Activity 1.2.2 - Notes (Right)

If several different people were asked to describe pizza, you might expect to get a variety of responses. Even though the subject would be the same, the descriptions might be quite different because each person uses a different voice.

Voice is a result of a writer’s or speaker’s use of language, and it may be so unique that it’s almost like a fingerprint: a sign of the writer’s or speaker’s identity. This fingerprint results from three central aspects of how language is used in the text.

• Diction—Word choice intended to convey a certain effect

• Syntax—Sentence structure; the arrangement of words and the order of

grammatical elements in a sentence

• Imagery—The words or phrases, including specific details and figurative language, that a writer uses to represent persons, objects, actions, feelings, and ideas descriptively by appealing to the senses