SACE Stage 2 Essential English flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Audience and purpose

The intended reader and the main aim of a text. Naming both before analysis guides which language features and structural choices are relevant to discuss.

Inverted pyramid structure

A news-report layout placing the most important information first, then supporting detail, then background. It lets readers stop at any point and still have the key facts.

Tone shift

A change in the writer's attitude toward the subject across a text. Locating the shift identifies the turning point or climax of an argument.

Ethos, pathos, logos

Three persuasive appeals: credibility of the speaker, emotion stirred in the audience, and logical reasoning with evidence. Labelling each appeal helps explain how a text persuades.

Reader positioning

The way language choices steer an audience toward a particular belief, feeling or action. Analysis states the intended position and the technique that creates it.

Evidence hierarchy

A ranking of support strength: direct quotation is strongest, specific paraphrase with a reference is next, general summary is weakest. Responses should quote wherever possible.

Text-type conventions

The expected features of a form, such as a byline in a news report or direct address in a speech. Identifying them shows understanding of how form shapes meaning.

Comparative structure by idea

Organising a comparative response around shared points or techniques rather than dealing with one text then the other. Each paragraph then draws on both texts.

Purpose-audience-form triangle

The three linked decisions behind every created text. Register, structure and vocabulary must all be justified by who will read it and why it is written.

Register

The level of formality in language. Formal writing avoids contractions and slang, while informal or persuasive writing may use them deliberately to build rapport.

Narrative structure

The sequence orientation, complication, climax and resolution. Following this arc gives a short story a clear shape and a purposeful ending.

Persuasive text structure

A hook, a thesis, developed arguments with evidence, a counterargument and a call to action. This order builds agreement before asking the reader to act.

Topic sentence

The sentence stating a paragraph's controlling idea, usually placed first. Every later sentence in the paragraph should develop or support it.

Cohesion devices

Language that links sentences, including pronouns, synonyms, repeated key terms and transitions such as however or therefore. They make a text read as one connected whole.

Sentence variety

Deliberate mixing of sentence lengths and types. Short sentences create impact or tension, while complex sentences carry explanation and qualification.

Separate editing passes

Reviewing a draft in stages: structure first, then paragraph coherence, then grammar and punctuation, then proofreading. Each pass catches errors the others miss.

Turn-taking signals

Cues such as falling intonation, pauses and direct questions that hand over the speaking floor. Recognising them keeps group discussion orderly.

Active listening markers

Behaviours showing engagement, including paraphrasing the previous speaker, asking a clarifying question and referring back to an earlier point by name.

Discussion roles

The functions participants perform: initiating, extending another's idea, challenging, and summarising. A productive discussion uses several roles within a short time.

Disagreement formula

A four-step move: acknowledge the other view, state your differing position, give a reason, then propose a way forward. It keeps disagreement polite and productive.

Signposting

Spoken markers such as first, moving on and to conclude that show the structure of a presentation. They help an audience follow and remember the argument.

Chair role

The participant who manages time, turn order and topic focus in a group discussion. The chair invites contributions and summarises agreements before closing.

Paralinguistic features

Vocal qualities beyond words, including pace, pitch, volume and pause. They carry emphasis and emotion, and monotone delivery reduces audience engagement.

Reflective interaction evaluation

Describing what occurred in a discussion, judging how effective it was, then naming a specific alternative move for next time. The third step turns reflection into improvement.

Technique-effect chain

Naming a technique, quoting the example and explaining its intended effect on the reader. All three parts are needed for a complete analytical statement.

Figurative language

Non-literal expression such as simile, metaphor and personification. It creates comparison and imagery that shape how a reader pictures or feels about a subject.

Sound devices

Features such as alliteration, assonance and onomatopoeia that exploit repeated or imitative sounds. They create rhythm and can reinforce meaning or mood.

Connotation

The judgement or feeling a word carries beyond its literal meaning. Comparing near-synonyms such as thrifty and stingy shows how diction encodes attitude.

Salience

The element a viewer notices first in a visual text, created by size, colour, placement or contrast. Analysts treat salience as a deliberate design choice.

Bias detection

Spotting one-sided evidence, loaded adjectives, omitted counterarguments and unjustified appeals to fear or authority. Naming the specific pattern is stronger than a general claim of bias.

Statistics evaluation

Checking a figure's source, sample and date, and whether a base number is given. A percentage without a base cannot support a claim about scale.

Calibrated judgement

Evaluative wording such as effective, partially convincing or flawed, each backed by a quoted example. Precise judgement language makes an evaluation credible rather than vague.