Appealing graphics

It's a great idea to include graphics in your blog posts to illustrate points and break up text within the body of articles to make your pages more visually pleasing. Google measures the time spent on your pages, so your graphics, typography, and color scheme should work together to encourage visitors to stick around. Also, when you promote your content on social media, you should include a visually interesting graphic.

6. Powerful call-to-action

Almost every blog article should have some kind of call-to-action, which can take a variety of forms and be achieved through different tactics. Your first step is to decide what action you want your visitors to take. It might be to make a comment. It could be to read another blog on your site, or to check out a product or service you offer. You also could get a prospect's contact information by offering exclusive content in exchange for an email address.

7. Relevant internal link

Do you like free advertising? We all do, right? This is one reason you should include links to other articles on your site in every new article you write. Would a real estate salesperson just show one room of a house to a prospect? Of course not, and remember, one of your main goals is to get people to stick around your website.

Further, internal links have always been considered good for SEO. I think they benefit your SEO because they increase the number of pages per visit and time visitors are on your site. I don't think that the mere fact you include a link is very important; what's important is visitors see the link as relevant to their visit, click on the link, and spend time on the resulting page.

8. Good meta description

The meta description is the snippet Google displays in search results. Left to its own devices, Google will grab the first sentence or two from your article. This, however, may not always be the best way for your article to appear in search results.

All of my previous points concerned what visitors see on the web page-this point is different. The meta description is in HTML code. If you have a WordPress site, a plugin like Yoast lets you easily compose your meta description separately so you can fine-tune it.

You spend a lot of time creating written content for your website. Even if it takes a few extra minutes to go through the eight points I've mentioned here, it will be time well spent. Good blog posts have long life spans, so your extra effort will pay for itself several times over.
RELATED: How to Make Money With Your Business Blog This article was originally published on AllBusiness.com. Read all of Megan Totka's articles.
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The 8 Essential Elements Of A Successful Blog Post

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If you were to go skydiving and bet your life on a folded-up pile of nylon, you would first go over a checklist and make sure everything is just right with your gear. The same principle applies to your blog content if you don't want it to crash and burn when it hits the internet.

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How to improve your score in IB Language and Literature Paper 1. Whether you are a standard or higher level student, Paper 1 tests your ability to analyse unseen texts. If you are a standard level …

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How to improve your score in IB Language and Literature Paper 1.

Whether you are a standard or higher level student, Paper 1 tests your ability to analyse unseen texts. If you are a standard level student, you will have to analyse one text out of a choice of two. If you are a higher level student you will be given the same two texts but you will have no choice: you must write an analysis of both texts. The texts will be unconnected – the topics and text types will be different – and you are not required to compare or contrast at all. You will essentially complete the same exercise twice. This is to reflect the greater number of lessons you will have had to explore a wider range of texts types, and the greater ability you should have when approaching texts by yourself. HL students will be given more time: 2 hours and 15 minutes compared to 1 hour and 15 minutes at standard level. All students will be given an optional guiding question that will focus your attention on important elements of the text, providing you with a ‘way in’ and helping you structure a worthwhile analysis.

There’s no doubt that paper 1 is a challenging exam. It represents 35% of your grade at SL and 25% at HL. It will be impossible to predict the topics and exact texts that may appear in this exam paper. The range of possible text types is wide, as illustrated by the examples given in the IB syllabus guide. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t prepare for likely text types. In the past, comics and cartoons, advertisements, speeches, opinion pieces, magazine articles, news reports and travel writing have frequently appeared on this paper. Less common examples have been song lyrics, movie posters, letters and even texts from the past, such as an extract from Samuel Pepys’ diary – he was an eyewitness to the Great Fire of London in 1666! Moreover, the IB subject guide is explicit in that you are not meant to exhaustively memorise features of different text types just in case one appears in your exam. Instead, you can learn approaches that are transferable to any text you are given and learn to recognise patterns of language that can help you analyse a text, ascertain its purpose and intended audience, and evaluate its success.

Travel Writing

Advertising

NEws Reports

Blogs

speeches

opinion columns

comics and cartoons

magazines

information Texts

Diaries

letters

interviews

advisory texts

scientific articles

texts for children

Charity Appeals

Recruitment campaigns

Descriptive Passages

Select a text type or scroll down to find explainers and key conventions, along with sample papers and responses. All these answers would score highly if produced in this exam; perhaps even 20 out of 20. However, it is important to note that these responses demonstrate only one possible approach each time. Alternative responses can also be valid. Discuss the responses with your classmates and teacher as you go through the course, and revise before your assessments and exams. Once you have read and written a few sample responses, you’ll be able to find strategies that work for you and will allow you to succeed in Paper 1, whatever text you may encounter.

Travel Writing

This kind of writing is less a text-type and more a category of writing. Travel writing can be as recognisable as a Lonely Planet or Rough Guide recommendation for a trip to a foreign country or city. Or it might take the form of an article, describing the experiences of the writer in a strange place, accompanied by photography, maps, or diagrams. It’s possible for Travel Writing to be ‘literary’ in tone and mood, full of imagery, vivid descriptions, and figurative language, recreating the characters and situations the writer met along the way like a novelist. Common themes in travel writing include the search for the self or one’s roots; curiosity about other people; the desire to be informed; the search for a religious, spiritual or abstract experience. If you want to find out much more about this genre, you can visit the course page for this unit of study. Or, simply browse this selection of Paper 1 materials from the category of Travel Writing:

Sample Responses:

Cycling Tips

Travel Tales

Tasmanian Caves

Fern Foray

Try for yourself:

Taj Mahal

Long Enough in Jo’burg

A Fish with Hair

The Mangyan of Mindanao

Key Features of Travel Writing

Viewpoint: travel writing often documents the personal experiences of someone exploring a new place or country so is often first person.

Perspective: an outsider’s perspective is common when reading travel writing, particularly if the destination is new, exotic or remote. Alternatively, the piece might be written from an insider’s perspective and is inviting you to visit or share an experience in a different part of the world.

Structure: look out for chronological timelines, past – present structures or a linear journey of discovery. Guidebooks will have clear headings and subheadings and will probably include box-outs and the like.

Information: travel writing often seeks to be informative and can present you with facts and figures, names and dates, historical or architectural or geographical information and more.

Description: if the writer is trying to make the destination tantalising, or to help transport the reader, you might find examples of visual imagery, vivid description, even figurative comparisons, helping you visualise a far-off place.

Visuals: photographs, maps, or floor plans of famous locations are all visual features that you might encounter in travel writing, particularly guidebooks.

Advertisements

The world of advertising is enormous, a classroom study of this text type might easily make up a good chunk of your course – and you’ll still have only scratched the surface of what this wide and varied genre has to offer. Unsurprisingly, advertisement texts have been extremely popular in Paper 1. They tend to be persuasive and you can easily learn a few key features to look out for. Studying the language of advertising claims and investigating issues like representation are interesting in their own right, and improving your media literacy when it comes to analysing images and knowing when you’re being manipulated or conned is an important aim of the IB Lang and Lit course. Advertising can be extremely creative too, and striking the balance between recognising effective writing and being skeptical about the things you read can make the difference between a good answer and a great one in Paper 1. Take a look through some of these examples to find common patterns of analysis that you can apply to your own study of adverts you encounter:

Sample Responses:

Uniqlo Selfless Selfie

Ethical Coffee

Arcadia

Try for yourself:

Chevrolet 2007

The Incredible Shrinking Man

A Bad Watch

Key Features of advertisements

Problem and benefit: also called ‘benefit and need’, the success of any advert depends upon appealing to the desires of its readers.

Image: a major component of modern advertising, images often tell visual narratives, or employ tactics such as ‘shock value’ or ‘sex sells.’

Slogan and copy: as the image is so important in ads, text is kept to a minimum. Slogans should be short, catchy, memorable and should have a relationship with the image; this is called anchoring. Look for typographical features such as bold fonts, underlined words and the like.

Association: ads sell products… but also sell values. You should be alert to the abstract concepts that the advert is associating with its product and brand. Understand that objects, settings, people and so on are symbolic.

Testimonial: adverts often include the satisfied quotations of customers who already used the product and are delighted with their purchase. Some ads feature celebrity testimonials.

Advertising claims: favourites include the use of weasel words, scientific claims, vague language, or bandwagon claims. There are many more for you to look out for, and you might also keep an eye out for jargon which sounds impressive, but doesn’t communicate meaning.

Persuasion: adverts are always persuasive. Even ads that are not trying to sell you a product or service might be asking you to think something, change your behaviour or help someone. Look out for any and all kinds of persuasive devices in advertising.

News Reports

Newspaper front pages and reports belong to broadly three categories: tabloid, broadsheet and online, each of which have their own particular conventions. You can study the news media in more depth by visiting the courses on journalism, bias, euphemism and the impact of technology on the news.

Sample Responses:

UK Weather Report

100 Meter Sprint

Try for Yourself:

Gat-Crash

Key Features of News Writing

Masthead: a strip across the top of a newspaper front page containing the name of the newspaper, the date of publication and the price. Tabloid papers from the UK are called ‘red-tops’ because of the red colour of the masthead.

Headline: the choice of words in a headline is essential to the tone and angle of the story. There are many techniques involved in creating headlines and you should definitely learn: slammer; pun; alliteration; elliptical headlines (which only include the keywords).

Visuals: all newspapers make use of photographs to accompany stories. Tabloid papers are dominated by images while broadsheet papers tend to use smaller photographs. Look out for pictures of people’s faces, which reveal emotion and create bias.

Copy: the main text of the article. Features you should be on the look out for are: sensationalism; vague language; emotive language and euphemism.

Embedded interviews: you can expect to find witness recounts, expert opinions and statements from authority figures in almost all newspaper reports.

Bias: all kinds of bias exist in newspaper reports, from selection bias (the choice of what content to include and what to exclude) to name-calling, to the use of certain facts and statistics and more.

Figurative Language: anyone who still thinks the news is purely factual needs to go back to the start of the course! News reports are a rich source of metaphor, simile, hyperbole, and exaggeration, often distorting reality in some way.

Blogs

It’s difficult to imagine modern life without digital communication. Following the development of the internet, readers have been empowered to both consume and produce written and visual content at the same time. A popular form of online text type is the blogpost, normally shortened to ‘blog.’ In many ways, blogs have a lot in common with magazine articles and opinion pieces; but instead of media institutions deciding what we should read about, independent reader-writers decide the topics for themselves. For this reason, blogs can be quirky, niche, and carry counter-cultural messages. Have a look at a couple of these responses to the ‘blog’ text type:

try for yourself:

Genetically Engineered Children

Swamp Water

Leadership Blog

key features of blogs

Viewpoint: blogs normally represent the interests and opinions of an individual, so are normally first person.

Purpose: Blogs are guided by individual interests or concerns so the purpose is flexible. A blog might seek to inform readers about an area of interest, topic or movement. They may also discuss an event or issue. Blogs might even function like an online diary, describing the day’s events and reflecting on an experience.

Diction: depending on the topic, writers of blogs could employ a specialist vocabulary or use technical terms.

Visuals: blogs may illustrate the text with cartoons, images or photographs (perhaps illustrated or taken by the writers themselves).

Structure: again dependent on the individual text, but you can look out for chronological and linear structures with subheadings, clear connectives or other features helping organise the text.

Speeches

Learning the features of persuasion – and how persuasion and propaganda overlap – form a part of your lang and lit course. So if you happen to be given a persuasive speech in your final Paper 1 exam, you can count yourself lucky. Persuasive speeches are organised around clear formal frameworks, such as appeals to logic and emotional appeals, and also provide a chance for individual speakers to express themselves stylistically. Check the formal features of persuasive speeches opposite and, if you want to learn more, visit the course page for this unit of study. Then browse these sample responses to see how to put your learning into practice:

Sample Responses:

Chicken Tikka Masala

William Morris Lecture

Try for Yourself:

The Pleasure of Books

Eulogy for Mahatma Gandhi

Eulogy for Sir Edmond Hillary

key features of speeches

Ethos: the speaker establishes his or her credibility and may allude to a moral, social or spiritual leader with whom the audience cannot disagree.

Logos: clear, reasonable arguments, facts and statistics and quoting experts in the field are all ways of establishing a logical appeal.

Pathos: emotive language and imagery are ways of helping the audience empathise with the feelings of other – often vulnerable – people.

Persuasive: the speaker attempts to make his or her listener think in a certain way, believe something or take action.

Direct address: the speaker tries to draw closer to the listeners by addressing them as ‘you’ – look out for the use of ‘we’ or‘us’ to include the speaker and listener on the same side – and be wary of attempts to compliment the listener.

Modality: modal verbs are small but important words (such as ‘must’, ‘need’, ‘should’, ‘might,’ and so on) that reveal the speaker’s degree of certainty and strength of feeling.

Rhetorical devices: all kinds of rhythmical, structural, auditory and linguistic tricks can be employed by a skilled speaker. They are too many to list here, but rhetorical strategies can be studied and learned.

Logical Fallacies: also called ‘argumentation fallacies.’ Common fallacies in speeches are glittering generalisations, simplification and slippery slope.

Opinion Columns

Often printed in newspapers or magazines, and sharing many of the features of persuasive speeches, the opinion piece is usually a thoughtfully considered argument about a controversial topic in which the writer takes a side or proposes a solution. Unlike other forms of text for mass consumption, the opinion piece does not pretend to be straight or unbiased. Although it may contain elements of concession or acknowledge the other side of the issue, the purpose of an opinion piece is to express an opinion in a convincing, persuasive or powerful way. An Op-Ed is a special type of opinion piece, normally shorter, which derived its name from its position opposite the editorial page. The op-ed carries the official position of the news institution on a topical issue of the day.

Sample Responses:

Learning Foreign Languages

Political Correctness

Try for yourself:

PC Language Saved My Life

I h8 txt msgs

What’s Wrong with MacDonalds?

