Diction

Diction is word choice — the specific vocabulary a writer or speaker selects to express an idea. Every sentence involves choosing among near-synonyms, and each choice carries different shades of meaning. "The child sobbed," "the kid bawled," and "the youngster wept" describe the same event, but each creates a distinct tone and register.

Analysts typically describe diction along a few dimensions. It can be formal (elevated, precise, impersonal) or informal (conversational, colloquial, slangy); concrete (naming specific, tangible things) or abstract (naming ideas and qualities); and denotative (relying on literal dictionary meaning) or connotative (leaning on emotional associations). A scientist writing "the specimen expired" and a novelist writing "the old dog gave up the ghost" are making opposite diction choices on purpose.

Diction matters because it is one of the main levers of tone and style. When a reading passage asks why an author chose a particular word, or what effect a phrase creates, it is really asking you to analyze diction — how the word's connotations color the author's attitude toward the subject.

Diction is a staple of reading and verbal exams. The Praxis Core reading test asks writer's craft questions about why authors choose particular words, and the GRE rewards a strong vocabulary for distinguishing words with similar meanings but different connotations. Achievable's courses cover diction and word choice within their reading and vocabulary materials.