What you need to know

"The author uses imagery to show the theme" says almost nothing, because "uses", "show" and "theme" could describe any text ever written. Precise vocabulary lets you name exactly what a text does, how strongly it does it and with what attitude. Markers notice the difference immediately: the student who writes "the repetition enacts the speaker's paralysis" has analyzed; the student who writes "the repetition shows sadness" has labeled. The tables below group the words you need. Learn them in rows, by the job they do, not as a list.

• Adding and building: moreover, furthermore, in addition, equally, likewise.
• Contrasting: however, whereas, conversely, by contrast, yet, nonetheless.
• Cause and consequence: consequently, therefore, thus, as a result, so that.
• Sequencing an argument: initially, subsequently, ultimately, at the outset, finally.
• Refining: more precisely, in particular, specifically, that is, in other words.
• Conceding: admittedly, although, granted, while it is true that, even so.

Naming tone precisely is one of the fastest ways to lift an answer. "Sad" becomes "elegiac" (mourning something lost), "melancholy" (a gentle, lingering sadness) or "bleak" (without hope), depending on the evidence. Test the word against the text: if the speaker jokes, "bleak" is wrong; if the poem mourns, "wry" is wrong. Two precise tone words supported by quotation are worth more than a paragraph of "the reader feels".

Check yourself

1. Replace the verb with a more precise one: "The speech uses inclusive language to make the audience agree."
2. Choose the better tone word and justify it: "detached" or "sardonic", for a narrator who describes a funeral as "the usual arrangement of flowers and lies".
3. Which connective signals concession? (a) moreover (b) admittedly (c) consequently
4. What is wrong with this sentence? "The composer utilizes a plethora of techniques to portray the theme."
5. Rewrite using a verb from the "tracking change" row: "At the end the poem becomes hopeful."
6. Give one adjective for restrained language and one for ornate language.

Answers: 1. e.g. "The speech's inclusive language aligns the audience with the speaker's cause" (or "positions the audience as allies"). 2. "Sardonic": the pairing of "flowers and lies" mocks the ritual with bitter humor; "detached" would suggest no attitude, but the narrator plainly has one. 3. (b) admittedly. 4. It names no technique, no evidence and no idea; "utilizes", "plethora" and "portray" are inflated versions of "uses", "many" and "show", and "the theme" is unspecified. 5. e.g. "The poem resolves into hope in its final stanza" or "The poem's tone shifts from grief to guarded hope." 6. Restrained: economical, understated, spare. Ornate: lush, elaborate, elevated.