Key features of opinion columns

Perspective: as an expression of a personal viewpoint, the first person is most commonly adopted for opinion pieces. Look out for ‘we’ instead of ‘I’ – a clever way of implying the viewpoint is commonly held.

Solid Arguments: an opinion piece might open your eyes to the reality of an issue, providing facts, statistics and information to help convince you of the writer’s viewpoint. Expect to see opinions backed up by studies, research or evidence of some kind. Keep an eye out for assertion, though, where a writer presents an opinion as if it were a fact.

Anecdotes: sometimes a writer will relate a small story from his or her personal experience in order to demonstrate a thoughtful approach to the topic at hand. You may find the opinion piece begins with this story, which acts as a kind of hook into the main article.

Structure: the writer of an opinion piece is not trying to keep you in suspense and the opinion is often obvious from the title or first few lines of the article. The rest of the article should support or develop the writer’s point in a number of ways. The ending should be strong and certain, perhaps reiterating the writer’s position.

Register and tone: you should be especially alert to the writer’s choices in this regard. Opinion pieces are often formal, but the writer may adopt an irreverent tone, be passionate, conversational, friendly, challenging, even sarcastic depending on the tactics used to convince you of a particular opinion.

Concession: although similar in many ways, opinion pieces are not quite the same as persuasive speeches, so the writer is not necessarily trying to change your opinion. In this case, you might find concessions to the other side of the argument or even an acknowledgement that the writer’s opinion is flawed in some way.

Comics and Cartoons

You might study a graphic novel such as Persepholis or Maus as part of your literature course; you may also be presented with a comic strip or cartoon in Paper 1. Students enjoy comics and cartoons because they are engaging and colourful – but make no mistake. This text type can be as subtle and sophisticated as any novel (just check out the list of features opposite). If you want to become an expert in the comic book form, you might like to read Understanding Comics: the Invisible Art by Scott McCloud. Don’t forget to check out one or two of the examples below, which demonstrate how this text type might be analysed in an exam:

Sample Responses:

Climate Change

Try for Yourself:

The 21st Century

Ted Rall

Kal Kallaugher Cartoons

First Dog on the Moon

Science Tales: Fracking

Mark Trail

Key features of comics and cartoons

Purpose: satirical or political cartoons aim to satirise, meaning to ridicule, lampoon or criticise a specific target. Comic strips may also poke fun, but tend to be gentler in the treatment of subject matter; their primary purpose is to entertain.

Structure: comics and cartoons are drawn in square boxes called panels, arranged in sequence and read in a linear fashion. The white space between the panels is called gutters.

Exposition: text that tells the story is presented as captions.

Speech and thought bubbles: so you can read the internal and external dialogue of the characters.

Mechanics: spatial mechanics is the use of space within each frame. Temporal mechanics is the way time can be slowed down, speeded up or stopped.

Artistic style: comics are drawn purposefully and with intention. Are the pictures crisp, heavy, weighty, light, cartoony, realistic, bright, dark? Can you tell whether the artist used pencil, pen and ink, or brush? Words that describe mood and tone can be useful when analysing style – and look out for symbolic uses of colour.

Emanata: items such as dots, lines, exclamation marks or onomatopoeia that depict action, emotion or sound.

Caricature: people and issues can be simplified, distorted or exaggerated for effect.

Humourous tone: look out for parody, irony or even sarcasm, particularly in political cartoons.

Magazine Articles

A wide ranging and popular text type, magazine articles differ from news articles in that they are not reporting recent events, but rather discussing events, issues, trends and topics that have a general, contemporary appeal. Increasingly, magazine articles are published online, as producers can reduce costs such as printing and distribution, and collect revenue through both subscriptions and advertising. There are many sub-categories of magazine article, such as the celebrity article, scientific article, interview and so on. Topics of a magazine article are wide, in truth it’s possible to write about anything and publish it as an article; more common topics include fashion, entertainment, food, sport, and lifestyle.

Sample Responses:

Fashion Show

Try for Yourself:

Shark Week

Broken Watches

Pitchforks and Plutocrats

Key features of Magazines

Headline: bold text that reveals the topic of the article and should provide a hook for the reader.

Images: photographs of people and places are common features of magazine articles. They are almost always posed, not natural, and are often as prominent as the copy.

Layout: look out for box-outs, bullet points, ears and other kinds of layout features.

Entertainment: although they might be topical and current, most magazine articles are designed to entertain. Information may be displayed in an appealing way, using pull quotes and subheadings.

Buzzwords: being up-to-date, relevant and current means some articles make use of buzzwords and words that are popular at the time of publication.

Interactive Features: increasingly, articles that would traditionally have been printed in magazines are being published online. In this case, look out for interactive features such as embedded videos, hyperlinks and tabs.

Embedded interviews: experts on or participants in the topic at hand are often interviewed and quotations are used throughout the article. In the case of celebrity articles, the whole piece could be the write-up of an interview.

Information Texts

Again, this is more a category of writing than a text type. Informational text range from cookbooks to technical manuals, encyclopaedias to public service announcements. Informational texts are meant to appeal to your head rather than your heart. An interesting angle from which to approach informational texts is to explore both the successful features and limitations of the text you are given. For example, an encyclopaedia might summarise a lot of points in a superficial way; an information poster might be overly technical; a cookbook might resort to national or ethnic stereotypes. You can find out more about stereotyping here – by it’s very nature, stereotyping is not informative. Alternatively, some uses of specialist language (called jargon) are only informative to the right reader. Take a look though one or two of these sample responses to see how you might analyse informational texts of different kinds.

Sample Responses:

Encyclopaedia Britannica

Try for yourself:

The Benefits of Cycling

How are ICC Judges Elected?

Taj Mahal

Frank Fenner Foundation

Joseph Rowntree Foundation

Key features of information texts

Neutral language: aiming to inform above all else, the register should be formal or semi-formal, the language accessible and the tone neutral.

Diction: some informational texts are aimed at particular readers and employ technical terms or specialist language – watch out for jargon, which may not communicate clearly.

Layout: these kinds of texts normally have a clear, easy to understand layout. They might use box-outs, lists, bullet points, page dividers and other organisational features to help guide you step-by-step through the text. Some informational texts are non-linear.

Facts and Statistics: presented in all kinds of ways: percentages; graphs; charts or numbers. Look for credible sources that are cited.

Typography: look for fonts, capitalisations, bold or italicised words, underlined words, or other features that help emphasise key points.

Images: often in the form of diagrams, images should reinforce the written text or be broken into step-by-step guides. They may be simplified.

Information: although this goes without saying, you should differentiate between general information and specific details.

Diaries

Arguably the most personal text type as the intended reader is usually… the writer him or herself. Almost since the advent of the written word, diaries have been kept by individuals to record daily events, reflect on personal experiences and try to make sense of the complex issues of society. A freeform text type, they tend to be more stylistic than formal, with each writer employing their own particular uses of language which reflects the way they see the world. That’s not to say you can’t prepare yourself for any eventuality – take a look at one or two of the responses below:

Sample Responses:

Oaxaca Journal

Try for Yourself:

African Diary

Journal of a Disappointed Man

Key features of diaries

Viewpoint: as one of the most personal text types, diaries are written in the first person and always express thoughts and feelings.

Perspective: diaries are written to be private as the reader and writer are the same person. Confessional is a particular form of diary writing that reveals a secret.

Structure: diaries function as records of the day’s events and are largely chronological. Look out for flashbacks when the writer begins at the end, then goes back to explore how and why an event happened.

Register and tone: most diaries are written in an informal or semi-formal register, using language the writer feels comfortable with. Look out for language which reveals the attitude of the writer (tone): it is not uncommon for diaries to be thoughtful and reflective, scathing and caustic… or anything in between.

Colloquialism: the writer might write as if he or she is talking and may use figures of speech in an original or entertaining way.

Letters

It’s not often you’ll read a text that has a particular individual reader in mind, but letters are exactly that. Letters need reading carefully to discover the relationship between writer and reader and to uncover the purpose behind the writing. Here are ways to respond if you should encounter this text type:

Sample Responses:

Dire Predictions

Try for Yourself:

Letter from the Front

Key features of letters

Name and address: formal letters are posted to the recipient, so they normally contain both the sender and receiver’s address, allowing the recipient to reply. The sender’s address is traditionally placed on the right hand side, with the date below it.

Purpose: people send letters for all kinds of reasons; to complain, to seek advice, to connect with a loved one or even to pass gossip. The purpose of this text type is completely flexible.

Register: letters can be formal or informal depending on the purpose and relationship between the sender and receiver. The tone can vary widely too: compare a formal letter of complaint with an intimate letter between lovers.

Salutation: a direct address to the recipient. Depending on context, they can vary from the formal ‘Dear…’ or even ‘To whom this may concern…’ to a quick ‘Hi…’

Sign off: you can tell a lot about the relationship between the reader and the writer from the way the letter ends. Formally, ‘yours sincerely’ is used if the recipient’s name was used and ‘yours faithfully’ is used when the writer does not know the name of the receiver. Non-conventional sign-offs can be used for a variety of reasons; check the end of the letter to see if the writer expects a reply.

Interviews

Often published in weekend magazines, and now increasingly online, interviews are the write-up of a conversation between a journalist (the interviewer) and an interviewee, normally a celebrity, expert in a field, or person in the public eye. Interviews are written to entertain or divert, but also fulfil the purpose of satisfying a reader’s curiosity for information: whether about how a famous writer works, how an individual became successful, or simply the lifestyle of the rich and famous. When reading an interview, the focus is normally on the interviewee’s thoughts and opinions. But look out for authorial intrusion, something you may have come across in your literary studies, where either directly or indirectly the writer of the article makes their opinions known as well.

Sample Responses:

Celebrity Big Brother

Jimi Hendrix

Try for Yourself:

Minoli Salgado

Bernie Ecclestone

Madonna

key features of interviews

Format: most interviews are either presented in question and answer format or as an article with responses embedded inside narration. Check to see if the balance of content is evenly split or if the focus is on the interviewee. If the interviewer’s own thoughts and feelings are apparent this is called authorial intrusion.

Register: as a record of a spoken conversation, a written interview is likely to contain examples of language that is more like speech. Look out for colloquialisms, idioms, contractions and even jokes.

Quotation: almost all interviews will feature direct quotation. Something the interviewee said might even provide the title. The writer may also use reported speech, either for brevity or as a stylistic device.

Structure: it is not uncommon to see a question- answer interview sandwiched between an introduction and conclusion written by the interviewer. The interview may be focused on one issue or may range across various topics.

Perspective: the interview presents a one-sided view on a topic or person, so is likely to be highly subjective. The interviewee may use assertive statements which present opinions as if they are facts. Don’t forget to analyze the language used by the interviewer in the article or questions to see how the writer can lead your opinion or create bias.

Advisory Texts

Since the 5th century BC, people have been giving each other advice in writing. Chinese general Sun Tzu wrote his advice on bamboo strips – now you can buy his collected works, The Art of War, in a bookstore. Newspapers and magazines feature advisory sections (in Britain, the writers of these columns are known as Agony Aunts or Agony Uncles). Elsewhere, institutions such as the medical practice, health services and even governments like to give advice. This means that advisory texts can take many forms: columns, articles, letters, posters or infographics are all text types that can give advice in one form or another. See for yourself by reading the sample responses to the papers listed here:

Sample Responses:

Self-help Guide

Try for Yourself:

Letter of Advice

key features of advisory texts

Tone: authoritative, reasonable, commanding or trustworthy. Look out for opinions presented as if they are facts.

Tense: the imperative tense (also called the command tense) can be recognised by the position of the verb at or near the start of the sentence.

Modality: modal verbs such as ‘must’, ‘will’, ‘should’ and ‘ought’ transmit strength of feelings.

Credibility: expert sources, research and scientific evidence might be used to establish credibility.

Register: official advice will be formal and persuasive; friendly advice will be delivered in a reassuring or intimate way. Sometimes, advice will include a warning.

Structure: look for cause-and-effect structures, step-by-step guides or linear structures that are easy to follow.

Scientific Articles

A sub-category of magazine articles drawn from publications such as National Geographic, New Scientist, Cosmos, Nature and more. There’s an interesting investigation to be had in the study of language and literature into the tension between science and the arts and, by reading though the sample papers below, you’ll notice how these two disciplines are not necessarily as different as you might think:

Sample Responses:

A Question of Time

The Silence of the Bees

try for yourself:

Journey of a Lifetime

Artificial Intelligence

Mission to Mars

key features of scientific articles

Diction: inevitably, writing about science and nature will involve using a specialist vocabulary of technical and precise terms.

Comparisons: some scientific concepts are quite abstract or complex, so writers of scientific articles might use similes and comparisons to make them easier for a wider readership to visualise.

Visuals: photographs, diagrams, charts and graphs are all likely to accompany and illustrate scientific concepts. Look out for examples of simplification.

Informative: the purpose of scientific writing is to share knowledge, so look out for informative features such as facts and statistics and clear explanations. Some articles will also simplify concepts for a more general readership.

Credibility: research, authoritative sources, and quotations by experts make far-out concepts more credible.

Structure: look out for both linear and non-linear structures and layouts, depending on the content. A text might provide a timeline or historical overview. Boxouts, summaries, explainers, glossaries can all help communicate complicated ideas.

Texts for Children

More a category of writing rather than a text type, texts produced for young people have distinctive features of their own that you may want to keep an eye on.

Sample Responses:

Tiktok and the Nome King

Enid Blyton

Try for Yourself:

The Monkey Fiddle

Word of the Year

key features of texts for children

Allegory: like symbolism, in children’s stories characters and objects often stand for things greater than themselves. The Wizard of Oz is a good example of allegory.

Diction: it would be unusual for children’s texts to contain too much difficult vocabulary, although stories and rhymes often use synonyms.

Visuals: look out for colourful visuals, vividly drawn people and places.

Fable: a particular type of children’s writing that anthropomorphises animals, who stand in for human characters.

