Diction: a)Word Choice – what specific words does the author use to create analogies, make subtle connections, or offer imagery? Take this line from the Gladwell piece:
“The practice of prying into the minds and habits of American consumers is now a multi-billion dollar business” (94). The word “prying” has a connotation of doing something bad, like a criminal using a crowbar to pry into a locked door.
This word adds more meaning to the sentence rather than just saying “look into”. b)Overall Language – does the language in the piece seem Formal ? Or does the language seem Conversational? Or does the language seem to employ Slang .