Didactic: some texts for children are designed to teach a lesson or moral. You can look out for didactic messages in children’s texts.

Charity Appeals

A sub-category of advertising, charity appeals attempt to recruit you on behalf of a good cause and often ask you to donate either time or money. They are extremely persuasive, and often rely on similar methods to conventional advertising and persuasive speaking, tending to have more copy than conventional adverts. Take a look at the sample analyses to different charity appeals here and notice the elements they have in common:

Sample Responses:

The Smith Family

Try for Yourself:

Cold Weather Alert

Pink Rickshaws

Save the Bees

Adopt a Polar Bear

key features of charity appeals

Headings: look for headings and sub-headings that contain impactful and emotive language.

Visuals: like conventional advertising, charity appeals rely on visual elements such as photographs to quickly convey relevant information. Look out for body language and facial expressions that reveal need.

Statistics: in order to convey not only the scale of the problem, but also how the organisation has helped in the past. May be presented in summary or graphical form.

Metonymy: social problems like hunger and poverty are too large for one person to help solve; so charity ads often introduce you to a single individual who represents all those who your donation goes towards helping.

Pathos: charity ads appeal to your emotions by trying to make you sympathetic; by feeling sorry for someone you are more likely to help.

Persuasive: charity adverts are strongly persuasive, so look out for all kinds of rhetorical features including direct address, use of imperatives, modals and more.

Recruitment Campaigns

Frequently associated with wartime propaganda, recruitment campaigns can be used in a variety of contexts to encourage people to support a cause. A hybrid category of advertising and persuasion, recruitment campaigns would traditionally have been waged with pamphlets, leaflets, brochures and posters. Increasingly, this text type is being driven online, although certain traditional features survive; in particular, you can look out for webpages being formatted in three parts, as if folded into a brochure. Take a look at a couple of these responses to recruitment texts, then have a go at writing your own:

Sample Responses:

Further Education

Try for yourself:

Be The Change

We Are Nurses

Fridays For Future

key features of recruitment campaigns

Visuals: can be wholly visual, but likely to have some accompanying text (multi-modal).

Slogans: text may be minimal or in the form of slogans which are designed to be catchy. Pay attention to typography, fonts and emphasised words.

Persuasive: the purpose of a recruitment campaign is to persuade you to sign up to a cause or join an organisation. Recruitment drives are almost certain to use direct address and imperatives.

Pathos: the core of a campaign is often emotional, aiming to elicit feelings such as patriotism and duty on one hand, or guilt if one is not to sign up.

Card-stacking: a common feature of recruitment drives is they often fail to show the downsides of joining up! Ignoring parts of the argument that don’t fit your agenda is called card-stacking.

Simplification: along with a host of other fallacies, recruitment campaigns reduce complex issues to simple solutions. They may also invoke stereotypes.

Symbolism: elements of the text will connote concepts that are integral to the writer’s message. Look out for metonymy, where an individual is made to stand for the whole.

Descriptive Passages

Although descriptive writing is a major part of literary fiction, non-fiction writers may also write with the purpose of having you visualise a scene, event or person. Many forms of writing can be descriptive: autobiographies, travel articles, letters, diaries and blogs might all feature descriptive passages to one degree or another. Read through a sample response, then try your hand at analysing a descriptive passage:

sample Responses:

What is Poverty?

Try for yourself:

The People of the Abyss

Key features of descriptive passages

Diction: the aim of descriptive writing is to help you visualise what’s in the writer’s head, so vague language is not helpful. Descriptive writing employs concrete language in precise ways.

Imagery: as writing which is drawn from direct experience, description always involves imagery. Humans perceive the world vividly using our visual sense – but don’t forget about other ways of perception: sensory images can also be auditory, tactile, kinaesthetic, and even olfactory (the sense of smell).

Figurative Comparisons: similes, metaphors, and personifications are commonly found in descriptive writing.

Modifiers: the function of adjectives and adverbs are to describe.

Perspective: one of the most important features. For example, a piece from an outsider perspective will contain very different thoughts and feelings to a piece written from an insider’s point of view.

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*Be mindful that many past papers are OLD course and samples are mediocre.
Check GC for more up to date P1 response samples and exemplars.

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Despite what people say, advertisers know that language (and images) work at both the conscious and the unconscious level, and a person unaware of advertising’s claim on him or her is the per…

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High and low modality
Strong/direct versus indirect voice

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10 examples of modals, Definition and Example Sentences

Here are English Modals Table and Example Sentences

Ability, doubt, astonishment, permission, Polite request

Example Sentences;

2. MAY

Permission, if not prohibition, supposition with doubt

Example Sentences;

Obligation, firm necessity, logical conclusion, probability

Example Sentences;

4. SHALL

intention, supposition

Example Sentences;

Wish, desire, will, confidence, in the future

Example Sentences;

6. OUGHT TO

Moral duty, insistent advice, strict recommendation

Example Sentences;

7. NEED

(un)necessity

Example Sentences;

Obligation arising out of arrangement or agreement

Unwillingness, forced circumtances

Example Sentence;

Wish (with "to like"), polite request, a habit of the past

Example Sentences;

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10 examples of modals, Definition and Example Sentences - English Grammar Here

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10 examples of modals, Definition and Example Sentences Here are English Modals Table and Example Sentences 1. CAN Ability, doubt, astonishment, permission, Polite request Example Sentences; I can play the football. Can I go out tonight? 2. MAY Permission, if not prohibition, supposition with doubt Example Sentences; It may rain tomorrow.

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How to improve your score in IB Language and Literature Paper 1. Whether you are a standard or higher level student, Paper 1 tests your ability to analyse unseen texts. If you are a standard level student, you will have to analyse one text out of a choice of two.

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https://gonaturalenglish.com/9-kinds-of-humor-explained-in-english/

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An important part of fluency is being able to read different kinds of humor. Today we are going to look at nine different kinds of humor explained in English. Do you know what it means to be able to read someone's sense of humor? When we read someone we are able to understand them, not just their obvious spoken words but everything they might be implying. Humor is subtle. At times it can be hard to catch. Every culture - from family group to a classroom full of like-minded students, a city or perhaps even an entire country full of people might have its own distinctive sense of humor. Just like how different regions around the world have their own unique way of cooking food. We may share some ideas, but each is still so distinct. Have you ever noticed that?

So in the lesson, we are going to talk about the many different kinds of humor found around the world, but using English descriptive words. Many of these you will be familiar with, of course, as a big part of human bonding is the ability to laugh together. This lesson will help increase your vocabulary so that you are able to comfortably discuss humor in English.

Which kind of humor do you find the funniest? Let us know in the comments.

Physical or Slapstick Humor

This is probably the easiest one to explain. It is a physical kind of humor. This means someone is using exaggerated or wild body movements. Usually, there is gags, pranks and practical jokes involved but it always has to do with the body, or comedy around the body behaving oddly. Often times people are getting hurt, maybe they slip and fall, maybe something is falling on them. It can be painful to watch at times and yet it brings out the laughter in us humans.

Some classic examples of this type of humor could be Charlie Chaplin or the Three Stooges. If you ever enjoyed watching "America's Funniest Home Videos" growing up, this is another perfect example. Modern day "GIFs" can sometimes capture this style of humor.

Examples:

Self-Deprecating Humor

When someone is a master (or really good) at self-deprecating humor it means they are good at putting themselves down or making fun of themselves on purpose to amuse others. It is done in a way that makes everyone laugh rather than feel bad for them. Self-deprecating humor makes people feel comfortable because the person seems real and humble and able to make themselves vulnerable enough to laugh at themselves.

Example:

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, which is a pity because this week the National Association of Beholders wrote to tell me that I've got a face like a rucksack full of dented bells."

Surreal or Absurd Humor

This is the kind of humor one can spot in the story (or movie) "Alice in Wonderland". It takes the world and flips it upside dow. The result is so odd and strange that it ends up being funny - for some!
Sometimes called: weird, odd, offbeat, strange, quirky
Example:

Improvisation or Improv Humor

Improv is a form of live theatre where everything is made up on the spot. It is quite a difficult thing to pull off comedy in the moment or on the spot, but often times that awkwardness is what makes it funny. It generally requires a team of actors working together to build up the comedy. Saturday Night Live is a show that relies heavily on improvisational humor.

"Don't Think Twice" is a recent film all about the improv comedy world. If you are curious, I would recommend checking it out. You can watch the trailer here .

Witty or Dry Humor

Sometimes called: deadpan, highbrow, quippy, repartee (witty conversation), wisecrack, quick, clever, droll, wry, sarcastic

This can often be the most difficult humor to detect. It is an intelligent kind of humor that is the complete opposite of slapstick humor. Witty humor requires your mind to be active and engaged. It may not always be "laugh out loud" funny. In fact, the person who uses dry humor often shows little to no emotion at all. This is why it is often called "deadpan" humor. To have a deadpan face is to have an emotionless face. The way the person appears to be serious is a big part of what makes it funny.
Witty humor sometimes uses → Irony, sarcasm, satire, parody (but not always)
Sarcasm can sometimes be a big part of witty humor. It is a kind of humor that can hurt someone else's feelings when used in a mean way, but when used gently it can be funny without putting someone else down. A lot of sarcasm has to do with your tone of voice used and the use of irony. Let's say you let someone at the office know they left their car lights on and that person barks back at you "Perfect, just what I needed to hear on this wonderful day". They are using sarcasm to let you know they are having a really bad day. It doesn't mean they are upset with you, it just means they are actually not having much of a wonderful day at all. Sarcasm is not common everywhere in the world but it is very common in North America. If you hear someone using sarcasm, please don't take it personally as it is not about you and more about that person's personality.

Example of witty humor using irony and sarcasm:

" Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go."

- Oscar Wilde

Wordplay Humor or Puns
Sometimes called: "Dad jokes", play on words
Wordplay Humor sometimes uses → "puns, phonetic mix-ups such as spoonerisms, obscure words and meanings, clever rhetorical excursions, oddly formed sentences, double entendres, and telling character names" (from Wikipedia). Sometimes Wikipedia just has the all the right words and so we are just going to quote them on the subject.

Example:

I feel that Gabby explained it best! We all love to hear Gabby tell a great joke, right?

This is the type of humor most often used by stand up comedians. They find the bits of humor in examining our day to day lives. Let me share a little clip from the comedian Jim Gaffigan, explaining what life is like for all the McDonald's Lovers out there.

Potty Humor
Sometimes called: Juvenile humor, gag jokes, toilet humor
I am not sure if much needs to be said about this one.

Dark Humor
Other words to describe it: grim, black, bitter amusement, grotesque, or sick humor
Some people find humor in places that are dark or unpleasant. A "dark" topic would be death, for example. This is the type of humor most likely to offend others and so it is best tested on your friends who love you unconditionally. Have you ever played the card game "Cards Against Humanity"? It is a perfect example of what a dark sense of humor revels in. Nothing is "off the table" (not available) when it comes to this sense of humor.

Examples:

Question: Why don't cannibals eat clowns? Answer: Because they taste funny.

Question: What did Kermit the Frog say at Jim Henson's Funeral? Answer: Nothing

Conclusion

Thank you for reading this mini-lesson all the way to the end. We hope you were able to take away something helpful from this lesson on humor. When you are having a conversation with a native English speaker, now you will understand and have the words to call them on it when they are attempting to be funny - and maybe give them a taste of your own humor in return!

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9 Kinds of Humor Explained in English | Go Natural English

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An important part of fluency is being able to read different kinds of humor. Today we are going to look at nine different kinds of humor explained in English. Do you know what it means to be able to read someone's sense of humor?

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https://gonaturalenglish.com/9-kinds-of-humor-explained-in-english/

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An important part of fluency is being able to read different kinds of humor. Today we are going to look at nine different kinds of humor explained in English. Do you know what it means to be able to read someone's sense of humor? When we read someone we are able to understand them, not just their obvious spoken words but everything they might be implying. Humor is subtle. At times it can be hard to catch. Every culture - from family group to a classroom full of like-minded students, a city or perhaps even an entire country full of people might have its own distinctive sense of humor. Just like how different regions around the world have their own unique way of cooking food. We may share some ideas, but each is still so distinct. Have you ever noticed that?

So in the lesson, we are going to talk about the many different kinds of humor found around the world, but using English descriptive words. Many of these you will be familiar with, of course, as a big part of human bonding is the ability to laugh together. This lesson will help increase your vocabulary so that you are able to comfortably discuss humor in English.

Which kind of humor do you find the funniest? Let us know in the comments.

Physical or Slapstick Humor

This is probably the easiest one to explain. It is a physical kind of humor. This means someone is using exaggerated or wild body movements. Usually, there is gags, pranks and practical jokes involved but it always has to do with the body, or comedy around the body behaving oddly. Often times people are getting hurt, maybe they slip and fall, maybe something is falling on them. It can be painful to watch at times and yet it brings out the laughter in us humans.

Some classic examples of this type of humor could be Charlie Chaplin or the Three Stooges. If you ever enjoyed watching "America's Funniest Home Videos" growing up, this is another perfect example. Modern day "GIFs" can sometimes capture this style of humor.

Examples:

Self-Deprecating Humor

When someone is a master (or really good) at self-deprecating humor it means they are good at putting themselves down or making fun of themselves on purpose to amuse others. It is done in a way that makes everyone laugh rather than feel bad for them. Self-deprecating humor makes people feel comfortable because the person seems real and humble and able to make themselves vulnerable enough to laugh at themselves.

Example:

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, which is a pity because this week the National Association of Beholders wrote to tell me that I've got a face like a rucksack full of dented bells."

Surreal or Absurd Humor

This is the kind of humor one can spot in the story (or movie) "Alice in Wonderland". It takes the world and flips it upside dow. The result is so odd and strange that it ends up being funny - for some!
Sometimes called: weird, odd, offbeat, strange, quirky
Example:

Improvisation or Improv Humor

Improv is a form of live theatre where everything is made up on the spot. It is quite a difficult thing to pull off comedy in the moment or on the spot, but often times that awkwardness is what makes it funny. It generally requires a team of actors working together to build up the comedy. Saturday Night Live is a show that relies heavily on improvisational humor.

"Don't Think Twice" is a recent film all about the improv comedy world. If you are curious, I would recommend checking it out. You can watch the trailer here .

Witty or Dry Humor

Sometimes called: deadpan, highbrow, quippy, repartee (witty conversation), wisecrack, quick, clever, droll, wry, sarcastic

This can often be the most difficult humor to detect. It is an intelligent kind of humor that is the complete opposite of slapstick humor. Witty humor requires your mind to be active and engaged. It may not always be "laugh out loud" funny. In fact, the person who uses dry humor often shows little to no emotion at all. This is why it is often called "deadpan" humor. To have a deadpan face is to have an emotionless face. The way the person appears to be serious is a big part of what makes it funny.
Witty humor sometimes uses → Irony, sarcasm, satire, parody (but not always)
Sarcasm can sometimes be a big part of witty humor. It is a kind of humor that can hurt someone else's feelings when used in a mean way, but when used gently it can be funny without putting someone else down. A lot of sarcasm has to do with your tone of voice used and the use of irony. Let's say you let someone at the office know they left their car lights on and that person barks back at you "Perfect, just what I needed to hear on this wonderful day". They are using sarcasm to let you know they are having a really bad day. It doesn't mean they are upset with you, it just means they are actually not having much of a wonderful day at all. Sarcasm is not common everywhere in the world but it is very common in North America. If you hear someone using sarcasm, please don't take it personally as it is not about you and more about that person's personality.

Example of witty humor using irony and sarcasm:

" Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go."

- Oscar Wilde

Wordplay Humor or Puns
Sometimes called: "Dad jokes", play on words
Wordplay Humor sometimes uses → "puns, phonetic mix-ups such as spoonerisms, obscure words and meanings, clever rhetorical excursions, oddly formed sentences, double entendres, and telling character names" (from Wikipedia). Sometimes Wikipedia just has the all the right words and so we are just going to quote them on the subject.

Example:

I feel that Gabby explained it best! We all love to hear Gabby tell a great joke, right?

This is the type of humor most often used by stand up comedians. They find the bits of humor in examining our day to day lives. Let me share a little clip from the comedian Jim Gaffigan, explaining what life is like for all the McDonald's Lovers out there.

Potty Humor
Sometimes called: Juvenile humor, gag jokes, toilet humor
I am not sure if much needs to be said about this one.

Dark Humor
Other words to describe it: grim, black, bitter amusement, grotesque, or sick humor
Some people find humor in places that are dark or unpleasant. A "dark" topic would be death, for example. This is the type of humor most likely to offend others and so it is best tested on your friends who love you unconditionally. Have you ever played the card game "Cards Against Humanity"? It is a perfect example of what a dark sense of humor revels in. Nothing is "off the table" (not available) when it comes to this sense of humor.

Examples:

Question: Why don't cannibals eat clowns? Answer: Because they taste funny.

Question: What did Kermit the Frog say at Jim Henson's Funeral? Answer: Nothing

Conclusion

Thank you for reading this mini-lesson all the way to the end. We hope you were able to take away something helpful from this lesson on humor. When you are having a conversation with a native English speaker, now you will understand and have the words to call them on it when they are attempting to be funny - and maybe give them a taste of your own humor in return!

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9 Kinds of Humor Explained in English | Go Natural English

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An important part of fluency is being able to read different kinds of humor. Today we are going to look at nine different kinds of humor explained in English. Do you know what it means to be able to read someone's sense of humor?

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Writers Write is a comprehensive writing resource. We have put together this list of 155 words to help you describe an author's tone.

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Feature Article: Feature articles cover a topic or person in greater depth than straight news articles. They also offer writers more freedom to use storytelling techniques or literary devices, and they are often accompanied by visual aids such as photographs, illustrations, or some other type of graphic.

Straight News Article: Straight news articles provide basic information to readers (the who, what, where, when, why, and how) on current events. They typically follow an inverted pyramid structure, with information presented in descending order of importance.

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Aristotle's "modes for persuasion" - otherwise known as rhetorical appeals

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A rhetorical device is a linguistic tool that employs a particular type of sentence structure, sound, or pattern of meaning in order to evoke a particular reaction from an audience. Each rhetorical device is a distinct tool that can be used to construct an argument or make an existing argument more compelling.

Any time you try to inform, persuade, or argue with someone, you're engaging in rhetoric. If you've ever had an emotional reaction to a speech or changed your mind about an issue after hearing a skilled debater's rebuttal, you've experienced the power of rhetoric. By developing a basic knowledge of rhetorical devices, you can improve your ability to process and convey information while also strengthening your persuasive skills.

Types of Rhetorical Devices

Rhetorical devices are loosely organized into the following four categories:

Logos. Devices in this category seek to convince and persuade via logic and reason, and will usually make use of statistics, cited facts, and statements by authorities to make their point and persuade the listener.

Pathos. These rhetorical devices base their appeal in emotion. This could mean invoking sympathy or pity in the listener, or making the audience angry in the service of inspiring action or changing their mind about something.

Ethos. Ethical appeals try to convince the audience that the speaker is a credible source, that their words have weight and must be taken seriously because they are serious and have the experience and judgment necessary to decide what's right.

Kairos. This is one of the most difficult concepts in rhetoric; devices in this category are dependent on the idea that the time has come for a particular idea or action. The very timeliness of the idea is part of the argument.

Top Rhetorical Devices

Since rhetoric dates back to ancient times, much of the terminology used to discuss it comes from the original Greek. Despite its ancient origins, however, rhetoric is as vital as ever. The following list contains some of the most important rhetorical devices to understand:

Alliteration, a sonic device, is the repetition of the initial sound of each word (e.g. Alan the antelope ate asparagus).

Cacophony, a sonic device, is the combination of consonant sounds to create a displeasing effect.

Onomatopoeia, a sonic device, refers to a word that emulates the real-life sound it signifies (e.g. using the word "bang" to signify an explosion).

Humor creates connection and identification with audience members, thus increasing the likelihood that they will agree with the speaker. Humor can also be used to deflate counter-arguments and make opposing points of view appear ridiculous.

Anaphora is the repetition of certain words or phrases at the beginning of sentences to increase the power of a sentiment. Perhaps the best-known example of anaphora is Martin Luther King Jr.'s repetition of the phrase "I have a dream."

Meiosis is a type of euphemism that intentionally understates the size or importance of its subject. It can be used to dismiss or diminish a debate opponent's argument.

Hyperbole is an exaggerated statement that conveys emotion and raises the bar for other speakers. Once you make a hyperbolic statement like "My idea is going to change the world," other speakers will have to respond in kind or their more measured words may seem dull and uninspiring in comparison.

Apophasis is the verbal strategy of bringing up a subject by denying that that very subject should be brought up at all.

Anacoluthon is a sudden swerve into a seemingly unrelated idea in the middle of a sentence. It can seem like a grammatical mistake if handled poorly, but it can also put powerful stress onto the idea being expressed.

Chiasmus is a technique wherein the speaker inverts the order of a phrase in order to create a pretty and powerful sentence. The best example comes from President John F. Kennedy's inaugural address: "Ask not what your country can do for you- ask what you can do for your country."

Anadiplosis is the use of the same word at the end of one sentence and at the beginning of the subsequent sentence, forming a chain of thought that carries your audience to the point you've chosen.

Dialogismus refers to moments when the speaker imagines what someone else is thinking, or speaks in the voice of someone else, in order to explain and then subvert or undermine counterpoints to the original argument.

Eutrepismus, one of the most common rhetorical devices, is simply the act of stating points in the form of a numbered list. Why is it useful? First off, this devices makes information seem official and authoritative. Second, it gives speech a sense of order and clarity. And third, it helps the listener keep track of the speaker's points.

Hypophora is the trick of posing a question and then immediately supplying the answer. Do you know why hypophora is useful? It's useful because it stimulates listener interest and creates a clear transition point in the speech.

Expeditio is the trick of listing a series of possibilities and then explaining why all but one of those possibilities are non-starters. This device makes it seem as though all choices have been considered, when in fact you've been steering your audience towards the one choice you desired all along.

Antiphrasis is another word for irony. Antiphrasis refers to a statement whose actual meaning is the opposite of the literal meaning of the words within it.

Asterismos. Look, this is the technique of inserting a useless but attention-grabbing word in front of your sentence in order to grab the audience's attention. It's useful if you think your listeners are getting a bit bored and restless.

Examples of Rhetorical Devices

Rhetoric isn't just for debates and arguments. These devices are used in everyday speech, fiction and screenwriting, legal arguments, and more. Consider these famous examples and their impact on their audience.

"Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering." -Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.
Rhetorical Device: Anadiplosis. The pairs of words at the beginning and ending of each sentence give the impression that the logic invoked is unassailable and perfectly assembled.

"Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." -President John F. Kennedy.
Rhetorical Device: Chiasmus. The inversion of the phrase can do and the word country creates a sense of balance in the sentence that reinforces the sense of correctness.

"I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent's youth and inexperience." -President Ronald Reagan
Rhetorical Device: Apophasis. In this quip from a presidential debate, Reagan expresses mock reluctance to comment on his opponent's age, which ultimately does the job of raising the point of his opponent's age.

"But in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground." -Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address.
Rhetorical Device: Anaphora. Lincoln's use of repetition gives his words a sense of rhythm that emphasizes his message. This is also an example of kairos: Lincoln senses that the public has a need to justify the slaughter of the Civil War, and thus decides to make this statement appealing to the higher purpose of abolishing slavery.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I've been to Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and I can say without hyperbole that this is a million times worse than all of them put together." -The Simpsons.
Rhetorical Device: Hyperbole. Here, hyperbole is used to humorous effect in order to undermine the superficial point of the sentence.

Rhetoric. The discipline of discourse and persuasion via verbal argument.

Rhetorical Device. A tool used in the course of rhetoric, employing specific sentence structure, sounds, and imagery to attain a desired response.

Logos. The category of rhetorical devices that appeal to logic and reason.

Pathos. The category of rhetorical devices that appeal to emotions.

Ethos. The category of rhetorical devices that appeals to a sense of credibility.

Kairos. The concept of "right place, right time" in rhetoric, wherein a specific rhetorical device becomes effective because of circumstances surrounding its use.

"16 Rhetorical Devices That Will Improve Your Public Speaking." Duarte, 19 Mar. 2018, www.duarte.com/presentation-skills-resources/rhetoric-isnt-a-bad-thing-16-rhetorical-devices-regularly-used-by-steve-jobs/.

Home - Ethos, Pathos, and Logos, the Modes of Persuasion ‒ Explanation and Examples, pathosethoslogos.com/.

McKean, Erin. "Rhetorical Devices." Boston.com, The Boston Globe, 23 Jan. 2011, archive.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2011/01/23/rhetorical_devices/.

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Rhetorical Devices: What They Are and How to Use Them

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Rhetorical devices are tools you can use when constructing arguments and speeches. This list contains important rhetorical devices with examples.

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Analyzing Political Cartoons

Political cartoons: Pictures with a point

A political cartoon is a cartoon that makes a point about a political issue or event. You can find them in any daily newspaper, but they won't be in the comics section. Instead, look on the editorial pages - they're right next to the editorial columns, and across from the opinion essays. You can also find them in newsmagazines and on political Web sites. Political cartoons can be very funny, especially if you understand the issue that they're commenting on. Their main purpose, though, is not to amuse you but to persuade you. A good political cartoon makes you think about current events, but it also tries to sway your opinion toward the cartoonist's point of view. The best political cartoonist can change your mind on an issue without you even realizing how he or she did it.

Cartoonists' persuasive techniques

Cartoonists use several methods, or techniques, to get their point across. Not every cartoon includes all of these techniques, but most political cartoons include at least a few. Some of the techniques cartoonists use the most are symbolism, exaggeration, labeling, analogy, and irony. Once you learn to spot these techniques, you'll be able to see the cartoonist's point more clearly. You should also be aware of any political slant, or bias, that he or she might have. When you know where the cartoonist is coming from, it's easier to make up your own mind. You might also start watching out for the persuasive techniques used in other media, such as political ads and TV news programs. There are a lot of people out there trying to change your mind - it's a good idea to be aware of how they're doing it.

Persuasive techniques

Symbolism

Cartoonists use simple objects, or symbols, to stand for larger concepts or ideas. After you identify the symbols in a cartoon, think about what the cartoonist intends each symbol to stand for.

Exaggeration

Sometimes cartoonists overdo, or exaggerate, the physical characteristics of people or things in order to make a point. When you study a cartoon, look for any characteristics that seem overdone or overblown. (Facial characteristics and clothing are some of the most commonly exaggerated characteristics.) Then, try to decide what point the cartoonist was trying to make through exaggeration.

Labeling

Cartoonists often label objects or people to make it clear exactly what they stand for. Watch out for the different labels that appear in a cartoon, and ask yourself why the cartoonist chose to label that particular person or object. Does the label make the meaning of the object more clear?

Analogy

An analogy is a comparison between two unlike things that share some characteristics. By comparing a complex issue or situation with a more familiar one, cartoonists can help their readers see it in a different light. After you've studied a cartoon for a while, try to decide what the cartoon's main analogy is. What two situations does the cartoon compare? Once you understand the main analogy, decide if this comparison makes the cartoonist's point more clear to you.

Irony

Irony is the difference between the ways things are and the way things should be, or the way things are expected to be. Cartoonists often use irony to express their opinion on an issue. When you look at a cartoon, see if you can find any irony in the situation the cartoon depicts. If you can, think about what point the irony might be intended to emphasize. Does the irony help the cartoonist express his or her opinion more effectively?

Analysis questions

Once you've identified the persuasive techniques that the cartoonist used, ask yourself:

What issue is this political cartoon about?

What is the cartoonist's opinion on this issue?

What other opinion can you imagine another person having on this issue?

Did you find this cartoon persuasive? Why or why not?

What other techniques could the cartoonist have used to make this cartoon more persuasive?

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Analyzing Political Cartoons A political cartoon is a cartoon that makes a point about a political issue or event. You can find them in any daily newspaper, but they won't be in the comics section. Instead, look on the editorial pages - they're right next to the editorial columns, and across from the opinion essays.

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Having the right elements for your design is only half of the journey to creating an awesome visual. Now comes the part where you put everything together to create a harmonious combination of shapes, colors and typography.

Even as a non-designer, you've recognized the difference between awkward-looking visuals that make you think "something just doesn't feel right" and content that is so pleasing to the eye that it draws you in and compels you to look more closely at its different elements.

In this post, we'll go over some of the ways you can apply basic composition rules to create more effective, professional-looking visual content, even without a design background.

1 Create a focal point.

One of the most apparent marks of an effective design is the way it draws your gaze to a central focal point.

Just like with any other form of communication, every design must have a core message and a clear goal. This can't be achieved, however, if the viewer doesn't know where to look first because there is no one thing that stands out.

For example, take a look at the two images above. What makes them effective pieces of visual communication is the fact that both of them have focal points created with dominant elements. Some of the different characteristics you can vary to create dominance in a design include:

In the case of the poster to the left, the size of the central image and intertwined letters is bigger in comparison with the rest of the objects, which helps to create a central, dominant element.

Its contrast with the dark background, along with the illusion of depth and the lines leading up to it, cause our eyes to immediately hone in on this part of the poster.

The poster on the right also draws viewers' eyes to a clear focal point. In this case, our gaze is instantly placed on the face of the girl lying down on the floor.

Besides the contrast created by the green shirt over a muted background, the pattern of the pavement and the caped woman's arm both create implied lines that lead viewers to focus first on the subject's face.

2 Create visual hierarchy.

The goal of a good visual design is to orient viewers' eyes in a specific direction.

The first step to doing this is creating a visual entry point into your design using a focal point, as covered above. Then, you can provide a path for your viewers' eyes to follow by applying other rules, such as visual hierarchy principles, which guide the arrangement of elements in a way that communicates the relative importance of each.

The design on the left, for instance, does just this by varying certain characteristics, such as size, contrast, color, typography and spacing. Even a viewer not trained in graphic design can tell that the most important part of the message is the title "Camp Fair" in large, bold white letters.

The design on the right achieves the same effect by applying the same visual hierarchy principles. When you first look at it, your eyes most likely follow this same path from the most important element to the least: 1) The title; 2) The man below the words; 3) The woman next to the man; 4) The number "800"; 5) And then the text to the bottom right of the page spread.

3 Use leading lines.

Another effective technique for creating a visual journey with your design is to use what are called leading lines.

Either implied by the natural shape of objects (such as the woman's arm reaching out in the first example above) or explicit through the use of actual lines, leading lines are used to direct readers' eyes to other elements on a page.

A perfect example is the design to the left, which uses this technique to first draw attention to the focal point ("unspooling") and then orient the eyes toward the information on each of the different lines; first the list of names in yellow, then the words in red, and so on.

While the image on the right is not as eye-catching as the first, it also uses leading lines to orient the gaze toward the focal point. In this case, the leading lines are implied by the shape of the piano and the elongated stems of the flowers over the piano cover.

4 Scale elements to create effects.

Another way to indicate the relative importance of elements is to adjust their scale. For example, the most important elements are usually larger and more prominent than less important ones. In this way, scale is used to establish the dominance or visual weight of an object.

In an effective design, all elements shouldn't have the same visual weight; if so, they would all be competing for attention and the viewer wouldn't know where to look first.

The poster to the left, for instance, uses an oversized element to create a dramatic effect and quickly draw attention to a clear focal point.

The one to the right uses the same technique, but in this case it is used to emphasize the relative smallness of the bird in relation to the owl. The leading lines implied by the shadows also lead us to look from the owl to the bird and then back to the owl again.

5 Balance your elements.

In most cases, you will want to achieve a balanced design in order to create visual harmony. But what exactly does "balance" mean in the context of graphic design?

According to Smashing Magazine, the concept of visual balance can be compared to balance in the physical world. Just as the scene of one very small person and another very large one sitting at opposite extremes of a perfectly balanced seesaw would throw off most viewers (as this would be physically impossible), so would an unbalanced design.

Like in the real world, each element carries a visual weight determined by its size, color and shape, among other things. For example, a large circle would have greater visual weight than a small one; or a highly textured object would have more weight than a flatter element.

Just like you would try to balance physical objects on a seesaw (by perhaps having the larger person move toward the center), so would you adjust the placement of visual elements on a page to achieve balance in a design.

Knowing this, you can achieve balance in a design either through the use of symmetry or asymmetry. While the first is often regarded as harmonious and balanced, it can also be perceived as boring due to its static nature. Asymmetry, on the other hand, is not conventionally seen as appealing but can be interpreted as dynamic and stimulating.

Take a look, for example, at the design on the left. Although asymmetrical, with most of the elements placed to the lower right of the poster, it is balanced out by the illustration, which carries significant visual weight due to its contrast with the dark background image.

Or, consider the poster on the right. It is mostly a symmetrical design that, although static and simple, is captivating due to the dramatic effect created by the contrast of the orange against the background and the effective use of negative space.

6 Use contrast to send a message.

Contrast is one of the most effective tools for making certain elements in your design stand out. As human beings, one of the first things our eyes notice is difference, whether this be a difference in color, shape, texture, size or position, among other things.

By nature, we tend to group similar objects together and differentiate between those that are dissimilar. Take, for example, the poster on the left. Our eyes are immediately drawn first to the object that stands out the most: the yellow rectangle and the words contained within it. Our gaze then moves on to the subject's face, the title and then the surrounding text.

In the second poster, we see the same effect. Color is used to create contrast and thereby draw attention first to the subject's head and then down to his feet and the textual message.

7 Create a cohesive design.

To create a well-composed visual, you also want to tie elements together to form a whole. By using complementary elements throughout, you can achieve a sense of unity and cohesion.

The poster to the left, for example, effectively creates a unified whole by using a running theme that acts as the invisible thread that pulls the design together. In this case, this unifying theme is the use of shapes to create perspective, both in the text and the three-dimensional mountain scene composed entirely of simple triangles of different shades and colors.

The same goes for the design on the right. Throughout the visual, the same white flat icons are used against a vibrant and colorful background.

8 Use repeated elements.

Another way to achieve a cohesive design is to repeat certain elements. This way, the viewer recognizes a visual pattern and knows what to expect next, especially when creating a multi-page design.

In this magazine spread, for example, the same 90-degree triangles are seen on several pages, along with the same typefaces and geometric elements such as circles and hexagons.

The color orange is also consistently used throughout, although the final two-page spread introduces a new yellow and black color combination that might throw the viewer off a bit.

9 Effectively use negative space.

You've probably heard this before, but negative space (or white space) is just as important to your design as the positive elements. It has many functions within a visual: It lets the readers' eyes rest; it gives room for visual pathways that the eye can follow; it draws attention to the main elements of your design; and it makes your design look clean, sophisticated and efficient.

Just look at how the design to the left creatively blends in negative space with positive elements, drawing attention first to the colorful skyline, then to the buildings and rain, down to the lone man with the umbrella.

Or, consider the example to the right which uses a significant amount of negative space to create a sense of drama and suspense. Also, it is useful for highlighting the smallness of a cottage in the middle of a vast and barren setting.

10 Use grids to align your elements.

One way to ensure that your design doesn't look disorganized and unprofessional is to use grids to align your elements. (You can learn how to use grids within Visme here.)

Look at how these two posters use the same grid layout to properly place elements in a harmonious and visually appealing manner. Since the layout has already been predetermined, it makes the work of composing your design a whole lot easier.

So, instead of simply eyeballing the placement of your elements, try to use a grid to make your designs look more organized and balanced. They can also help you identify your focal points and lay out the visual path you want viewers' eyes to take.

11 Follow the rule of thirds.

Finally, there's the very important rule of thirds, which you can follow by simply dividing your canvas area into thirds, both horizontally and vertically, as seen above. According to this simple principle, your focal points should lie at the intersections of these lines.

Although not a principle that must be followed for each and every design, the rule of thirds is helpful for creating dynamic designs that are not completely centered and symmetrical.

Also related to the rule of thirds is the Fibonacci sequence. When expressed as a rectangle, it produces a golden spiral seen in many well-known artistic pieces, as well as in nature, from hurricanes to flower petals.

When you overlay the Fibonacci spiral on the two posters above, you see that both have elements placed in accordance with this golden ratio and have focal points at the intersection of an invisible grid of thirds.

How have you applied these composition rules to create better designs? We would love to hear your comments and questions. Or, if you would like to share your project with us, don't hesitate to drop us a line in the comments section below.

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11 Rules of Composition for Non-Designers

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Having the right elements for your design is only half of the journey to creating an awesome visual. Now comes the part where you put everything together to create a harmonious combination of shapes, colors and typography.

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Looking for a comprehensive list of film techniques and a breakdown of how they create meaning? Well, this is it. In this searchable guide, you'll find all the important film techniques you need to discuss in your essays.

All about the Ultimate Film Techniques List

Films take us on journeys; we become immersed in worlds beyond our own. The best films lead us to ask questions about our world as well as ourselves. However, sometimes it can be difficult to translate our reactions to film into meaningful English analysis.

We've put this list together to help you make sense of these choices and analyse films more effectively.

When filmmakers construct their films, they combine multiple techniques together to develop meaning. Film combines visual elements with auditory elements to develop meaning.

To understand how the various techniques combine to create meaning, watch the following video we have put together that lists the techniques employed in various film scenes.

Film Techniques Toolkit from Matrix Education on Vimeo

The list below provides some of the key film techniques for writing about cinematic texts.

Ultimate Film Techniques List

There are a huge number of techniques that are used in films to convey meaning. Below are some of the must-know techniques that are included in the glossaries of Matrix English Theory Books.

Camera angles refer to the tilt of the camera in relation to the scene and the characters. Unusual camera angles can emphasise an action sequence, disorientate the audience, and suggest the relationship between characters.

The main angles are:

Low - Establishes the power of the character or object

Eye-Level - Allows the audience to get personal with the character(s)

High - Presents the subject as vulnerable or lacking in power

Worm's Eye - Presents the figure as very large and/or powerful

Canted (also known as a Dutch Angle)- Develops psychological unease or tension.

Bird's Eye - Often used to establish a shot and characters' relationship to it

2. Bridging Shot

A shot that marks the passage of time in a film. This is sometimes a series of newspaper headlines, a calendar, tress going through seasonal changes, or the hands turning on a clock.

This bridging shot marks the passing of evening. Note the fast turning of the clock hands and rapid melting of the candle.

Colour, especially the choice of colour palette or scheme, can reflect the mood of the piece. Colour in a scene can also be enhanced through lighting.

For example, in The Great Gatsby (2013), the use of a vibrant colour scheme reflects the opulent lifestyle of New York elites in the 1920s.

You can learn more about colour symbolism at Studio Binder.

4. Cucoloris

Cucoloris is a lighting technique where an object is placed between the light source and the subject in order to create a patterned shadow. A staple of film noir.

5. Cross-Cutting

Cross-cutting is an editing technique where actions are established as occurring at the same time. The camera will cut away from one action to another action elsewhere to suggest these things are occurring at the same moment.

Cross cutting is used in Christopher Nolan's Inception (2010) to build tension in a crucial action scene.

6. Dialogue

A conversation between two characters is called dialogue. Written by scriptwriters to convey the film's plot, dialogue is also useful in conveying character.

7. Dissolve

A transition that moves between one shot and another by overlaying one shot and fading the first image out while strengthening the second shot. This can denote daydreams, memories, the passing of time, or signify phone conversations and long-distance communication.

Consider this example from Paul Thomas Anderson's Inherent Vice (2014):

In this dissolve, we are taken to one of Larry "Doc" Sportello's memories that are triggered during a phone call.

8. Dolly Shot

A dolly is a wheeled cart that the camera and operator are seated on. A dolly shot is a shot where the dolly is pushed along to move with the action. This is similar to a tracking shot, but without the tracks so that the camera can have a broader range of motion.

The video below discusses the difference between dolly shots and zooms and how they can be used (or even combined) to create effects and meaning.

9. Editing Sequence

The order of each shot and how they have been put together to create a scene. This is usually based upon the storyboard used by the director.

However, some directors such as Werner Herzog refused to use storyboards, and shoot many scenes which they edit together by trial and error.

10. Editing Wipes

In editing, wipes are used to transition between scenes in a variety of ways rather than just cutting. Types of wipes include:

Horizontal wipe - the wipe moves horizontally across the screen

Vertical wipe - The wipe moves vertically across the screen

Diagonal wipe - The wipe moves diagonally across the screen

Star wipe - The wipe is the shape of an expanding star to demonstrate something special happening

Heart Wipe - The wipe takes the shape of a heart expanding or contracting to illustrate romance or friendship

Clock Wipe - The wipe is a circular motion like a clock arm to illustrate the passage of time

Matrix wipe - a patterned transition between scenes

In this scene of Mark Waters' Mean Girls (2004), we see a horizontal wipe being used to draw emphasis to Karen's appalled facial expression.

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11. Establishing Shot

A type of extreme long-shot that establish the context - time and setting - of a scene or film. Often establishing shots use famous landmarks or places, like the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

12. Eyeline Match

A type of cut where the shot of a character looking at something cuts to a shot of the thing they were looking at the same level. This type of cut is used to show the audience what they were looking at.

It's used in Stephen Daldry's The Hours (2003) to capture Clarissa's fearful expression as she watches Richard perched on the window sill.

13. Fade In/Out

An editing technique where the shot fades out from one shot going to black before fading into a new shot.

This scene from Mark Waters' Mean Girls (2004) fades out, as Cady processes how Regina was just hit by a bus.

14. Flashback

Images that refer to previous events in the characters` lives. Flashbacks can be used to foreshadow future events.

15. Intertitle

Text which is printed on a background and placed between filmed scenes through editing. In silent films, intertitles can convey dialogue and exposition.

16. Iris

Similar to other editing wipes, this is a type of transition where the screen irises closed around a particular thing on screen. These can be used to signify daydreams, provide a dramatic transition, or signify the end of a scene.

17. Jump Cut

A cut that moves fractionally forward in time. These shots focus on the same subject but either use a different angle or have the subject in a different position to illustrate that time has moved forward in time. Jump cuts are usually used to show time passing forward.

Below is an instance of jump cuts in Frank Oz's Little Shop of Horrors (1987).

Lighting contributes to the mood of a film and suggests interpretations of a character. Are they good? Are they nefarious?

Low key lighting emphasises the shadows in a shot, while lighting from above or below can suggest that a character possesses sinister qualities.

19. Long Take

Also called a sequence shot (and occasionally referred to as a one-shot)

20. Match Cut

Jumps from one shot to another similar shot that matches the composition of the first shot.

Here's an example of a match cut in the opening of Taylor Swift's Style music video.

21. Mise en scène

Mise en scène translates as 'what is put into a scene'. This French expression refers to the composition of a scene, including placement of characters, costume, make- up and setting.

22. Montage

A montage is a type of editing sequence where a series of shots play rapidly to create a narrative. Often a montage will be accompanied by a unifying piece of music to convey the dominant mood connected with the sequence.

Animated GIF: A montage from Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1927)

23. Mood

Mood refers to the feelings suggested by the combination of all the elements on the screen and the accompanying sound. Another way to refer to the mood is to discuss atmosphere.

Music can convey the theme, mood and atmosphere. There are different types of music in films.

The score is extra-diegetic music composed for the film, designed to evoke the film's desired mood for the audience.

Music heard by the characters in the film is called diegetic music.

25. Over the Shoulder (OTS)

A type of sequence shot or tracking shot where the camera follows a character by following them and shooting over their shoulder. Like a Point of View shot, an over the shoulder shot focalises (that is, focuses in on) on the characters experience.

Stephen Daldry's The Hours (2003) utilises an over the shoulder shot of Virginia frustratedly speaking to Leonard.

26. One-Shot

Also referred to as a or Sequence Shot. A one-shot is actually a type of long-take or sequence shot where the effect of being one shot is created through editing. For example, Alejandro G. Iñárritu's 2014 film, Birdman uses careful editing to give the appearance of a single take.

In some cases, a one-shot is used to refer to whole films made in one take, such as the 2015 film German film, Victoria.

27. Panning Shot

A shot where the camera swivels horizontally around a fixed point to follow the subject.

A panning shot is used in Amy Heckerling's Clueless (1995) to show Cher chasing her father around the kitchen to give him a glass of orange juice.

28. Point Of View Shot (POV)

A shot that is taken from a character's point of view, like a first-person video game. Point of View shots focalise (that is, focus in on) a character's experience.

29. Rack Shot

A shot where the camera shifts the focus while holding the same shot to bring another object into focus. Rack shots change the depth of the shot.

The example below is from the TV series Sherlock. In it, the focus shifts from Sherlock to Watson.

Animated GIF: In this rack shot, the focus shifts from Sherlock in the foreground to Watson in the background.

30. Scene

A unit of narrative used to divide up a dramatic text or film. A scene usually takes place in a single location and focuses on a single action in one moment of varying length.

31. Setting

The place where the action of the film occurs.

32. Sequence Shot

A sequence shot is a single long take shows a series of actions happening one after another within the same shot. Sequence shots are occasionally called long takes and one-shots. Sequence shots are very hard to do and can develop quite a lot of meaning.

A famous example is Martin Scorses's Copacabana shot from his 1990 film, Goodfellas.

This shot illustrates the Henry Hills' wealth and connections while he shows off to his date. This take combines over the shoulder and point of view perspectives.

33. Shot Type

Shot types indicate how close or far the camera is from the characters. Shot types range from Extreme Long Shot (XLS), where the characters may be very small and embedded in a landscape, to Extreme Close Up (XCU), where part of the character's face makes up the whole shot.

The shots are:

Extreme Long Shot (XLS)

Long Shot (LS)

Medium Long Shot (MLS)

Medium Shot (MS)

Medium Close Up (MCU)

Close Up (CU)

Super Close Up (SCU)

Extreme Close Up (XCU)

Image: Examples of various shot types

34. Sound

The sound of a film helps to create atmosphere - this can include:

Like music, sound can be divided into:

Diegetic: occurring in the world of the film

Extra-diegetic (occurring outside the world of the film)

An object used to suggest ideas in addition to, or beyond, their literal sense. For example, the glass slipper in Cinderella symbolises the opportunity that Cinderella has to live a different life. Watch films carefully to spot symbols and their potential meaning to the plot. If a symbol recurs throughout the film it is a motif.

Animated GIF: This GIF is from Sam Mendes' American Beauty (1999). The dancing plastic bag symbolises how beauty is found in things that are often discarded. The bag is rubbish to many, but its dance in the wind is beautiful.

36. Steady Cam

A type of camera that is used in action sequences. A steady cam rig allows the camera to be worn by the operator so they can follow an action sequence without the shot become overly jerky.

This video shows examples of shots taken with the steady cam, explained from the perspective of a steady cam operator.

37. Transitions

A way to transition between shots. Transitions involve cuts, fades, and wipes (see above for specific definitions).

This is a good video that explains these various techniques.

38. Tilt

When the camera tilts in shot to show the subject away from the horizontal axis.

Example: A tilt shot of Captain America

39. Title Card

40. Tracking Shot

A shot that follows a subject as they move.

In Jane Campion's Bright Star (2009), a tracking shot of Brawne is used to capture her grieving reaction to Keats' death.

41. Two Shot

A shot that features two characters and is used to establish or develop their relationship.

42. Zoom

The camera zooms in or out to focus on an object or to show how far away it is. Zooms can be used for dramatic effect or can be used to show objects in relation to each other for scale.

See Dolly Shot above for a video discussing the difference between Zooms and Dolly shots.

Thanks for reading the Ultimate Film Techniques List

We hope you found this ultimate film techniques list useful. Don't forget to check the individual articles to broaden your knowledge of film like Matrix students do.

© Matrix Education and www.matrix.edu.au, 2023. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site's author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Matrix Education and www.matrix.edu.au with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

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The Ultimate Film Techniques List [2022 UPDATE]

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In this Guide, we give you the ultimate film techniques list to help you identify and analyse your set films. 2022 Update.

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A figure of speech is a rhetorical device that achieves a special effect by using words in a distinctive way. Though there are hundreds of figures of speech, here we'll focus on 20 top examples.

You'll probably remember many of these terms from your English classes. Figurative language is often associated with literature and with poetry in particular. Whether we're conscious of it or not, we use figures of speech every day in our own writing and conversations.

For example, common expressions such as "falling in love," "racking our brains," and "climbing the ladder of success" are all metaphors-the most pervasive figure of all. Likewise, we rely on similes when making explicit comparisons ("light as a feather") and hyperbole to emphasize a point ("I'm starving!").

Did You Know?

Using original figures of speech in our writing is a way to convey meanings in fresh, unexpected ways. They can help our readers understand and stay interested in what we have to say.

Alliteration

The repetition of an initial consonant sound.

Example: She sells seashells by the seashore.

The repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or verses.

Example: Unfortunately, I was in the wrong place at the wrong time on the wrong day.

Antithesis

The juxtaposition of contrasting ideas in balanced phrases.

Example: As Abraham Lincoln said, "Folks who have no vices have very few virtues."

Apostrophe

Directly addressing a nonexistent person or an inanimate object as though it were a living being.

Example: "Oh, you stupid car, you never work when I need you to," Bert sighed.

Identity or similarity in sound between internal vowels in neighboring words.

Example: How now, brown cow?

A verbal pattern in which the second half of an expression is balanced against the first but with the parts reversed.

Example: The famous chef said people should live to eat, not eat to live.

The substitution of an inoffensive term for one considered offensively explicit.

Example: "We're teaching our toddler how to go potty," Bob said.

An extravagant statement; the use of exaggerated terms for the purpose of emphasis or heightened effect.

Example: I have a ton of things to do when I get home.

The use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning. Also, a statement or situation where the meaning is contradicted by the appearance or presentation of the idea.

Example: "Oh, I love spending big bucks," said my dad, a notorious penny pincher.

A figure of speech consisting of an understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by negating its opposite.

Example: A million dollars is no small chunk of change.

An implied comparison between two dissimilar things that have something in common.

Example: "All the world's a stage."

A figure of speech in which a word or phrase is substituted for another with which it is closely associated; also, the rhetorical strategy of describing something indirectly by referring to things around it.

Example: "That stuffed suit with the briefcase is a poor excuse for a salesman," the manager said angrily.

Onomatopoeia

The use of words that imitate the sounds associated with the objects or actions they refer to.

Example: The clap of thunder went bang and scared my poor dog.

A figure of speech in which incongruous or contradictory terms appear side by side.

Example: "He popped the jumbo shrimp in his mouth."

A statement that appears to contradict itself.

Example: "This is the beginning of the end," said Eeyore, always the pessimist.

Personification

A figure of speech in which an inanimate object or abstraction is endowed with human qualities or abilities.

Example: That kitchen knife will take a bite out of your hand if you don't handle it safely.

​ A play on words, sometimes on different senses of the same word and sometimes on the similar sense or sound of different words.

Example: Jessie looked up from her breakfast and said, "A boiled egg every morning is hard to beat."

A stated comparison (usually formed with "like" or "as") between two fundamentally dissimilar things that have certain qualities in common.

Example: Roberto was white as a sheet after he walked out of the horror movie.

Synecdoche

A figure of speech in which a part is used to represent the whole.

Example: Tina is learning her ABC's in preschool.

Understatement

A figure of speech in which a writer or speaker deliberately makes a situation seem less important or serious than it is.

Example: "You could say Babe Ruth was a decent ballplayer," the reporter said with a wink.

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Definitions and Examples of the Top 20 Figures of Speech

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A figure of speech is a rhetorical device that achieves a special effect by using words in a distinctive way. Though there are hundreds of figures of speech, here we'll focus on 20 top examples. You'll probably remember many of these terms from your English classes.

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Examples of rhetorical devices in Steve Jobs' speech

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Examples of rhetorical devices in Steve Jobs' speech

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Ask anyone who the best contemporary speakers are, and there's a pretty good chance they'll rank Steve Jobs in the top five.

The late, great mind behind Apple didn't just dream up a company that changed the way humans interact. He was also a visionary and an unparalleled communicator. He knew exactly how to deliver his ideas in a way that moved audiences and left long-lasting impressions.

A number of Jobs' speeches have garnered attention for being stirring, inspirational, and well-written. Jobs' Stanford commencement speech, "Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish," given in 2005, is often cited as one of the most powerful speeches of the last few decades, and one of the best graduation speeches ever given (the video has more than 28.8 million unique views on YouTube.)

There are several reasons that Jobs became such a legendary speaker. First, Jobs wasn't afraid to be theatrical and dramatic. He used props, included shocking statistics and facts, and illustrated his words visually.

Jobs also knew how to structure a presentation-building suspense, keeping listeners engaged, and helping them envision what their future could look like if they embraced his ideas. We at Duarte call that structure a Sparkline.

Finally, Jobs' speeches were so powerful because of the way he used rhetorical devices to deliver his message. Rhetoric-which people sometimes call "the art of language" uses figures of speech and persuasive strategies to elevate language and make it more engaging, memorable, and entertaining.

When used properly, rhetoric can be a powerful tool for crafting speeches that stick. By couching his messages using rhetorical techniques, Jobs was able to deliver ideas that would go on to shape the world.
16 Rhetorical Devices Steve Jobs Used in the Macworld 2007 iPhone Launch
One of Jobs' best speeches was given at Macworld 2007-during the original iPhone launch. In this speech, he announced a new tech device that would change the world forever.

Throughout his talk, he used powerful tricks and tools. He repeated sound bites to make an impression; he showed the audience the new product in order to shock them; and he also painted a picture of the future that got people excited about what was coming.

But what made this speech one of his best was his use of rhetorical techniques, which made the announcement beautiful to listen to and moving to grasp. Take a look at the 16 most brilliant rhetorical devices used by Jobs during the iPhone launch:

Anaphora (means carrying up or back): The repetition of a word of phrase at the beginning of every clause.

"As you know, we've got the iPod, best music player in the world. We've got the iPod Nanos, brand new models, colors are back. We've got the amazing new iPod Shuffle."
-Steve Jobs

Epiphora: The repetition of a word or phrase at the end of every clause.

"Well, these are their home screens. And again, as you recall, this is the iPhone's home screen. This is what their contacts look like. This is what iPhone's contacts look like."

Symploke: The combination of one or several anaphora(s) with one or several epiphora(s).

" In 1984, we introduced the Macintosh, it didn't just change Apple, it changed the whole computer industry. In 2001, we introduced the first iPods, and... it didn't just change the way we all listen to music, It changed the entire music industry."*

*With parallelism and germinatio

Germinatio: The repetition of a word or word group within one sentence.

"That's 58 songs every second of every minute of every hour of every day."

"And so I've got voice mail how I wanna listen to it, when I wanna listen to it, in any order I wanna listen to it with visual voice mail."

Anadiplosis: The repetition of the last word of a sentence that is also the first word of the following sentence or sequence.

"And they garnered two percent market share. Two percent market share. iPod had 62 percent market share, and the rest had 36."

Asyndeton: Sequence or words or similar expression without the use of conjunctions.

"We've got movies, TV shows, music, podcasts, photos."

Polysyndeton: Repetition of conjunctions in a series of coordinated words, phrases, or clauses.

"It's got everything from Cocoa and the graphics and it's got core animation built in and it's got the audio and video that OSX is famous for."

Interrogatio: A rhetorical question in which the answer is self-evident.

"Isn't that incredible?"
"Want to see that again?"
"Pretty cool, huh?"

Exclamatio: An exclamation that expresses the emotional affection of the speaker.

"I just take my unit here, and I turn it landscape mode, oh, look what happens! I'm in cover flow."

"Wha, whoa, what is this?"

Aporia: A feigned statement of doubt by the speaker and a question to the audience about how he should act.

"Now, how are we gonna communicate this? We don't wanna carry around a mouse, right? What are we gonna do?"

Hyperbole: An exaggeration of the characteristics of an object or circumstance.

"Best version of Google Maps on the planet, widgets, and all with Edge and Wi-Fi networking."

Simile: An explicit comparison between two things, usually using "as" or "like".

"It works like magic."

Antitheton: The opposition of two facts of contrasting content.

"The kind of things you would find on a typical phone, but in a very untypical way now."

Metaphor: A comparison made by referring to one thing as another.

"A huge heart transplant to Intel microprocessors."

Climax: The increase from a waker to a stronger expression. Thus, a word sequence is arranged in ascending order.

"First was the mouse. The second was the click wheel. And now, we're gonna bring multi-touch to the market."

Personification: The attribution of human properties toward things or animals.

" It already knows how to power manage....and if there's a new message it will tell me."

Slogans
Mr. Jobs also had specific phrases he wanted to repeat over and over. According to Carmine Gallo, this was all intentional since "reinvent the phone" was in the press release Apple sent out before the keynote.

"Today, Apple is going to reinvent the phone, and here it is."

"So, we're gonna reinvent the phone."

"We wanna reinvent the phone."

"...You'll agree, we have reinvented the phone."

" Today Apple is reinventing the phone."

Blog post inspired by the work of Bernhard Kast.

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16 Rhetorical Devices That Will Improve Your Public Speaking

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Ask anyone who the best contemporary speakers are, and there's a pretty good chance they'll rank Steve Jobs in the top five. The late, great mind behind Apple didn't just dream up a company that changed the way humans interact. He was also a visionary and an unparalleled communicator.

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literary devices refers to the typical structures used by writers in their works to convey his or her messages in a simple manner to the readers. When employed properly, the different literary devices help readers to appreciate, interpret and analyze a literary work. Below is a list of literary devices with detailed definition and examples.

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Literary Devices and Literary Terms - The Complete List

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Browse through our list of literary devices and literary terms with definitions, examples, and usage tips. Explore each device in depth through literature.

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From the “I have a dream” speech to Steve Jobs’ iPhone launch, many great talks have a common structure that helps their message resonate with listeners. In this talk, presentation expert Nancy Duarte shares practical lessons on how to make a powerful call-to-action.

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How to Speak Movie Part 2: Mise en Scène

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Matrix Toolkit

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Looking for a comprehensive list of film techniques and a breakdown of how they create meaning? Well, this is it. In this searchable guide, you'll find all the important film techniques you need to discuss in your essays.

All about the Ultimate Film Techniques List

Films take us on journeys; we become immersed in worlds beyond our own. The best films lead us to ask questions about our world as well as ourselves. However, sometimes it can be difficult to translate our reactions to film into meaningful English analysis.

We've put this list together to help you make sense of these choices and analyse films more effectively.

When filmmakers construct their films, they combine multiple techniques together to develop meaning. Film combines visual elements with auditory elements to develop meaning.

To understand how the various techniques combine to create meaning, watch the following video we have put together that lists the techniques employed in various film scenes.

Film Techniques Toolkit from Matrix Education on Vimeo

The list below provides some of the key film techniques for writing about cinematic texts.

Ultimate Film Techniques List

There are a huge number of techniques that are used in films to convey meaning. Below are some of the must-know techniques that are included in the glossaries of Matrix English Theory Books.

Camera angles refer to the tilt of the camera in relation to the scene and the characters. Unusual camera angles can emphasise an action sequence, disorientate the audience, and suggest the relationship between characters.

The main angles are:

Low - Establishes the power of the character or object

Eye-Level - Allows the audience to get personal with the character(s)

High - Presents the subject as vulnerable or lacking in power

Worm's Eye - Presents the figure as very large and/or powerful

Canted (also known as a Dutch Angle)- Develops psychological unease or tension.

Bird's Eye - Often used to establish a shot and characters' relationship to it

2. Bridging Shot

A shot that marks the passage of time in a film. This is sometimes a series of newspaper headlines, a calendar, tress going through seasonal changes, or the hands turning on a clock.

This bridging shot marks the passing of evening. Note the fast turning of the clock hands and rapid melting of the candle.

Colour, especially the choice of colour palette or scheme, can reflect the mood of the piece. Colour in a scene can also be enhanced through lighting.

For example, in The Great Gatsby (2013), the use of a vibrant colour scheme reflects the opulent lifestyle of New York elites in the 1920s.

You can learn more about colour symbolism at Studio Binder.

4. Cucoloris

Cucoloris is a lighting technique where an object is placed between the light source and the subject in order to create a patterned shadow. A staple of film noir.

5. Cross-Cutting

Cross-cutting is an editing technique where actions are established as occurring at the same time. The camera will cut away from one action to another action elsewhere to suggest these things are occurring at the same moment.

Cross cutting is used in Christopher Nolan's Inception (2010) to build tension in a crucial action scene.

6. Dialogue

A conversation between two characters is called dialogue. Written by scriptwriters to convey the film's plot, dialogue is also useful in conveying character.

7. Dissolve

A transition that moves between one shot and another by overlaying one shot and fading the first image out while strengthening the second shot. This can denote daydreams, memories, the passing of time, or signify phone conversations and long-distance communication.

Consider this example from Paul Thomas Anderson's Inherent Vice (2014):

In this dissolve, we are taken to one of Larry "Doc" Sportello's memories that are triggered during a phone call.

8. Dolly Shot

A dolly is a wheeled cart that the camera and operator are seated on. A dolly shot is a shot where the dolly is pushed along to move with the action. This is similar to a tracking shot, but without the tracks so that the camera can have a broader range of motion.

The video below discusses the difference between dolly shots and zooms and how they can be used (or even combined) to create effects and meaning.

9. Editing Sequence

The order of each shot and how they have been put together to create a scene. This is usually based upon the storyboard used by the director.

However, some directors such as Werner Herzog refused to use storyboards, and shoot many scenes which they edit together by trial and error.

10. Editing Wipes

In editing, wipes are used to transition between scenes in a variety of ways rather than just cutting. Types of wipes include:

Horizontal wipe - the wipe moves horizontally across the screen

Vertical wipe - The wipe moves vertically across the screen

Diagonal wipe - The wipe moves diagonally across the screen

Star wipe - The wipe is the shape of an expanding star to demonstrate something special happening

Heart Wipe - The wipe takes the shape of a heart expanding or contracting to illustrate romance or friendship

Clock Wipe - The wipe is a circular motion like a clock arm to illustrate the passage of time

Matrix wipe - a patterned transition between scenes

In this scene of Mark Waters' Mean Girls (2004), we see a horizontal wipe being used to draw emphasis to Karen's appalled facial expression.

Put your film knowledge into practice!

Studying English shouldn't stop because you're at home! We provide you with clear and structured online lesson videos, quality resources, and forums to ask your Matrix teachers questions and feedback!
Learn more about our Matrix+ Online English course now.
11. Establishing Shot

A type of extreme long-shot that establish the context - time and setting - of a scene or film. Often establishing shots use famous landmarks or places, like the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

12. Eyeline Match

A type of cut where the shot of a character looking at something cuts to a shot of the thing they were looking at the same level. This type of cut is used to show the audience what they were looking at.

It's used in Stephen Daldry's The Hours (2003) to capture Clarissa's fearful expression as she watches Richard perched on the window sill.

13. Fade In/Out

An editing technique where the shot fades out from one shot going to black before fading into a new shot.

This scene from Mark Waters' Mean Girls (2004) fades out, as Cady processes how Regina was just hit by a bus.

14. Flashback

Images that refer to previous events in the characters` lives. Flashbacks can be used to foreshadow future events.

15. Intertitle

Text which is printed on a background and placed between filmed scenes through editing. In silent films, intertitles can convey dialogue and exposition.

16. Iris

Similar to other editing wipes, this is a type of transition where the screen irises closed around a particular thing on screen. These can be used to signify daydreams, provide a dramatic transition, or signify the end of a scene.

17. Jump Cut

A cut that moves fractionally forward in time. These shots focus on the same subject but either use a different angle or have the subject in a different position to illustrate that time has moved forward in time. Jump cuts are usually used to show time passing forward.

Below is an instance of jump cuts in Frank Oz's Little Shop of Horrors (1987).

Lighting contributes to the mood of a film and suggests interpretations of a character. Are they good? Are they nefarious?

Low key lighting emphasises the shadows in a shot, while lighting from above or below can suggest that a character possesses sinister qualities.

19. Long Take

Also called a sequence shot (and occasionally referred to as a one-shot)

20. Match Cut

Jumps from one shot to another similar shot that matches the composition of the first shot.

Here's an example of a match cut in the opening of Taylor Swift's Style music video.

21. Mise en scène

Mise en scène translates as 'what is put into a scene'. This French expression refers to the composition of a scene, including placement of characters, costume, make- up and setting.

22. Montage

A montage is a type of editing sequence where a series of shots play rapidly to create a narrative. Often a montage will be accompanied by a unifying piece of music to convey the dominant mood connected with the sequence.

Animated GIF: A montage from Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1927)

23. Mood

Mood refers to the feelings suggested by the combination of all the elements on the screen and the accompanying sound. Another way to refer to the mood is to discuss atmosphere.

Music can convey the theme, mood and atmosphere. There are different types of music in films.

The score is extra-diegetic music composed for the film, designed to evoke the film's desired mood for the audience.

Music heard by the characters in the film is called diegetic music.

25. Over the Shoulder (OTS)

A type of sequence shot or tracking shot where the camera follows a character by following them and shooting over their shoulder. Like a Point of View shot, an over the shoulder shot focalises (that is, focuses in on) on the characters experience.

Stephen Daldry's The Hours (2003) utilises an over the shoulder shot of Virginia frustratedly speaking to Leonard.

26. One-Shot

Also referred to as a or Sequence Shot. A one-shot is actually a type of long-take or sequence shot where the effect of being one shot is created through editing. For example, Alejandro G. Iñárritu's 2014 film, Birdman uses careful editing to give the appearance of a single take.

In some cases, a one-shot is used to refer to whole films made in one take, such as the 2015 film German film, Victoria.

27. Panning Shot

A shot where the camera swivels horizontally around a fixed point to follow the subject.

A panning shot is used in Amy Heckerling's Clueless (1995) to show Cher chasing her father around the kitchen to give him a glass of orange juice.

28. Point Of View Shot (POV)

A shot that is taken from a character's point of view, like a first-person video game. Point of View shots focalise (that is, focus in on) a character's experience.

29. Rack Shot

A shot where the camera shifts the focus while holding the same shot to bring another object into focus. Rack shots change the depth of the shot.

The example below is from the TV series Sherlock. In it, the focus shifts from Sherlock to Watson.

Animated GIF: In this rack shot, the focus shifts from Sherlock in the foreground to Watson in the background.

30. Scene

A unit of narrative used to divide up a dramatic text or film. A scene usually takes place in a single location and focuses on a single action in one moment of varying length.

31. Setting

The place where the action of the film occurs.

32. Sequence Shot

A sequence shot is a single long take shows a series of actions happening one after another within the same shot. Sequence shots are occasionally called long takes and one-shots. Sequence shots are very hard to do and can develop quite a lot of meaning.

A famous example is Martin Scorses's Copacabana shot from his 1990 film, Goodfellas.

This shot illustrates the Henry Hills' wealth and connections while he shows off to his date. This take combines over the shoulder and point of view perspectives.

33. Shot Type

Shot types indicate how close or far the camera is from the characters. Shot types range from Extreme Long Shot (XLS), where the characters may be very small and embedded in a landscape, to Extreme Close Up (XCU), where part of the character's face makes up the whole shot.

The shots are:

Extreme Long Shot (XLS)

Long Shot (LS)

Medium Long Shot (MLS)

Medium Shot (MS)

Medium Close Up (MCU)

Close Up (CU)

Super Close Up (SCU)

Extreme Close Up (XCU)

Image: Examples of various shot types

34. Sound

The sound of a film helps to create atmosphere - this can include:

Like music, sound can be divided into:

Diegetic: occurring in the world of the film

Extra-diegetic (occurring outside the world of the film)

An object used to suggest ideas in addition to, or beyond, their literal sense. For example, the glass slipper in Cinderella symbolises the opportunity that Cinderella has to live a different life. Watch films carefully to spot symbols and their potential meaning to the plot. If a symbol recurs throughout the film it is a motif.

Animated GIF: This GIF is from Sam Mendes' American Beauty (1999). The dancing plastic bag symbolises how beauty is found in things that are often discarded. The bag is rubbish to many, but its dance in the wind is beautiful.

36. Steady Cam

A type of camera that is used in action sequences. A steady cam rig allows the camera to be worn by the operator so they can follow an action sequence without the shot become overly jerky.

This video shows examples of shots taken with the steady cam, explained from the perspective of a steady cam operator.

37. Transitions

A way to transition between shots. Transitions involve cuts, fades, and wipes (see above for specific definitions).

This is a good video that explains these various techniques.

38. Tilt

When the camera tilts in shot to show the subject away from the horizontal axis.

Example: A tilt shot of Captain America

39. Title Card

40. Tracking Shot

A shot that follows a subject as they move.

In Jane Campion's Bright Star (2009), a tracking shot of Brawne is used to capture her grieving reaction to Keats' death.

41. Two Shot

A shot that features two characters and is used to establish or develop their relationship.

42. Zoom

The camera zooms in or out to focus on an object or to show how far away it is. Zooms can be used for dramatic effect or can be used to show objects in relation to each other for scale.

See Dolly Shot above for a video discussing the difference between Zooms and Dolly shots.

Thanks for reading the Ultimate Film Techniques List

We hope you found this ultimate film techniques list useful. Don't forget to check the individual articles to broaden your knowledge of film like Matrix students do.

© Matrix Education and www.matrix.edu.au, 2023. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site's author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Matrix Education and www.matrix.edu.au with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

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The Ultimate Film Techniques List [2022 UPDATE]

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In this Guide, we give you the ultimate film techniques list to help you identify and analyse your set films. 2022 Update.

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Visme

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Video Transcript

Hey everybody, Payman again and I'm here to do another episode of Making Information Beautiful.

Today, I'm gonna talk to you about one of the things that I struggle with a lot in the past and it has to do with pairing fonts, and many designers, beginners or intermediate designers, when they get into a design program be it photoshop, illustrator or tools such as ours, Visme, Prezi and so on, they have a vast array of fonts and they feel they can just like a kid on a candy store. So they just go and try to mix and match all sorts of fonts together.

The problem is that it doesn't work so well. And what I wanna teach you today is there are certain guidelines that you wanna follow that would allow you to pair fonts and actually have a cleaner and a more aesthetic design. So here we go.

1. Type of fonts

Number 1 is the type of fonts. There's actually 2 different types of fonts. There's hundreds of fonts but they fall into 2 categories. One is Serif and another one is San Serif.

Serif fonts and San Serif fonts, what is the difference? Serif fonts have these little teeth there kinda like knobs and in the case of San Serif fonts, they're kinda more of a modern font; they have no edges and no teeth, so a little bit more of a smoother looking.

And so that's what distinguishes most fonts from each other. Those are the 2 types of categories.

Now let's talk about the difference between the Serif and San Serif from aspect of actual fonts. Serif fonts are like Times New Roman, you know there's Georgia and then with San Serif, you have Arial, you have Helvetica, you have Lato and so on.

Now, there's also fonts vs. typefaces. There are hundreds of different fonts but there are also typefaces.

What are typefaces? Typefaces, think of them as a collection of the design. Basically, it's a series of fonts that they kind of have a similar looking feel to them. So in the example over here which you see is there's Verdana and there's also Lato.

So Lato is the font, Verdana is a font, they're 2 different fonts. However, Verdana and Lato, they're actually very similar typefaces.

They have an emulate and similar type of a feel to each other. Now, there's an example behind me and in this case, if you look at it, there's 2 fonts that are paired to each other. There is the header which is in Helvetica, it's a San Serif and in Times New Roman the text below it.

So there is this way which you wanna do is to utilize different typefaces. And this allows you to have a little bit of contrast, a little bit of differentiation, okay?

2. Contrast

Now contrast. Contrast - I've talked about this before and there's a topic that I've just did a few weeks ago, talking about contrast in terms of foreground versus images, text on the front versus in the background as far as images.

So I talked a lot about that and the same thing actually applies in fonts. In fonts you can actually achieve contrast through a few different ways. So you can do that through size, you can have contrast through weight, you can achieve it through spacing, through style and also through color, okay? So there's an example behind me and there's a title, "Let's Change The Way We Design" and there's a body text below it. So I'm gonna show you a few of these different types of contrast that are all applied to this example.

Now, there's a font weight. So the font weight if you look at it, there's a "Let's Change The Way We Design" and it has a bold field to it, the word design is a lighter. There's the same font but it comes in different weights.

So that's one example that you're doing is you're distinguishing the contrast between the title and one word versus the actual rest of the title. Now another one is font sizes. So if you notice the title, the header is actually much larger. So much larger font versus the actual content below it.

And so what you're doing is you're achieving contrast utilizing fonts sizes. It allows you to decide on what you want the audience to focus on. In this case, the majority of focus goes towards the header itself. Now another one is font color. So if you look at here, colors allow you to basically engage your readers and allowed you to emphasize certain elements. So although we have on the header the same font used and although the word design is actually a lighter format, however the color of the "Design" is actually jumping at you, it is kind of engaging you and that's where your eye goes towards. So you can use color to achieve that.

Spacing: Spacing is extremely important as well, we talked about it in design all the time. The use of white space, so in this case by using spacing between the header and the content below it, the body text, you're achieving a certain sense of contrast.

And last but not least is style. So with style, you're talking about the whole mechanism and if you look at this example, it's kind of we're using the modern San Serif typefaces and so what you're getting is a modern feel. You're using this type of typeface to achieve that and then also your eye kind of flows from one point to another.

So if you look at this example, there's a couple of rectangles, green rectangles to the top and bottom and there's also the word Design, so it actually works like a triangle. So your eye goes from one point to another and that's how you're able to achieve that with the use of styles as well.

3. Consistency

And also, let's talk about consistency. So consistency is a key element in font pairing, although I talked about using different typefaces, you also still want to be consistent. And what you want to do is to avoid using multiple different types of fonts with each other. So you want to stick to using like a couple of different fonts. In the example above, we have 3 different types of fonts used.

Sometimes you use many different kinds. You wanna avoid that. What you want to do is to stick with only 2, maybe 3 fonts. So the same content is actually used underneath and in that case you have a header in 1 font style and then we have underneath of it, the body text and another. So you have this contrast and yet it is actually minimal and it has a nice feel to it.

Another one is where the mood of the fonts. Different fonts can actually emulate different moods and in this case what you have is 3-4 different fonts used and each of them has a different mood. That doesn't really go with each other. And so what we want to do instead in this example is we're using the script font with a neutral font. The neutral font can kind of go with any type of font and the script is kinda have the uniqueness in terms of the typeface.

Again, we're pairing 2 fonts and they kind of flow nicely together.
4. Content
Let's talk about content. The content also should drive the type of font that you select, right? It's not so much where we always force to font into the content but also the other way around.

If you look at this example, "Farm Fresh Grapes" and there is a nice image, kind of organic grapes I'm assuming, beautiful, tasty, right behind of it and so the use of the font is actually correlated with the design.

The words, the content and also even the image behind it, there's a certain you know, there's a certain context of the design is achieved through the use of the font.

Another example is this one. There's the word "Good Morning" and if you look at it, it's going with the image behind it. So again what you're doing is you're complimenting using the content, selecting the font and complementing the actual words and this can go with the text and also with the image behind. It's all part of one design.
5. Let's Practice
Now, let's do a practice, alright? I taught you a few different elements about how to pair fonts, a few examples. I wanted to actually do a real practice experiment.

Let's do one together. In this case, I have an example behind me. The background is a little bit blurry, we have kind of a hard to read text, at the same time the header and the body are both in Arial.

Again we're gonna do some font pairing, we're also gonna do a little bit of a design practice to put the fonts together and achieve some spacing, contrast and so on.

All the 5 things I've talked about, we're gonna achieve here.

The first thing that we want to do is that there's high quality background. You want to select the background that goes with the design. The text is kind of hard to read but you know, "Finding Your Brand's Visual Voice".

The images selected behind it, it actually correlates with that. So what you're doing is selecting the image that goes in the background with the text and also it's fitting the content of the text. Now, next thing, let me go over here. Now "Finding Your Brand's Visual Voice", again, what we're doing is using the space wisely.

By using the space in this case, what we're doing is taking the font and we've taken the content and actually put it into a smaller area, it's falling into the second half. And so you have a certain openness and also you have a focal point which in this case is starting to serve as the content area.

Next, what you want to do is to visually separate the text from the background. Again, this goes back to the contrast, what we're doing is very simply putting a shape that is dark, so it allows the white text to stand out, there's a certain level of transparency with that. Now next thing we want to do is to you want to decide what texture attract the attention first. So "Finding Your Brand's Visual Voice", the word "Visual Voice" is one of the focal points here. So what you do is you actually reduce the size of the other text and also the "Visual Voice" is in all caps, so that's kind of standing out. So that's where your attention goes to first.

And the next thing is we've take the text in the last example. If you look at it we've got text that's pretty wide and we want to follow the same scheme and achieve the same padding from the left side. We're gonna actually reduce the font size and also have it in the same parallel and again as a pattern on the left. So what we want to do next is to utilize a script because that will go pretty well with the Sans font for the header.

Now, what we've achieved here is with all these different elements and the balancing, there is a kind of a clean, easy to read typeface set and also we have a kind of a nice hierarchy and balance for the design. And the last but not least is we're adding a line and that just kinda helps to create a bit of an additional visual hierarchy.

This was a good example for you to understand as far as how you could take those you know, guides for combining fonts and utilizing the contrast in terms of the font style, color and so on to achieve a clean harmonious design.

I hope you put a few of these to work and it doesn't matter if you're creating a powerpoint presentation, if you're creating infographics or just a flyer, these guides and these principles are pretty much the same and if you follow them, I promise you you'll have a better end result for your project.

See you guys next time!

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How to Select and Pair Fonts in your Design | Visme

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Video Transcript Hey everybody, Payman again and I'm here to do another episode of Making Information Beautiful.

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OWL Purdue - Font Features

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OWL Purdue

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Visual Rhetoric: Text Elements
Summary:
These resources will help students and teachers better understand the use of visual elements for rhetorical purposes.

Text is so obviously visual that its visual nature and power is often invisible. While it might be interesting to look at the history of typography, or the way type has been transformed by computers, what we really need to do is think about what type does. Let's consider a few examples using some words that are probably unfamiliar < http://www.lipsum.com/> to you so that you can better "see" the type without considering the actual meaning of the words (though we'll talk later about why meaning and visual should and cannot be separated).

Even with just these four type faces, we can see different personalities (however limited), levels of formality, and even hints of the rhetorical concept ethos emerging (one's credibility). Novice designers tend to choose fonts not according to their rhetorical situation, but rather to what they think looks pretty, or cool, or whatever. But it's important to think about the kinds of visual/cultural associations that different fonts bring with them. Here are the same four fonts, with text that appears visually/culturally appropriate:

The first two fonts (Arial and Century Schoolbook, respectively) may not jump out at you as having a whole lot of cultural associations; that's partly by design-the fonts are deliberately nondescript (especially Arial), and thus are used quite commonly. Not so with the fonts used for "Medieval History" (Dauphin) and "Bigfoot Captured!" (Futura Xtra Black Condensed Italic). The "Medieval History" text looks like our cultural conception of Medieval script. That is, the font looks almost like it was hand-written. Likewise, we've all seen tabloid papers in the checkout lanes of the supermarket, announcing in bold, loud text all sorts of incredible news.

Let's look again at a negative example, where these cultural codes are ignored:

Again, the first two examples may not jump out at you. But if "In deepest sympathy" were on the front of a sympathy card, it would seem cold, callous, impersonal. With the "Lafayette Teen Center," that font face may be appropriate in, say, a fundraising drive, but probably not for promotional materials to get teens to come there off of the streets (for that, we'd want a font that was exciting, more youthful in appearance). The "Chemistry Lab Report" example might seem OK at first glance (it's formal, it evokes a sense of history with the word "chemistry"-though chemistry is a relatively young discipline), but it fails rhetorically because it does not acknowledge the expectations of the general audience of chemists or chemistry instructors. Taken in that light, in fact, the text for "Chemistry Lab Report" looks ridiculous. Likewise with "Museum of Natural History"; we still see the tabloid headline in it, as though "Overtaken by Mutants" were the words we'd expect next!

Headline versus Body Text

Keeping in mind the ideas we've already covered, there is an issue of readability involved in font choices. For example, this script font is fine for the following headline text:

However, let's repeat the text from the preceding section in the same font:

Now, that font may be OK if that's all the text there is. But can you imagine reading that for five pages? 25? An entire biology textbook? Absolutely not! This is specifically why we have fonts like Times New Roman or Arial (though there are far better choices, in print, than those): they are comfortable to read for quite awhile; we don't have to strain to read the words.

Text and the Web

When novice designers bring some of their bad font-choice habits to the Web, the results can be disastrous.

First, there is the issue of how fonts get handled on the Web. You may have a computer with hundreds or even thousands of fonts installed on it, and as you're designing for the Web on that computer, it may seem no big deal to use Poster Wangedoodle Medium Xtra Bold, or whatever font it is that you're feeling is appropriate. However, you must realize that not all users have that (and many other fonts) installed on their computers. So stick with the simple standard for HTML text: Arial, Verdana, etc. In certain Web-authoring programs, you can also specify simply San Serif (no ornamentation, like Arial) or Serif (ornamentation, like Times New Roman); in these cases, your Web audience's browser will use a common font on the user's machine.

Second, following directly from the first issue, is screen readability. Some fonts that look awesome in print fail miserably on the screen (and vice-versa; Times New Roman is a great screen font, but doesn't work as well when it's printed). Again, even assuming the compatibility issues we just covered, fonts meant to look like handwritten script become practically illegible. And if the font used on a Web page isn't on the user's computer, they may just get a string of boxes or nonsense characters.

TEXT SUMMARY:
Questions to Consider When Choosing Fonts

What kinds of expectations does my audience have regarding fonts? Are they scholars or soccer fans? Church-goers or movie-goers?

What am I representing in my font choices? Am I a job applicant? A student writing a seminar paper? A club officer making a poster to advertise a formal dinner?

What kind of text am I running in different fonts? Headlines or fine print? Body text or bulleted lists?

What distance is my text being viewed at? On a greeting card or a bumper sticker? A poster or a flyer?

What fonts are commonly available on computers that I can use for the Web? What kinds of alternatives are available for text that cannot be displayed in Web browsers?

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Visual Rhetoric: Text Elements // Purdue Writing Lab

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This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice. Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission.

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